Lyr Add: Zog, Maran (Yiddish)

Subject: Lyr Add: Zog, Maran
From: Felipa
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 10:25 AM

Zog, Maran is a poignant and beautiful song about Sephardic Jews secretly celebrating Pesach (Passover). It could, I think, be dedicated to any people who risk being persecuted for practicing their own religion. The song is told as a question and answer dialogue. Presumably the questioner is an Ashkenazy Jew, as the lyrics are in Yiddish.

ZOG, MARAN (Tell Me, Marrano)
words: Avrom Reyzen (aka Abraham Reisen or Reisin) (1876-1953)
melody: Shmuel Bugatch (aka Samuel Bugatch) (1898-1984)

TRANSLITERATION

Zog, maran, du bruder mayner,
Vu iz greyt der seyder dayner?
In tifer heyl, in a kheyder, )
Dort hob ikh gegreyt mayn seyder. ) 2x

Zog, maran, mir, vu, ba vemen
Vestu vayse matses nemen?
In der heyl, af gots barotn, )
Hot mayn vayb dem teyg geknotn. ) 2x

Zog, maran, vi vest zikh klign,
A hagode vu tsu krign?
In der heyl, in tife shpaltn, )
Hob ikh zi shoyn lang bahaltn. ) 2x

Zog, maran, vi vest zikh vern,
Ven men vet dayn kol derhern?
Ven der soyne vet mikh fangen, )
Vel ikh shtarbn mit gezangen. ) 2x

TRANSLATION

Tell me, Marrano, you brother of mine,
Where is your seder prepared?
In a deep cave, in a room,
There’s where I prepared my seder.

Tell me, Marrano, where, from whom
Will you acquire white matzos?
In the cave, by God’s will,
My wife kneaded the dough.

Tell me, Marrano, how will you be so smart
As to acquire a Haggadah?
In the cave, deep in the cracks,
I have long since hidden it.

Tell me, how will you defend yourself
When they hear your voice?
When the enemy will capture me,
I will die singing.

--------------------
some recordings

beautifully sung by Linda Hirschhorn & a capella group Vocolot
http://www.vocolot.com (album: HeartBeat)

Shura Lipovsky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRY85zP3Jm4

"Martha Schlamme, who fled from Nazi Germany to England, sings a moving Yiddish song about the Sephardim, the Spanish Jews forced to convert to Christianity by the Inquisition in 1492. Many continued to practice Judaism in secret. They were called Marranos, a derogatory word for pig, used to emphasize the expectation that they would now eat pork. The Seder is the feast of Passover and the Haggadah is the telling, at Passover, of the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt. Matzohs are the white unleavened flatbreads served at Passover."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF5fxWBXr0w

A memorial article re Martha Schlamme can be read on Mudcat at https://mudcat.org/Detail.CFM?messages__Message_ID=2727743

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Zog, Maran
From: Felipa
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 10:37 AM

Although the line "Vel ikh shtarbn mit gezangen" is very poignant ... I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer a more optimistic verse, with the questionner praising the Marrano's dedication and perseverance and the Marrano replying that he hopes for more freedom in future.

The English verb to "starve" has a common derivation with the word "shtarbn", and originally did mean to die. Although that usuage is fading, I remember when it was common for people in the north of Ireland to say "I'm starving" when they were cold, not only when hungry. I read that this broader usage of the word "starving" also survived in Yorkshire, England into the late 20th century (which is when I read the relevant text).

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Zog, Maran
From: Felipa
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 11:53 AM

Judy Kunofsky, executive director of KlezCalifornia, said in a 2014 interview that Linda Hirshorn changed the last lines to mean, "when the enemy comes we will drown them with our singing"

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Zog, Maran
From: Felipa
Date: 16 Mar 21 - 12:05 PM

X:195
T:Zog Maran
M:3/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=105
K:Cm
V:1
"Cm" C3/2 E/G3 G|G3/2 E/G2 G2 |"Fm" F3/2 C/F3 G|"G7" G F"Cm" C2 CG |:
"C7" G3/2 G/"Fm" F4 |"Bb7" F3/2 G/"Eb" E2 E2 |"Cm" E3/2 F/"G7" D3 D|D3/2 E/"Cm" C2 CG :|
"Cm" c3/2 B/c3 e|"Bb" d3/2 B/"Cm" c2 c2 |"Cm" c=B ce "D7" dc |"G7" G2 G4 |:
"C7" c3/2 B/"Fm" G3 F|"Bb7" B3/2 G/"Eb" G2 E2 |"D" DG GF "G7" ED |"Cm" C2 C4 :|
"D" DF "Cm" GG "D7" c=B |"G7" d6 |"Cm" c6 |]

you can also find sheet music on the web

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Zog, Maran (Yiddish)
From: Felipa
Date: 21 Mar 21 - 06:07 PM

The last line, as sung by Vocalot (Linda Hirschhorn, Judith-Kate Friedman & Ellen Robinson) is "Vel ikh kempfn mit gesangen," according to the Vocalot website. But although the Vocalot notes say "In the song, the Eastern European Jew asks the Marrano how he will celebrate Passover. He responds by saying that they celebrate it secretly in a cave where they have hidden their prayer books and bake their matzoth. "And what if the enemy hears you?" asks the Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jew. "If the enemy hears us we will drown the enemy with our singing," I am fairly sure the correct translation for "vel ikh kempfn mit gesangen" is "I will fight with singing" ("ikh" is "I"; "kempfn" doesn't mean to "drown" but is probably to "struggle" or "fight")

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Zog, Maran (Yiddish)
From: Monique
Date: 19 Apr 22 - 03:48 AM

Lyrics in Yiddish characters ...

- זאָג מאַראַן

,זאָג,מאַראַן,דו ברודער מײַ נער
?װוּ איז גרײט דער סדר דײַ נער
,אין טיפֿער הײל,אין אַ חדר
.דאָרט האָב איך געגרײט מײַ ן סדר

זאָג מאַראַן מיר,װוּ בײ ַ װעמען
?װעסטוװײַ סע מַ צות נעמען
,אין דער הײל,אױף גאָטס באַראָטן
.האָט מײַ ן װײַ ב דעם טײַ ג געקנאָטן

זאָג מאַראַן,װוּ װעסט זיך קליגן
?אַ הגדה װוּ צו קריגן
,אין דער הײם אין טיפֿע שאַפּלטן
.האָב איך זי שױן לאַנג באַהאַלטן

זאָג מאַראַן װוּ װעסט זי װערן
?װען װעט מען דײַ ן קול דערהערן
,װען דערשׂונאװעט מיר אַפֿנגען
.װעל איךשטאַרבןמיט געזאַנגען