Lyr Req: Yiddish Is the Kvelling Tongue

Subject: Lyr ADD: Borscht Riders in the Sky
From: cnd
Date: 21 Aug 15 - 11:15 AM

GUEST,MJ of May 12th, it's available on Youtube. I don't know any Yiddish, so I'm no help with the lyrics. You can watch it here.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish Is the Kvelling Tongue
From: GUEST,999
Date: 07 Sep 12 - 12:51 AM

Borscht Riders In the Sky by Mickey Katz is on YouTube.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish Is the Kvelling Tongue
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 23 Nov 11 - 03:56 PM

Spotify has Mickey Katz' BORSCHT RIDERS IN THE SKY – but it contains so many Yiddish words and phrases, I don't think I could transcribe it!

Subject: ADD: Nosh Ville Katz
From: GUEST,Meishe Pipik
Date: 31 Jan 11 - 06:03 PM

NOSH VILLE KATZ

It was Nosh Ville Katz

Nosh Ville Katz, He runs a kosher deli

Nosh Ville Katz, The only one in town

Nosh Ville Katz, It's not like you're in Brooklyn

Nosh Ville Katz, the only one around.

There are 1857 diff`rent restaurants in Nashville,
and you can get anything from a hominy grit to a Contact Time Pill.
When people asked Katz who`s gonna be goin` to a kosher delicatssen in Nashville,
He said to them, "Who do you think? The Tennessee folks will."

REPEAT CHORUS

Have a yiddishe dish a potato knish or a bagel mit cream cheese,
Have some chicken soup or gefilte fisch or some carrots mit green peas.
When you get through that have a little chopped liver or a shtickle herring mit wine sauce.
And you can wash it all down mit a Dr. Brown; it shouldn't be a total loss
(Yit, Dahling, yit)

Repeat chorus

---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlT_M6xiWdE

Subject: Lyr Add: THE BALLAD OF IRVING (from Frank Gallop)
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 04:48 PM

Jacob:

Here's the original, including some lines deleted in a more recent release by Rhino Records. I think this is the first Jewish "talking blues" I've heard, although Kinky Friedman might have one up his sleeve...


THE BALLAD OF IRVING
(Frank Gallop)


He was short and fat, and rode out of the West
With a Mogen David on his silver vest.
He was mean and nasty right clear through,
Which was kinda weird, 'cause he was yellow too.

They called him Irving.
Big Irving.
Big, short Irving.
Big, short, fat Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.

He came from the old Bar Mitzvah spread,
With a 10-gallon yarmulke on his head.* [see below]
He always followed his mother's wishes,
Even on the range he used two sets of dishes.

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big sissy Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.

A hundred and forty-one could draw faster than he,
But Irving was looking for one forty-three.
Walked into Sol's Saloon like a man insane,
And ordered three fingers of two cents plain.

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big sport Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.

One day Bad Max happened into town.
His aim was to shoot fat Irving down.
Bad Max said, "Draw, and draw right now!"
And Irving drew, drew a picture of a cow.

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big gunfighter Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.

*****

The James Boys was comin' on a train at first sun,
And the town said, "Irving, we need your gun."
When that train pulled in at the break of dawn,
Irving's gun was there, but Irving was gone.

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big help, Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.

Well, finally Irving got three slugs in the belly.
It was right outside the Frontier Deli.
He was sittin' there twirlin' his gun around,
And butterfingers Irving gunned himself down!

Irving.
Big, fat Irving.
Big dum-dum Irving.
Big dum-dum dead Irving.
The hundred and forty-second fastest gun in the West.
Really.



From the album "When You're In Love, The Whole World is Jewish"
Frank Gallop

*The line about the 10-gallon yarmulke was on the original LP, but the single
version and subsequent LP pressings substituted the line:
Schlepping a salami and pumpernickel bread.
This substitution was made because the record company felt the joke would be
lost on non-Jewish listeners. (mebrown)

Subject: Lyr Add: YIDDISHE RHAPSODY (parody of Bohemian...)
From: Genie
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 02:56 PM

Haven't found "Yiddish Is The (A) Kvelling (Kvetching) Tongue" but in looking for it, I did find this:

YIDDISHE RHAPSODY
(parody of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody")

Mamme, just ate fleyshik,
Just a little as forshpaytz.
Then I realized that it's trayf.

Mamme, I'm no paskudnyak
Although I kvetch I'm not moyshe pupik.

Mamme, oooo
Didn't want you to farklempt.
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Zay gezunt, zay gezunt
It's nisht ahir un nish aher.

Too late!   I'm farchadat,
I'm such a shlemazel,
Name should be Chiam Yankel.
Goodbye, everybody - a sheynem dank
Gotta leave you all and face my own tsoris.

Mamme, oooo ( any way the vint blows )
I feel farfalen!
I should have learned to really ke nignehore!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish Is the Kvelling Tongue
From: Jacob B
Date: 11 Aug 08 - 02:26 PM

I remember hearing about the 142nd fastest gun in the West - but his name was Herbie, I believe. Here's what I remember:

(The James gang was coming on the morning train)
The townsfolk said, "We need your gun."
When the train arrived at the crack of dawn
Herbie's gun was there, but Herbie was gone
Herbie
Big fat Herbie
Big help Herbie
The 142nd fastest gun in the West

Now Herbie finally got shot down
It happened out at the edge town
He was twirling his gun outisde the Frontier Deli
And butterfingers Herbie shot himself in the belly
Herbie
Big fat Herbie
Big dumdum Herbie
Big dumdum dead Herbie
The 142nd fastest gun in the West

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 04:04 PM

"Nashville Katz" use this link:

Nashville Katz

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 03:15 PM

One of my fellow inmates, of the Jewish faith, suggests it could have been "The Kvetching Tongue."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 03:13 PM

Frank Gallop, the announcer for the old Perry Como TV show for years, put out a record called "When You're in Love, The Whole World is Jewish," or something close to that, back in the early 1960's. One of the cuts was "Irving, the 142nd Fastest Gun in the West." Some of the lines I recall:

"141 were faster than he, but Irving was looking for 143."

"Irving took three slugs in the belly; it was right in front of the
old Frontier Deli."

This would have been contemporaneous with Allen Sherman's work.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: NormanD
Date: 01 Aug 08 - 04:48 AM

Any update on this one?

Any closer to locating the lyrics to "Yiddish is the kvelling tongue"?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: JJ
Date: 12 May 08 - 08:05 AM

Mickey Katz is also known as the father of Oscar-winner Joel Grey. And the grandfather of Jennifer (for fans of "Dirty Dancing').

He wrote an autobiography, "Papa, Play For Me."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: GUEST,MJ
Date: 12 May 08 - 12:08 AM

Does anyone have the lyrics to Borscht Riders In the Sky by Mickey Katz?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: GUEST,Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Date: 26 Jul 04 - 09:42 PM

What is the Yiddish word for "jaywalking"?
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe
Author, "Are Yentas, Kibitzers, & Tummlers Weapons of
Mass Instruction? Yiddish Trivia" (ISBN #0-615-12507-7)
Malka Publications
19 Market Dr.
Syosset, NY 11791
$12 (plus $3 shipping and hanlding)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: CET
Date: 06 Dec 03 - 06:16 AM

Jacob:

Thread creep here, but I have to thank you for giving me the etymology for a slang word I had never heard outside the Canadian army (in fact, it may even be outdated by now - I haven't heard it for a long time) - gotchies, i.e. underwear; sometimes as a collective noun, gotch.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 06 Dec 03 - 12:55 AM

Several sources say that NOSHVILLE KATZ was recorded by The Lovin' Cohens in 1967. (I wonder, did they make up their band name to go with the song, or vice versa?) It was released as a single; the B side was SHOILY KLEIN. I can't find any evidence that they ever recorded anything else. I did, however, find these lines which someone quoted from memory:

Noshville Katz, they run a kosher deli;
Noshville Katz, the only one in town;
Noshville Katz, it's not like you're in Brooklyn...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 05 Dec 03 - 10:09 AM

See this Mickey Katz catalog and another Mickey Katz discography.

There is a current Mickey Katz CD called "Greatest Shticks" and another called "Simcha Time: Mickey Katz Plays Music for Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and Brisses." Both are available from Barnes & Noble, which also provides sound samples.

There is also Don Byron "Plays the Music of Mickey Katz."

See the entry at AMG - All Music Guide

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Jacob B
Date: 06 Jul 00 - 12:35 PM

The Mickey Katz collections are available on this page.

Noshville Katz is on the compilation "Hey! Look What I Found - Volume 4" on this page.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: sledge
Date: 06 Jul 00 - 11:35 AM

No help from this quarter I'm afraid though I did once see a bunch of rocking Rabbi's called "Guns and Moses"

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Jacob B
Date: 06 Jul 00 - 11:11 AM

I know that I heard recently that Mickey Katz' material had been rereleased. I'll see if I can find an online reference to it later.

By the way, I searched the web for "Noshville Katz", and found a compilation CD for sale that included it. I'll get a link in here for that, too.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From:
Date: 06 Jul 00 - 12:14 AM

Mickey Katz used to do parodies on all the popular songs of the time. "Schlepping My Baby Back Home", "The Little White Knish That Cried", etc.

I was a great fan of his and had a collection of his stuff on (the then current) 78s. I had them stacked on a chair once and a friend of mine sat on them. Why do I tell you this. I guess I am just in a sadistic mood.

Anyway I would be interested in knowing if any of Katz's stuff was remastered to CDs.

Murray

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Hollowfox
Date: 05 Jul 00 - 12:46 PM

Great lyrics, Jacob! While we're at it, does anybody have the parody Michael Cooney used to do to "And I Love Her" by the Beatles? It was probably called "She's My Bubba".

Subject: Lyr Add: OY, I WISH THEY'D DO IT NOW! (parody)
From: Jacob B
Date: 30 Jun 00 - 04:12 PM

I promised you my version of I Wish They'd Do It Now. Here it is.

I didn't deliberately set out to write this. It's just that, whenever I try singing in an accent, it comes out in my accent. I finally figured, why fight it?
^^

OY, I WISH THEY'D DO IT NOW! (parody)

I was born of Yiddish parents, one day when I was young
That's how the mameloshn became my mother tongue
That I was a shane boychik, my mama did allow
All the maydels ran to kiss me
Oy, I wish they'd do it now!

(chorus)
Oy, I wish they'd do it now!
Oy, I wish they'd do it now!
I've got shpilkes in my gottkes
And I wish they'd do it now!

It's awfully lonely for a lad to lead a single life
I think I'll go to the contra dance and find myself a wife
I have got two brindle calves, likewise a big fat cow
There'll be plenty love and beef-fry for the girl who'll have me now


mameloshn = mother tongue (i.e., Yiddish)
shane boychik = beautiful boy [shane is pronounced shay-neh]
maydels = girls
shpilkes in my gottkes = splinters in my underwear (i.e., ants in my pants)
beef-fry = fried beef (you were expecting maybe bacon? Not in my kitchen.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Alice
Date: 23 Jun 00 - 12:59 PM

Found an album with a Yiddish parody of 16 Tons ("You load 16 tons/of pastrami....") It led to a Yiddish forum where you can post the request for the parody Yiddish Is The Kvelling Tongue. click here All Things Yiddish - Virtual Ashkenaz

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Alice
Date: 23 Jun 00 - 12:43 PM

I haven't found the 'Tongue' parody yet, but I did find a bit about Mickey Katz (Spike Jones band) and Borscht Riders in the Sky, a yiddish parody of Home on the Range, and more. click here Life Is Just A Bowl Of Borscht

alice

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Alice
Date: 23 Jun 00 - 12:27 PM

Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys

Although I used to be an FM radio dj, and this should have been instant recall, like you, WW, the brain cell for this one was lost... I had to do a web search.

alice

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: WyoWoman
Date: 23 Jun 00 - 11:29 AM

This reminds me of a group I heard once upon a time -- talk about brain cell loss, I can't remember the guy's name -- Somebody and the Texas Jewboys. Hilarious. These songs sound like they'd be part of his repertory.

ww

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Jacob B
Date: 23 Jun 00 - 11:07 AM

I've heard of "Noshville Katz", but I've only met two people who have actually heard it. Another hard one to find.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 22 Jun 00 - 10:08 PM

Sorry, can't help you with those (though I'd love to learn them!), but you might be interested in Greenberg's, to the tune of the old Brothers Four song, Green Fields. I also once heard a guy in Victoria BC sing "Borscht Riders in the Sky" ("Yippie-oy-oy, yippie-oy-vey"). And that's not even starting on Alan Sherman. Good luck.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: MarkS
Date: 22 Jun 00 - 09:05 PM

If anybody comes up with this, the next challange should be to come up with the lines to "Nashville Katz", a takeoff on "Nashville Cats".

All I can remember is
Nashville Katz - he runs a kosher deli.
any 'Catters with more brain cells than me?

Subject: Yiddish is the kvelling tongue
From: Jacob B
Date: 22 Jun 00 - 05:56 PM

In the recent thread about the song Spanish Is The Loving Tongue, Art Thieme and bob jr mentioned having heard a parody which went "Yiddish is the kvelling tongue". Can anyone give me the words to this? Please?

If you do, I'll sing you my version of "Oy, I Wish They'd Do It Now"!

Jacob