YIDL MITN FIDL, written by Itzik Manger, is the title song from the 1936 Yiddish film of the same name. The movie stars Molly Picon, Leon Liebgold, and Max Bozyk, and was actually produced by Green Films in Warsaw. Besides being a cute story, Yidl Mitn Fidl offers a glimpse into Jewish life in pre-War Poland. (It is available on video from Ergo Media; I highly recommend that you get it!)

Reprinted from the e-mail list Mendele: Yiddish literature and language , vol4.323:



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Date: Mon, 13 Feb 1995 20:25:35 -0500 (EST)
From: dschrag@acs.bu.edu

I perform Yidl Mitn Fidl very often in concerts. Here are the lyrics:

Iber felder vegn, oyf a vogn hey
Mit zun un vint un regn, forn klezmer tsvey
A khidesh, oy, a khidesh, zog ver zenen zey?
Yidl mitn fidl, Arye mitn bas
Dos lebn iz a lidl, to vozhe zayn in kas.
Hey, Yidl, fidl, shmidl, hey, dos lebn iz a shpas.

A tsig shteyt oyf der lonke
Un meket troy'rik "me!"
Hey, du tsig, du shoyte, tro'rik zayn is fe!
Shoklt er dos berdl: "Take, take fe!"

Yidl...

A foygl flit "gut morgn, gut morgn, a gut yor"
Der troyer un di zorgn tsu al de shvartse yor!
Dem vint a lakh in ponem, un Yidl, Yidl for!

Yidl....

Enjoy!
Rhoda (Rokhl) Bernard


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And here's the translation:

Across fields we go,
Atop a wagon of hay
With sun and wind and rain,
Ride two musicians.
A novelty, oh a novelty,
Tell me who are they?

Yidl with his fiddle,
Aryeh with his bass,
This existence is a song,
Why should I be upset?
Yidl, fidl, shmidl - Hey -
This life is a pure fun.

A goat stands in the meadow
And bleats a sad "meh!"
Hey you goat, you foolish one,
Being sad is "feh"!
He nods his little beard,
"Truly, truly 'feh'!"

Yidl...

A bird flies by, "Good morning,
Good morning a good year"
The sadness and the worries
Should go to the devil.
Laughing in the wind's face,
Yidl travels on!