¨The Yiddish Mate Tea Song” Performed by Clara Bitman
The Yiddish Mate Tea Song / דאָס ייִדישע מאַטע־טייליד
Sung by Clara Bitman, recorded by Itzik Gottesman 1980s.
Clara Bitman learned this song in the 1950s in the Zhitlovsky-shul in Buenos-Aires; a school that was part of the leftist Yidishe kultur-farband organization in Argentina. She sang it at a Yugntruf “shraybkrayz” [writing circle] in NYC in the 1980s. Thanks this week to Janina Wurbs and Emily Socolov.
The Yiddish Mate Tea Song
Mume Zlate trinkt a mate
un farbayst a kikhl.
Nokh a mate gist on Zlate
farn feter Mikhl.
Aunt Zlate drinks mate
and snacks on a cookie.
Another mate Zlate pours for
her uncle Mikhl.
Feter Mikhl neyt a shikhl
mit der rekhter hant.
Mit der linker, mate trinkt er,
trinken zey banand.
Uncle Mikhl sews a shoe
with his right hand.
WIth his left he drinks mate.
So all three drink together.
Kumt fun shul der kleyner Shmulik,
hungerik farbayst.
Gist im Zlate on a mate;
trinken ale dray.
Little Shmulik comes home from school
hungry, so he snacks.
Zlate pours for him a mate,
So all three drink.
Fun a tetsl nasht dos ketsl
milekh mitn hintl.
Do a lek, do a shmek
sara lib gezindl.
The kitten snacks from a saucer
some milk with the puppy.
Here a lick, there a whiff –
what a loving family.
Yiddish Song of the Week 
March 16, 2023 at 4:41 pm
A wonderful English translation/adaptation sent in by Prof. Martin Schwartz, Berkeley.
Aunt Zlate drinks a mate
with a little bit of cake
and the aforementioned Ms Zlate
pours some for Uncle Jake.
Uncle Jake, with his right hand,
he’s sewing up a shoe.
while drinking with his left, and
there’s maté tea for two.
Little Samuel was at school, he’s back,
and hungry, nibbles on a snack
Zlate pours him mate tea,
and so they drink together, three.
Kitty’s slurping from a cup,
sharing milk with the family pup.
They sniff its whiff, and lap it up with glee–
What a happy family!