I love the tune for "Hatikvah" - I even have it as the ringtone for my cell phone.
Ralph Butts says "Hatikvah's" tune is based on a Czechoslovakian folk song. Another source says a Moldavian folk song, which is more--or-less the same region, but not quite. I've always confused "Hatikvah" with Smetana's "The Moldau." I guess they aren't the same song, but they are very similar.
Anybody have information on "Moldau" and "Hatikvah" and the relationship between the two?
Some sources tie the tune to the German nursery rhyme, Alle meine Entchen. I guess I can see a similarity. Others say "Hatikvah" is based on a theme from Smetana's "Moldau." And as far as I can determine, the attribution to a Moldavian tune is incorrect - it's Czech, among others.
-Joe-