The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #171602   Message #4230695
Posted By: GerryM
26-Oct-25 - 09:49 PM
Thread Name: Songs about musical Instruments
Subject: ADD: Der Rebbe Elimeylekh
Der Rebe Elimeylekh is a Yiddish song along the lines of Old King Cole. The Rabbi calls for his fiddlers, his drummers, and his tsimblists (tsimbl, or cimbalom, a hammered dulcimer). First part, in English, then in Yiddish transliteration:

DER REBBE ELIMEYLEKH

When Rebbe Elimeylekh
became very happy,
became very happy, Elimeylekh,
he took off his tfillin
and put on his glasses
and sent for his two fiddlers.

And the fiddling fiddlers
fiddled in a fiddly way
in a fiddly way, they fiddled.

Az der Rebe Elimeylekh
lz gevorn zeyer freylekh,
Is gevorn zeyer freylekh, Elimeylekh,
Hot er oysgeton di tfiln
Un hot ongeton di briln
Un geshikt nokh di fidlers di tsvey.

(The following part gets sung twice)
Un di fidldike fidlers
Hobn fidldik gefidlt,
Hobn fidldik gefidlt, hobn zey.