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ADD: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)[Hulyet]

20 Dec 05 - 01:52 PM (#1631546)
Subject: Lyr Req: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)
From: chico

Looking for lyrics to "Huliet Huliet Kinderlach" (Yiddish) by Abe Moskowitz

20 Dec 05 - 03:26 PM (#1631610)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)
From: Joe Offer

The Abe Moskowitz recording of Gebirtig's "Huliet Huliet Kinderlach" (Play, Play, Little Children) is on the Columbia/Legacy CD, From Avenue A To The Great White Way: History Of Jewish Music In N.Y. (Disc 1). "Ave A" is a great collection - I only wish it had printed lyrics. I sure wish I could remember where I put the CD, so I could actually listen to the song. I can't find any of my Yiddish CD's, so I must have them all in a very good place where they won't get lost...
-Joe Offer-

20 Dec 05 - 04:55 PM (#1631641)
Subject: ADD: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Gerbirtig)
From: Joe Offer

This page has the lyrics in a different transliteration, along with a number of other Yiddish songs. You'll also find a recording of the song on the Rhino Homemade CD, Theodore Bikel's Treasury of Yiddish Theatre and Folk Songs. It's also on the brilliant Yiddish Songs CD by Chava Alberstein.

Hulyet, Hulyet, Kinderlekh
(Mordechi Gebirtig)

Shpilt aykh, libe kinderlekh -
Der friling shoyn bagint!
Oy, vi bin ikh, kinderlekh,
Mekane aykh atsind

Refrain
Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlekh
Kolzman ir zent nokh yung
Vayl fun friling biz tsum vinter
Iz a katsn-shprung

Shpilt aykh, libe kinderlekh
Farzoymt keyn oygnblik
Nemt mikh oykh arayn in shpil

Kukt nisht oyf mayn groyen kop
Tsi shtert dos aykh in shpil?
Mayn neshome iz nokh yung
Vi tsurik mit yorn fil

Mayn neshome iz nokh yung
Un geyt fun benkshaft oys
Akh, vi gern vilt zikh ir
Fun altn guf aroys

Shpilt aykh, libe kinderlekh
Farzoymt keyn oygnblik,
Vayl der friling ekt zikh bald,
Mit im dos hekhste glik


Also note this information about songwriter Mordechi Gebirtig:

MORDECHAJ GEBIRTIG (1877 - 1942)

Mordechaj Gebirtig...was born in the Kazimierz district of Cracow on May 4, 1877. He did not have much schooling except for a traditional religious education in cheder. He worked as a carpenter all his life.

In his youth he was a fervent socialist. He made his print debut in 1905 on the pages of the Cracow Socjaldemokrat newspaper. He was encouraged to write by the eminent man of letters Abraham Rajzen. Gebirtig's first published verse was entitled Der general-sztrajk (General Strike).

In the First World War Gebirtig was drafted into the Austrian army and served as an orderly in the military hospital in Cracow. He wrote many poems during this time, later printed in his little volume Folkstimlech (To a Folk Tune). ... Gebirtig was a true master of music and words, and when he invoked folk motifs he raised them to the heights of artistry. There are many autobiographical strands in his work. Some songs were written for the theater, and others were deeply personal....

In the interwar period Gebirtig was involved in the work of the Jewish theater at 7 Bocheńska Street. In 1924 he was even a member of the board of the Jewish Art Lovers Society. He met actors and Jewish intellectuals at the "Shmata" literary evenings or at Thorn's Restaurant. At one such evening in 1921 he met Molly Picon and Jakub Kalich, who appeared on the stage on Bocheńska Street in the operetta Jankiel. The guests were delighted with the songs Gebirtig sang and bought performance rights (for 25 dollars per song) to Huliet, huliet, kinderlech (Play, Children) and Kinder-yorn (Childhood years). In this way the humble carpenter's songs journeyed across the ocean....

The outbreak of the war found Gebirtig in an apartment at 5 Berka Joselewicza Street in Cracow. In 1940, with his wife and three daughters he was forced to "resettle" to Łagiewniki near Cracow. When in the spring of 1942 Gebirtig was moved to the ghetto in the Podgórze district of Cracow, a few months of life were still left to him. In the ghetto he met his friends: the artist Abraham Neuman, and the musician Juliusz Hoffman who before the war had written down melodies Gebirtig composed. It is not known exactly how many poems and songs were written during this difficult period.

Mordechaj Gebirtig was shot to death on June 4, 1942, on the way to the wagons that took Cracow Jews to the Bełżec death camp. Abraham Neuman died together with him at the corner of Janowa Wola and Dąbrówki Streets. None of the immediate family of the carpenter poet survived the war.

Chava Alberstein recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdIceGayXjs

21 Dec 05 - 01:54 AM (#1631938)
Subject: ADD Version: Hulyet, Hulyet, Kinderlech
From: Joe Offer

Hulyet, Hulyet, Kinderlech
(Mordechi Gebirtig)

Shpilt aych, libe kinderlekh -
Der friling shoyn bagint!
Der friling shoyn bagint!
Oy, vi bin ikh, kinderlech,
Mekane aych atsint.
Oy, vi bin ikh, kinderlech,
Mekane aych atsint.

Refrain
Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlech
Kolzman ir zent nokh yung
Vayl fun friling biz tsum vinter
Iz a katsen-shprung

Shpilt aych, libe kinderlech,
Farzoymt keyn oygen-blik,
Farzoymt keyn oygen-blik,
Nemt mich oych arayn in shpil,
Fargint mir oych dos glik?
Nemt mich oych arayn in shpil,
Fargint mir oych dos glik?
Hulyet, hulyet...

Kukt nisht oyf mayn groyen kop,
Tsi shtert dos aych in shpil?
Tsi shtert dos aych in shpil?
Mayn neshome iz noch yung,
Vi ts'rik mit yorn fil.
Mayn neshome iz noch yung,
Vi ts'rik mit yorn fil.
Hulyet, hulyet...

Mayn neshome iz noch yung,
Un geyt fun benkshaft oys,
Un geyt fun benkshaft oys,
Ach vi gern vilt zich ir
Fun alt'n guf aroys.
Ach vi gern vilt zich ir
Fun alt'n guf aroys.
Hulyet, hulyet...

Shpilt aych, libe kinderlech,
Farzoymt keyn oygen-blik,
Farzoymt keyn oygen-blik,
Vayl der friling ekt zich bald,
Mit im dos hechste glik.
Vayl der friling ekt zich bald,
Mit im dos hechste glik.
Hulyet, hulyet...



Frolic, play, my little ones,
Springtime has begun,
Springtime has begun,
How I envy you your youth,
Now my day is done. (2 times)

Frolic, play, my little ones,
While you're young and gay,
While you're young and gay,
Now it's spring, but wintertime
Is but a jump away.

Play, my dearest little ones,
Don't ever waste a thing,
Don't ever waste a thing,
Allow me, too, into the game,
May I join the ring? (2 times)
Frolic, play...

Take no heed of my grey head
Does it disturb your play?
Does it disturb your play?
My soul is still so very young,
Much as yesterday. (2 times)
Frolic, play. .

My soul is still so very young,
And longing to be free—
And longing to be free—
Yearning to escape the cage
Of my anatomy.(2 times)
Frolic, play...

Frolic, play, my little ones,
I, too, was once a boy,
I, too, was once a boy,
And I know that spring does end,
And with it all your joy. (2 times)
Frolic, play..


from Folksongs and Footnotes, Theodore Bikel, 1960
English translation by Theodore Bikel.


The Bikel book has this for the chorus, but I don't think it can be right:
    Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlech
    Kolzman ir zent nokh ying
    Vayl fun friling biz tsum vinter
    Iz a katsen-shpring

Click to play

21 Dec 05 - 02:05 AM (#1631943)
Subject: Lyr Add: HULYET, HULYET, KINDERLECH (Yiddish)
From: Joe Offer

Let's see if I can line it up side-by-side.

    Hulyet, Hulyet, Kinderlech

    (Mordechi Gebirtig)
    English translation by Theodore Bikel
    Shpilt aych, libe kinderlekh -
    Der friling shoyn bagint!
    Der friling shoyn bagint!
    Oy, vi bin ikh, kinderlech,
    Mekane aych atsint.
    Oy, vi bin ikh, kinderlech,
    Mekane aych atsint.

    Refrain
    Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlech
    Kolzman ir zent nokh yung
    Vayl fun friling biz tsum vinter
    Iz a katsen-shprung    		 Frolic, play, my little ones,
    Springtime has begun,
    Springtime has begun,
    How I envy you your youth,
    Now my day is done. (2 times)

    Frolic, play, my little ones,
    While you're young and gay,
    While you're young and gay,
    Now it's spring, but wintertime
    Is but a jump away.
    Shpilt aych, libe kinderlech,
    Farzoymt keyn oygen-blik,
    Farzoymt keyn oygen-blik,
    Nemt mich oych arayn in shpil,
    Fargint mir oych dos glik?
    Nemt mich oych arayn in shpil,
    Fargint mir oych dos glik?
    Hulyet, hulyet...    		 Play, my dearest little ones,
    Don't ever waste a thing,
    Don't ever waste a thing,
    Allow me, too, into the game,
    May I join the ring? (2 times)
    Frolic, play...
    Kukt nisht oyf mayn groyen kop,
    Tsi shtert dos aych in shpil?
    Tsi shtert dos aych in shpil?
    Mayn neshome iz noch yung,
    Vi ts'rik mit yorn fil.
    Mayn neshome iz noch yung,
    Vi ts'rik mit yorn fil.
    Hulyet, hulyet...    		 Take no heed of my grey head
    Does it disturb your play?
    Does it disturb your play?
    My soul is still so very young,
    Much as yesterday. (2 times)
    Frolic, play. .
    Mayn neshome iz noch yung,
    Un geyt fun benkshaft oys,
    Un geyt fun benkshaft oys,
    Ach vi gern vilt zich ir
    Fun alt'n guf aroys.
    Ach vi gern vilt zich ir
    Fun alt'n guf aroys.
    Hulyet, hulyet...    		 My soul is still so very young,
    And longing to be free—
    And longing to be free—
    Yearning to escape the cage
    Of my anatomy.(2 times)
    Frolic, play...
    Shpilt aych, libe kinderlech,
    Farzoymt keyn oygen-blik,
    Farzoymt keyn oygen-blik,
    Vayl der friling ekt zich bald,
    Mit im dos hechste glik.
    Vayl der friling ekt zich bald,
    Mit im dos hechste glik.
    Hulyet, hulyet...    		 Frolic, play, my little ones,
    I, too, was once a boy,
    I, too, was once a boy,
    And I know that spring does end,
    And with it all your joy. (2 times)
    Frolic, play..


     from Folksongs and Footnotes, Theodore Bikel, 1960
    Note that it's a singable translation, not a direct translation.


The Bikel book has this for the chorus, but I don't think it can be right:
    Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlech
    Kolzman ir zent nokh ying
    Vayl fun friling biz tsum vinter
    Iz a katsen-shpring

It sounds like "ying" and "shpring" when Bikel sings it, but other printed sources have "yung" and "shprung."

Click to play

21 Dec 05 - 02:53 AM (#1631960)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)
From: Wilfried Schaum

The change from High German u to i in Yiddish is not uncommon (don't know the thread where we discussed this) and can be usual in some dialects. In my hometown the Jews, germ. Juden, called themselves Yidn.

21 Dec 05 - 03:57 AM (#1631969)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)
From: Paul Burke

Yiddish orthography has only been standardised fully in fairly recent years. It reflects the pronunciation used in the Jewish communities of eastern Europe, most of which were far from any Standard German speakers. So you'll find spellings like "shayn" for "schoen" (hence perhaps the offensive term "Sheeny" for a Jew), "a gutn tog" (guten Tag"), "oysruf" (Ausruf), "shlof" for schlaf. Most words have many variant spellings.

The S was as in snake, if you want a sh- sound, spell it that way, so shtetl for Staedtl; the Z was as in buzz, so klezmer is NOT pronounced "kletsmer".

21 Dec 05 - 04:11 AM (#1631978)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)
From: Joe Offer

What's that word "Kolzman"?

-Joe-

21 Dec 05 - 04:50 AM (#1631985)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)
From: Paul Burke

"Kolzman" means "as long as", I think.

21 Dec 05 - 09:54 AM (#1632123)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)
From: Wilfried Schaum

Kol=all, zaman=time
All the time you are still young, so you thought right, Paul.

20 Sep 08 - 02:51 PM (#2446069)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)
From: GUEST

Hello!
I was wondering if anyone here knows the general chord progression for this song.
My email is h.under@hotmail.com.
WEeeeee
~HAU

20 Sep 08 - 03:14 PM (#2446081)
Subject: Chords ADD: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)
From: Joe Offer

This is one of my favorite Yiddish songs, and probably my one favorite Gebirtig song. My appreciation for Mordechai Gebirtig grew by leaps and bounds a couple of years ago, when I walked the streets of the Krakow Ghetto and ate at a restaurant where I heard a klezmer band sing Gebirtig songs.

from Folksongs and Footnotes, Theodore Bikel, 1960


  Bm
  Shpilt aych, libe kinderlekh -
       G       A7       Bm
  Der friling shoyn bagint!
       G       A7       D
  Der friling shoyn bagint!
  Em               Bm
  Oy, vi bin ikh, kinderlech,
     G    A7     F#
  Mekane aych atsint.
  Em               Bm
  Oy, vi bin ikh, kinderlech,
          F#7     Bm
  Mekane aych atsint.
  
  Refrain
          F#7      Bm
  Hulyet, hulyet, kinderlech
              F#7       B7   A7
  Kolzman ir zent nokh yung
  D                 Em
  Vayl fun friling biz tsum vinter
  Bm   F#7       Bm
  Iz a katsen-shprung

Click to play

10 Aug 21 - 08:31 PM (#4116105)
Subject: RE: ADD: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Gebertig)
From: Felipa

for lyrics in Yiddish (Hebrew lettering) and a French translation, plus links to sheet music for the basic melody, a vocabulary list and links to recordings, see
http://yidlid.org/chansons/hulyet-kinder/index.html

11 Aug 21 - 02:39 AM (#4116121)
Subject: RE: ADD: Huliet, Huliet Kinderlach (Yiddish)[Hulyet]
From: Monique

Hulyet, Hulyet, Kinderlech lyrics in Yiddish alphabet

הוליעט, הוליעט, קינדערלעך

שפּילט אײַך, ליבע קינדערלעך—
!דער פֿרילינג שױן באַגינט
,אױ װי בין איך, קינדערלעך
.מקנא אײַך אַצינד

,הוליעט, הוליעט, קינדערלעך
,כּל-זמן איר זענט יונג
װײַל פֿון פֿרילינג ביז צום װינטער
.איז אַ קאַצן-שפּרונג

,שפּילט אײַך, ליבע קינדערלעך
.פֿאַרזױמט קײן אױגן-בליק
,נעמט מיך אױך אַרײַן אין שפּיל
.פֿאַרגינט מיר אױך דאָס גליק
...הוליעט, הוליעט, קינדערלעך

,קוקט נישט אױף מײַן גראָען קאָפּ
?צי שטערט דאָס אײַך אין שפּיל
,מײַן נשמה איז נאָך יונג
.װי צ׳ריק מיט יאָרן פֿיל
...הוליעט, הוליעט, קינדערלעך

מײַן נשמה איז נאָך יונג
.און גײט פֿון בענקשאַפֿט אױס
אַך, װי גערן װילט זיך איר
.פֿון אַלטן גוף אַרױס
...הוליעט, הוליעט, קינדערלעך

,שפּילט אײַך, ליבע קינדערלעך
,פֿאַרזױמט קײן אױגן-בליק
,װײַל דער פֿרילינג עקט זיך באַלד
.מיט אים דאָס העכסטע גליק
...הוליעט, הוליעט, קינדערלעך

11 Aug 21 - 08:04 PM (#4116237)
Subject: RE: ADD: Hulyet, Hulyet Kinderle (M. Gebirtig)
From: Felipa

2011 performance by Theodore Bikel with pianist Tamara Brooks

performed by Zupfgeigenhansel

with multilingual lyrics on screen