“Gib a brukhe tsu dayn kind” Performed by Sara Rosen

Gib a brukhe tsu dayn kind / Give a Blessing to Your Child
A Holocaust song learned in the Bochnia ghetto, Poland. Sung by Sara Rosen, recorded by Itzik Gottesman, 1989, NYC.

Photo: Children in Bochnia

COMMENTARY BY ITZIK GOTTESMAN

This is a Holocaust song from the Bochnia ghetto sung by Sara Rosen. The author and composer of the song are unknown. Rosen learned this song in the Bochnia ghetto. For her biography see the previous post “Es dremlt in geto”. 

“Es dremlt in geto” Performed by Sara Rosen

 A post-Holocaust recording of this song can be listened to on the album  Remember the Children, 1991. Sung by Adrienne Cooper, #18 on the recording produced by the United States Holocaust Museum. 

Printed versions of this song, words and music, can be found in We Are Here/Mir zenen do (1983) compiled by Eleonor Mlotek and Malke Gottlieb. (scans attached – “Rosen/Mlotek) and in Shmerke Kaczerginsky’s Lider fun di getos un lagern: text 208 – 209; no music. (scans attached “Rosen/Katsh”). Mlotek and Gottlieb write that “This song was sung by the deported Jews of Cracow in Miedzrych Podlaska and in the Bochnia ghetto in 1941.”

Much of the last verse in my recording of Rosen is missing due to technical issues [approx.5:50 min – 6.00Min   I would advise any singers of this song to make up the gap with Katsherginski’s version, which he recorded from Meyer Lamer. מאיר לאמער 

The music of this song was used in the first Bobov Purim Shpil after the Holocaust produced in the United States. In an article by Moyshe Aftergut (translated by Shifre Epstein in the website “In Geveb”), Aftergut writes:

“The music of one song, “Mame, gib dayn brukhe tsu dayn kind (“Mother, Give a Blessing to Your Child”), best illustrates the role of music in creating the setting for the play. The song was written by an unknown composer and was sung by mothers in the ghettos during World War II as farewell songs to their children before they were taken away.” 

Thanks this week to Eliezer Niborski who edited my Yiddish text.

Spoken introduction to song by Sara Rosen, translated by Itzik Gottesman:

 “This ws already the year 1943. There were almost no Jews left in Poland. There were a few towns where the last ones were left in labor camps. And there were already concentration camps. I remember there was a girl Fela Shtern. She said she knows a song that a young boy wrote it; she doesn’t know who wrote it. And this is how the song spread around. And it was sung a lot because we already knew this is the fate that awaited us. 

There [Bochnia ghetto] where we were, maybe five families remained together. They took away a sister, they killed, led her away. There were also refugees who escaped from here and there. The original people from Bochia, even from the Bochni ghetto were very few because they were already deported. For first raid they said that young people will be taken to work. The parents forced them, even pulled the children to go. ‘You will live but we are old already.’ So almost the whole youth of Bochnia was “liquidated”, that’s what they called it. Bochnia was the town I was in. It  was a small town. The parents always hoped, waited for letters from the children, but they soon knew what happened.

This was a then a popular song that I have never heard. First of all there were very few people who survived. I never heard any one sing it. I wanted to sing it because it’s such a great song; not from a poetical, musical viewpoint, but it illustrates the situation how it was.

I have a good voice but today it’s rusty, but it’s not about my voice.

VERSE 1 PLUS REFRAIN

Ikh vil nisht mer nemen gor in akht.
vus ikh hob letstns mitgemakht.
Zayt ikh bin fin der haym avek,
di tunkle gedanken vus nemen kayn ek.
Di tribne teyg, der shverer veyg
zey roybn bay mir dus letste gefil.
Nor amul banakht, az kayner vakht
tsu man mamen in khulem vayn ikh shtil.

I don’t want to consider anymore 
what I suffered yesterday,
Since I have left my home
I have dark thoughts that are endless.
The gloomy days, the difficult way,
they steal away my final feeling.
But sometimes at night, when no one is awake
I cry to my mother in my dreams.

REFRAIN:

Oy mame, mame nokh atsind
gib a brukhe tsu dayn kind.
Az Got vet geybn, gezint mit leybn,
veln mir zeyen zikh geshvind.
Oh mama, mama, even now
give a blessing to your child.
As God will give, health and life,
we will soon meet again.

VERSE 2 PLUS REFRAIN

Gedenk ikh nokh, es iz damolst geveyn;
Der tug der letster herlekh un sheyn. 
In mayn mame, bay der kokh farnumen,
iz di shvester di klayne arayngekumen.
Ikh hob gehert nas [nayes] af der gas.
Az morgn vet a registratsye zayn.
Di yugnt gur, biz finf un draysik yur.
zol morgn fri far “arbaytsamy” ofshtayn. 

I remember still how it once was;
That day the last onem beautiful and nice
and my mother, busy cooking
when my younger sister entered,
I heard news on the street
that tomorrow there will be a registration.
For all those younger than 35 years
they will tomorrow wake up for the workers’ office.

Oy mame, mame blayb gezint,
Avek fin dir miz ikh atsind.
Az Got vet geybn, gezint mit leybn,
Veln mir zeyen zikh geshvind . 

Oy, mother, mother stay healthy,
I must now leave you.
If God will give health and life
we will see each other soon. 

VERSE 3 PLUS REFRAIN

Kom iz adorekh di kurtse nakht,
der tog der letster nemt shoyn di makht,
un mayn mame git zikh di mi
dus frishtik dus letste, greyt zi mir tsi.
Mir gisn aroys trern yamen
ale kinder fin ayn mamen.
Me kisht zikh tsuzamen
Di mame vaynt: Vi vel ikh mikh kenen shaydn fin aykh?

Oceans of tears are pouring from me.
All children from one mother.
We kiss each other, and mother cries
How will I separate from you all?

Oy mame, mame blab gezint, 
Avek fin dir miz ikh atsind.
Az Got vet geybn, gezint mit leybn, 
vel mir zeyen zikh geshvind.

Oy, mother, mother stay well.
I must now leave you.
If God will give health and life,
we will see each other soon.

[Beginning of Verse 4 sung by Rosen]

A ray khadoshim avek shoyn fin mir,
fin mayn mamen, fin mayn tatn vays ikh kayn shpur..
Mayne libe eltern hot der tayerer Got
farviglt, farpakt in a groysn [sod?]

[RECORDING IS ERASED FOR 15 SECONDS. What follows in bold face are four similar lines  from Katcherginski’s Collection to conclude the fourth verse]

Un ikh ze nisht mer mayn mames gezikht
vos ikh lib mit harts un gefil…
Nor a mul ba nakht, ven keyner vakht,
tsi mayn mamen in khulem vayn ikh shtil.

Translation of last verse:

(Rosen) 
My dear parents, did the great God
hide in heaven, in his great orchard.
I no longer see my mother’s face
that I love with my heart and emotion.
(Katsherginski’s text at this point)
But sometimes at night,
when no one is awake,
I cry quietly in my dreams 
to my mother:

LAST REFRAIN FROM ROSEN

Oy mame, mame blab gezint, 
Avek fin dir miz ikh atsind.
Az got vet geybn, gezint mit laybn, 
vel mir zeyn zikh geshvind.

Oy, mother, mother stay healthy.
I must now leave you
If God will give, health and life,
will we see each other again soon.

גיב אַ ברכה צו דײַן קינד
,געזונגען פֿון שרה ראָזען
געהערט אין בוכניער לאַגער, פּוילן
 
איך וויל נישט מער נעמען גאָר אין אַכט
.וואָס איך האָב לעצטנס מיטגעמאַכט
זײַט איך בין פֿון דער היים אַוועק
.די טונק’לע געדאַנקען וואָס נעמען קיין עק
די טריבנע טעג, דער שווערער וועג
זיי רויבן בײַ מיר דאָס לעצטע געפֿיל 
נאָר אַמאָל בײַ נאַכט, אַז קיינער וואַכט
.צו מײַן מאַמען אין חלום וויין איך שטיל

אוי מאַמע, מאַמע נאָך אַצינד
.גיב אַ ברכה צו דײַן קינד
אַז גאָט וועט געבן, געזונט מיט לעבן
.ווע’מיר זעען זיך געשווינד

;געדענק איך נאָך,עס איז דעמאָלטס געווען
דער טאָג דער לעצטער הערלעך און שיין
,און מײַן מאַמע, בײַ די קאָך פֿאַרנומען
.איז די שוועסטער די קליינע אַרײַנגעקומען
איך האָב געהערט נאַס [נײַעס] אויף דער גאַס
.אַז מאָרגן וועט אַ רעגיסטראַציע זײַן
די יוגנט גאָר ביז פֿינף און דרײַסיק יאָר
.זאָל מאָרגן פֿרי, פֿאַרן “אַרבײַטסאַמט” שטיין

,אוי מאַמע, מאַמע בלײַב געזונט
.אַוועק פֿון דיר מוז יאך אַצינד
.אַז גאָט וועט געבן, געזונט ון לעבן
.וועלן מיר זען זיך געשווינד

,קוים איז אַדורך די קורצע נאַכט
,דער טאָג דער לעצטער נעמט שוין די מאַכט
און מײַן מאַמע גיט זיך די מי
.דאָס פֿרישטיק, דאָס לעצטע, גרייט זי מיר צו
,מיר גיסן אַרויס טרערן ימען
.אַלע קינדער פֿון איין מאַמען
מע קושט זיך צוזאַמען

?די מאַמע וויינט: ווי וועל איך מיך קענען שיידן פֿון אײַך

,אוי, מאַמע, מאַמע בלײַב געזונט
.אַוועק פֿון דיר מוז איך אַצינד
,אַז גאָט ווען געבן, געזזונט און לעבן
.וועלן מיר זען זיך געשווינד

[אָנהייב פֿון דער פֿערטער סטראָפֿע געזונגען פֿון ראָזען]

.אַ ריי חדשים אַוועק שוין פֿון מיר
.פֿון מײַן מאַמען, פֿון מײַן טאַטן ווייס איך קיין  שפּור
מײַנע ליבע עלטערן האָט דער טײַערער גאָט
?פֿאַרוויגלט, פֿאַרפּאַקט אין אַ גרויסן…[סאָד]

די רעקאָרדירונג איז פֿאַר פֿופֿצן סעקונדעס אויסגעמעקט געוואָרן. בײַ דער קאַטשערגינסקי־זאַמלונג שטייט וויטער אַזוי 

און איך זע נישט מער מײַן מאַמעס געזיכט
.וואָס איך ליב מיט האַרץ און געפֿיל
,נאָר אַ מאָל בײַ נאַכט, ווען קיינער וואַכט
.צו מײַן מאַמען אין חלום וויין איך שטיל

:ראָזענס טעקסט נאָך דעם 

,אוי, מאַמע, מאַמע בלײַב געזונט
.אַוועק פֿון דיר מוז איך אַצינד
,אַז גאָט ווען געבן, געזונט און לעבן
.וועלן מיר זען זיך געשווינד

From Shmerke Kaczerginsky’s Lider fun di getos un lagern (Songs from the Ghettos and Camps, New York, 1948), pp. 208-209:

• 

• 

From We Are Here/Mir zenen do, compiled by Eleonor Mlotek and Malke Gottlieb (Workmen’s Circle, New York, 1968), p. 18:

mlotekgibDownload

Gur in eyn fintsterer nakht / In a Dark Night Performed by Goldie Rosenbaum-Miller

Gur in eyn fintsterer nakht / In a dark night
Sung by Goldie Rosenbaum-Miller, Recorded by Michael Kroopkin, Chicago 1965.

photo: “Goldie (left) and sister Hyala Rosenbaum

COMMENTARY BY ITZIK GOTTESMAN

For biographical information on the singer Goldie Rosenbaum-Miller, see the previous post at this link.

Most Yiddish love songs are three, four, maybe five verses long, but here we have a ten verse lyrical love song. Some of the Yiddish lines do not make sense to me (“God, show us your nap”?)  We welcome suggestions for other interpretations. Eliezer Niborski helped clarify some lines and suggested corrections in brackets. 

Though some of the verses are confusing, Rosenbaum-Miller sings with much self-assuredness in an old, slow Yiddish folksong style.  

The two word spoken conclusion “Ende libe”, (“the end of the romance”) implies a ballad-like plot was at play during the performance of this song, but many verses can be found in other Yiddish lyrical love songs.

Thanks again to Rosenbaum-Miller’s great granddaughter Debbie Kroopkin for bringing the home recordings of Goldie Rosenbaum-Miller to the attention of Binyumin Schaechter, longtime conductor of the NYC based Yiddish Philharmonic Chorus.

Gur in eyn fintsterer nakht
Sung by Goldie Rosenbaum-Miller

1) Gur in eyn fintsterer nakht.
Badekt iz gevorn der himl. 
In ikh shtey mir in ayn vinkele fartrakht. 
Got, oy, bavayz shoyn dayn driml.

In a dark night,
the sky became covered, 
and I stand in a corner and think – 
Oh God, reveal your nap/rest. [?]

2) Lyubtshenyu, dushunyu, leybn,
efn mir oyf di tir. 
Ikh shtey eyne aleyn;
hob shoyn rakhmones oyf mir.

My darling, dear one, my love, 
Open the door for me.
I am standing alone – 
Have pity on me.

3) Ikh hob mir nisht mit veymenen tsu baheftn.
Mit keynemen kayn vort tsu reydn.
Es geyt mir oys mayne koykhes un kreftn.
Dem toyt iz mir optsubeygn [?]
[Or – “dem toyt oyf zikh betn”]

I don’t have anyone to connect with.
With no one do I have a single word to say.
My strength and power are fading.
Death is for me to bend [?]
[Or perhaps – I wish death upon me.]

4) Nisht meyn vayl di bist eyner,
kenst dekh shoyn visn mayn harts.
Nisht meyn vayl di bist eyner
kenst dekh shoyn visn mayn shmerts.

Don’t think that because you are the one,
you can know what is in my heart.
Don’t think that because you are the one,
you can know my pain. 

5) Mayne eltern tien mir freygn:
“Tokhternyu, vus geyst azoy fartribt?”
“Muter, kh’en dir nisht fartseyln. 
Kh’ob mir in eynem ayngelibt.”

My parents ask me:
“Daughter, why do you go around so sad?”
“Mother, I can’t tell you.
I have fallen in love with someone.”

6) Farlibt hob ikh mir in eynem.
Vayter, oy, lib ikh nisht keynem
Fartseyln ken ikh nisht far keynem,
Minhastame, [min-hastam] dekh, i’ mir azoy bashert.

I have fallen in love with someone;
none other do I love. 
I can speak of this to no one.
Probably it was so fated.

7) Ikh trink mir un in eyn taykh.
Ale mentshn zeyen mit di oygn.
Vus toyg mir mayn gelt in mayn raykh?
Mayn lyubtshe iz fin mir farfloygn.

I drink much [am drowning?] in a river.
All the people watch me with their eyes.
What need do I have of my money and my wealth?
My darling has flown away. .

8) Er iz fin mir farfloygn
durkh eyn ayn vaytn land.
Ikh sheym mir oystsuzugn. 
S’iz mir ayn groyser shand.

He flew away from me,
to a distant land.
I am ashamed to talk about it.
I am so humiliated. 

9) Kh’ob nisht gekikt af kayn blote un af kayn reygn.
Ikh bin shtendik tsu dir gekimen. 
Hayntike vokh [Haynt iz gevorn] hobn farvaksn indzere veygn,
fin indzern troyerdikn shpatsir.

Neither mud, nor rain prevented me.
I still always came to you.
This week  [today our paths grew together?]
our two paths crossed
during our sad walk. 

10) Kh’o shoyn dir, oy, lang gevolt oyszugn.
Farblayb shoyn, oy, mayner af gevis. 
Haynt ti ikh veynen in klugn.
Mayn hofening iz geveyn imzist. [imer zis]

I have wanted to tell you for a long time.
Stay mine for sure.
Today I cry and moan.
My hope was for naught. [was always sweet]

(Spoken) Ende libe…The end of the romance

גאָר אין אַ פֿינצטערער נאַכט
געזונגען פֿון גאָלדי ראָזענבאַום־מילער

גאָר אין אײַן [=אַ] פֿינצטערער נאַכט
.באַדעקט איז געוואָרן דער הימל
.און איך שטיי מיר אין אײַן [=אַ] ווינקעלע פֿאַרטראַכט
.גאָט, אוי, באַווײַז שוין דײַן דרימל

,ליובטשעניו, דושעניו, לעבן111
.עפֿן מיר אויף די טיר
,איך שטיי איינער אַליין
.האָב שוין רחמנות אויף מיר

,איך האָב מיר נישט מיט וועמענען צו באַהעפֿטן
,מיט קיינעמען קיין וואָרט צו ריידן
,ס’גייט מיר אויס מײַנע כּוחות און קרעפֿטן
דעם טויט איז מיר אָפּצובייגן   [דעם טויט אויף זיך בעטן ?]

,נישט מיין ווײַל דו ביסט איינער
,קענסט דאָך שוין וויסן מײַן האַרץ
,נישט מיין ווײַל דו ביסט איינער
.קענסט דאָך שוין וויסן מײַן שמערץ

:מײַנע עלטערן טוען מיך פֿרעגן
– ?טאָכטערניו, וואָס גייסט אַזוי פֿאַרטריבט
– .מוטער, כ’קען דיר נישט פֿאַרציילן
.כ’האָב מיר אין איינעם אײַנגעליבט

.פֿאַרליבט האָב איך מיר אין איינעם
,ווײַטער, אוי, ליב איך נישט קיינעם
,פֿאַרציילן קען איך נישט פֿאַר קיינעם
.מן־הסתּמען [מן־הסתּם איז] דאָך מיר אַזוי באַשערט

,איך טרינק מיר אָן אין טײַך,
,אַלע מענטשן זעען מיט די אויגן
?וואָס טויג מיר מײַן געלט און מײַן רײַך
.מײַן ליובטשע איז פֿון מיר פֿאַרפֿלויגן

ער איז פֿון מיר פֿאַרפֿלויגן
.דורך אײַן [=אַ] ווײַטן לאַנד
.איך שעם מיר אויסצוזאָגן
.ס’איז מיר אײַן [=אַ] גרויסער שאַנד

.כ’האָב נישט געקוקט אויף קיין בלאָטע און אויף קיין רעגן
.איך בין שטענדיק צו דיר געקומען
הײַנטיקע וואָך [=הײַנט איז געוואָרן] האָבן פֿאַרוואַקסן אונדזערע וועגן
.פֿון אונדזערן טרויערדיקן שפּאַציר

,כ’האָב שוין דיר, אוי, לאַנג געוואָלט אויסזאָגן
.פֿאַרבלײַב שוין, אוי, מײַנער אויף געוויס
– הײַנט טו איך וויינען און קלאָגן
.מײַן האָפֿענונג איז געווען אימער זיס [אימזיסט?]

 …‏ענדע ליבע

“Kinderland, du tsoyberland” Performed by Gerry Tenney

Kinderland, du tsoyberland / Kinderland, You Magical Land 
A Yiddish summer camp hymn 
Music: Albert Bitter, Words: M.A. Suhl (Yuri Suhl, 1908 – 1986) 
Sung & Recorded by Gerry Tenney, May 2021  

Gerry Tenney

(Spoken)  
Eyns, tsvey, dray, fir                       One, two, three, four 

Kinderland, du tsoyberland.   Kinderland, you magical land 
Unter himlen fraye.                        Under the open skies 
Mir kumen zikh do opruen,          We come here to rest,            
Shtarkn un banayen.                    To be strengthened and renewed. 
Oy, kinder, kinder, kinderland.      Oy, children, children, children –land 
Far kinder a gan-eydn                  For children it’s a paradise.  
Mir shpiln zikh, mir lernen zikh.  We play, we learn 
Mir lebn do in freydn.                   We live here peacefully 
Oy, kinder, kinder, kinderland       Oy, children, children, children-land 
Far kinder a gan-eydn                  For children, it’s a paradise.  
Mir shpil zikh, mir lernen zikh.    We play, we learn. 
Mir lebn do in freydn.                   We live here peacefully 

There is second verse to this song, which according to Tenney was rarely sung.  

Mit zun un feld un fraye nakht.      With sun and field and free nights 
Du bist undz azoy tayer                  You are so dear to us.  
Freylekh munter zingt dos lid         Happy, boldy sing this song, 
An arbets lid a nayer                       a labor song, a new one.           

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman

Camp Kinderland is a summer camp, today in Tolland, Massachusets. It was founded in 1923 in New York by leftist unions. Several generations of Jewish children from NY and surrounding regions were raised there with a love for Yiddish song and culture. Kinderland has evolved since then and here is the current link to the camp.

A link to the songbook of Kinderland, 1954, which includes the Yiddish and English transcription of this and many other songs can be found here. We hope to present more recordings from this songbook.   

Gerry Tenney is a leading figure in the Yiddish cultural world in the Bay area. He writes about himself: 

I was born in a Yinglish speaking family in the Bronx. Yiddish  was all around me as we lived in the same building as my bubi and zeydi. Although I was not raised in linke krayzn [leftist circles], I found my way there in the late fifties and early sixties. I graduated from the Hekherer Kursn [high school level] and taught in the elementar shuln in Queens. From 1963 -1968 I was a counsellor and group leader at Camp Kinderland. I have  remained active in camp activities and went back there to teach music many times. My son Noah also attended camp. In California I was the co-founder of East Bay Kindershul, leader of California Klezmer, and the President of KlezCalifornia. I am currently working on the Beregovski translation project.

We would add to this short bio, that Tenney together with Betty Albert-Shreck produced a popular Yiddish recording for children “Let’s Sing a Yiddish Song/Lomir zingen a yidish lid.” 

This is one of three Camp Kinderland hymns according to Tenney, and though there is at least one recording with a second verse, Tenney remembers only singing one.  Bitter and Suhl also together composed the humorous children’s song “Poyzn ayvi” [ Poison Ivy] which can be heard on the recording “Let’s Sing a Yiddish Song” 

You can hear other Kinderland alumni sing the song at this link. 

We invite readers of the blog to send in recordings of songs from their Yiddish camps. There are many that have never been recorded and are unknown to the larger Yiddish world.  

“Der vanderer: Geboyrn bin ikh in tsores un in leydn” Performed by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman

Der vanderer: Geboyrn bin ikh in tsores un in leydn /
The Wanderer: I was born with troubles and suffering
Sung by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman (LSW), recorded by Leybl Kahn, NYC 1954

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman follows the transcription and translation.

TRANSLITERATION / TRANSLATION

Geboyrn bin ikh in tsures in in leydn
in troyer in in yumer in in klug.
Fartribn bin ekh fin ale mayne freydn.
S’mir nisht lib kayn eyntsiker tug. 

I was born with troubles and suffering,
in sorrow and with tears and misfortune.
I’ve been driven away from all my joys:
Not one day of enjoyment have I had. 

Dus imglik traybt mekh arim iberal.
Es geyt mir oft mayn leybn oys.
Vus fara tug ze ikh in ayn argern fal.
Di hofenung – dus iz mayn malekh-hamus.

Bad luck has driven me everywhere;
Often has my life nearly ended
With each passing day I see something worse.
Hope has become my angel of death.

RefraIn:

Benken, benk ikh nukh mayn heymat shtark
Dortn shteyt mayn vigele, mayn rakh.
Vi lang ken ikh nokh zayn in na-venad.

Refrain:

I long so much for my home.
There is my crib, my realm.
How long can I still wander around?

Oy, di zin, di shants zeyer lib,
Dan sheynkeyt dayn lekht iz a prakht.
Nor mir eyner shantsti nebekh, trib.
ven bay dir iz tug, iz bay mir nakht. 

O, the sun, you shine with great pleasure.
Your beauty, your light is a splendor.
But for just me  your shine is gloomy.
When it is day for you, for me it is night. 

Di derkvikst ayeydn mit dayn frimorgn,
mit shpatsirn, luft in gezint.
Nor mekh eyner derkviksti mit zorgn.
Vayl ekh bin urem, a farvuglt kind.

You delight everyone with your morning,
with walks, air and health.
But for me alone, you “delight” with worries,
for I am poor, a homeless child.

Derkh der hofnung lad ekh nebekh noyt.
Fin alem bestn makht zi mekh umbikant.
Filaykht ervartert meykh der toyt,
Vil ikh shtarbn in man futerland.

On account of hope I suffer hardship.
It has made the best things unknown to me.
Maybe death awaits me,
so I want to die in my fatherland. 

Vayl benkn, benk ikh nukh mayn haymat shtark
Dortn shteyt mayn vigele, mayn rakh.
Vi lang ken ikh nokh zayn in na-venad?
Na-vad.

{Refrain}

I long so much for my home.
There is my crib, my realm.
How long can I still wander around?
Wander around.

The Germanisms in this song can only mean one thing – “Galicia”.  The Jews who lived in Austria-Hungarian Galicia before WWI and in its sister territory Bukovina, where singer Lifshe Schaechter Widman (LSW) was from, were fluent in German, sang German songs, and had no problem with German words in their Yiddish. A Yiddish writer I often associate with Galicia, Fradl Shtok (from Brody?), mentions this song in her story “Komediantn” (Gezamlte dertseylungen, 1919, p. 57.)  There, a street performer sings and plays on the flute – “Benken, benk ikh nokh mayn heymat…”. Unfortunately, she ends the song there.

“Over Vitebsk” by Marc Chagall, 1914

A printed version of this song, sung by Z. Goldstein, text and music, appears in Shloyme Prizament’s book Broder zinger (pages 163 – 164) with the same title that LSW uses to introduce the song “Der vanderer”. Other than the refrain, the words and music are quite different. The fact that both Goldstein and LSW call it with the same title, “The Wanderer”, indicates, in my opinion, that it is from a play or, more likely, a popular Broder zinger tavern performance (for a recent article on Broder zinger see the article “Broder Singers: Forerunners of the Yiddish Theater” by Amanda [Miryem-Khaye] Seigel).

The song became a beggar’s song at some point. In volume 8, #22 in the CD series Historical Collection of Jewish Musical Folklore 1912 – 1947 produced by the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, Kiev,  the singer Yeshaya Khazan, recorded in 1939, sings a similar version to LSW. Khazan refers to this as a beggar song and his emotional performance, punctuated with “oy veys!” bears this out.

A longer printed version of the song, and one that is closest to LSW’s version, can be found in the collection of folk poetry Zeks yidishe folks lider (Six Yiddish folks songs) by  L. M. Graboys (or Groboys), Kishinev, 1900.

Here the song is entitled “Benken benk ikh”. Though the author implies that he is the author of all the songs in the collection, this is doubtful. The first song “Der bal-dover mit dem khoyle”  [the devil and the sick one] is a long version of the old ballad “Der lomp vert farloshn”, (listen to LSW’s version of this on Yiddish Song of the Week posted in 2011) which Graboys/Groboys certainly did not write. 

One word gave me particular trouble in this song. In the refrain, all of the sources except LSW sing “Dortn iz  mayn vigele, mayn rekht”. What is meant by “rekht” in this context? I have heard many suggestions: birthright, citizenship, rights, among them. All are possible, though I have never heard “rekht” used that way with this syntax. LSW sings a different word which I hear as “raykh” (“reich” in German) and translate as “realm”.

During the short discussion after the song between collector Leybl Kahn and LSW, she clarifies that it is not a Zionist song. 

Special thanks this week to Eliezer Niborski.

“Ven di zun iz mir fargangen” Performed by Avi Fuhrman

Ven di zun iz mir fargangen / When the sun has set
A Chanukah Song sung by Avi Fuhrman
Recorded at Circle Lodge, NY, 1984 by Itzik Gottesman

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman

Avi Fuhrman (aka Avrom, Avraham, Abraham) learned this Chanukah song from his father in the 1930s in Chernovitz (then Romania, today – Ukraine). We have yet not been able to identify the writer or composer.

Avi Fuhrman

“Maoz tsur” is usually translated as “Rock of Ages” but literally – “Stronghold of Rock”. The rock is usually interpreted as God.  

In Fuhrman’s native Bukovina Yiddish dialect “maoz tsur” is pronounced “muez tsir”. But in this performance Fuhrman sings “Muez tsur” which does not rhyme with the intended rhyming words: “shir” “mir” “frier”.

Special thanks this week to Eliezer Niborski who helped with the transcription. 

TRANSLITERATION AND TRANSLATION

Ven di zin iz mir fargangen,
kalt in fintster iz di nakht.
Un di shterndlekh fun deym himl
hobn zeyere eygelekh farmakht.

When the sun has set for me,
cold and dark is the night
And the stars of sky
have closed their eyes.

Ikh ken keyn veyg shoyn nit gefinen.
Ikh blondzhe, blondzhe un a shir.
Hob ikh mir a lekhtele ungetsindn,
dos lekhtele heyst dokh muez tsur.

I cannot find any path;
I wander, lost without stop.
So I lit a candle
and the candle is called maoz tsur. 

Un ikh lern mir bay dem lekhtele
bleter groyse, mit oysyes fil.
Un dervarem mir derbay dem kerper,
vayl es vert mir shreklekh kil.

And I study at my candle
large pages full of letters.
And it warms my body,
because I feel so terribly cool.

Bald farges ikh mayne tsores
vos ikh trug arim oyf mir.
Un ikh zing mir in mayn goles,
zey, vus shvaygstu muez tsur?

Soon I forget my troubles
that I carry around with me.
And I sing in my exile:
See, why silent maoz tsur?

Grekn zenen mir bafaln,
mit zeyere tume hent.
Farumreynikt undzer templ
undzer leybn hobn zey geshendt.

Greeks attacked me
with their polluting hands.
They made filthy our Temple;
our life they defiled.

Zey hobn toyte shtume gotn
ahin arayngeshtelt tsu mir.
Ikh hob far veytik oysgeshrign:
“Zey, vos shvaygstu muez tsur?”

They placed dead, silent gods
in there for me.
From pain I shouted out:
Look! Why are you silent maoz tsur. 

Der barimter Makabeyer
Khashmonoyim mit zayne zin.

[Fuhrman speaks – “Vayter gedenk ikh nisht di verter”]

The famous Maccabee
of the Hasmoneum, and his sons.

Zey hobn dem soyne bald fartribn,
dem templ reyn gemakht vi frier.
Ikh hob far freyd oysgeshrien,
Zey, vos shvaygstu muez tsur?

They drove the enemies away.
The Temple they restored.
For joy I shouted out:
See, why are you silent maoz tsur?

Fuhrman: [spoken] Vus se feylt darfsti aleyn zikhn.

Whatever is missing, you have to find yourself.

“Di farfirte” Performed by Leo Summergrad

Di farfirte / The Woman Who was Led Astray
Words and (music?) by Morris Rosenfeld
Sung and recorded by Leo Summergrad

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman

This poem appears in the first volume of Morris Rosenfeld’s  (1862 – 1923)  poetry. Leo Summergrad learned it from his mother and I have only found one reference to the song: a query in Chana and Yosl Mlotek’s Forverts column “Leyner dermonen zikh lider”. But the two compilers had never heard of the song.

Leo Summergrad’s mother, Minnie, and father, Abram Summergrad, on the right side. His in-laws Moishe and Esther Korduner are on the left.

Rosenfeld’s original poem is composed of three 14-line stanzas and we have printed it this way, though in Summerfeld’s handwritten transcription, which we attached, he has divided it into the more common 4 line stanzas. We are also attaching the printed version from Volume I of Rosenfeld’s collected works.

Though we are not sure who composed the music, we do know that Rosenfeld composed melodies to his poetry and sang them at readings.

Thanks to Leo Summergrad for contributing this recording.

1
Gedenkstu vi du host mir libe geshvorn,
gegrint hot der eplboym tsvishn di korn.
Der foygl hot ruik geblikt fun di tsvaygn
un ales arum iz gelegn in shvaygn.
O, ver hot es damolst gevust dayn kavone.
Geshtumt hobn himl un erd un levone.
Ven du host geshvorn far mir mit a fayer,
az eybik farblaybstu mayn eyntsik getrayer.
Du hot mikh farkisheft, du host mikh batrunken.
Ikh bin vi batoybt in dayn orems gezunken.
O, dan iz dayn umreyner vuntsh dir gelungen.
Du host in mayn heyliktum frekh ayngedrungen.
Mayn ere geroybt un mayn lebn tserisn.
Mikh biter baleydikt un endlikh farshmisn.

Do you remember, you swore your love for me.
The apple tree was greening among the rye.
The bird calmly watched us from the branches
and everything around us lay in silence.
O, who could then have known your intention.
Silent were heaven and earth and the moon,
when you swore to me with a fire,
that eternally you would remain my one true one.
You cast a spell on me; you intoxicated me.
I was as if deaf when i lay in your arms.
O, then you succeeded with your filthy desire;
into my sacred shrine you insolently penetrated.
You robbed me of my honor and tore my life apart.
Insulted me bitterly and finally whipped me.

2
Bin orm un elnt vos darfstu zikh shtern?
Fleg ikh bay dir shtendik zikh betn mit trern.
Un du bist dokh raykh un gebildet un eydl.
Gey zukh dir a shenere, raykhere meydl.
O, zol mir der fayer fun elnt farbrenen,
fleg ikh tsu dir zogn du darfst mikh nit kenen.
Farges on mayn sheynkeyt, ikh darf nit keyn gvires.
O loz mikh in armut, ikh zukh keyn ashires.
Gedenkstu di nakht ven mir zaynen gegangen
der mond iz vi zilber in himl gehangen.
Fun goldene shtern bakranst undzer svive
vos hobn geshmeykhlt vi kinder nayive.
Gedenkstu yene nakht? O, du darfst ir gedenken.
Ikh shenk es dir, Got zol in himl dir shenken.

I am poor and alone, why bother yourself.
I had always with tears pleaded with you.
Yet you are wealthy, educated and gentle.
Go find yourself a prettier, richer girl.
O, let the fire of loneliness burn me up,
I used to say to you, you should not know me.
Forget about my beauty; I need no valor.
Leave me poor, I do not search for riches.
Do you remember the night when we walked;
the moon was like silver hanging in the sky.
Golden stars crowned our surroundings
and smiled like naive children.
Do you remember that night? O, you should remember it.
I give it to you as a gift; God should give you it as a gift in heaven.

3
Ikh hob zikh bay dir mit rakhmones gebetn.
O, rays mikh nit oys vest mikh shpeter tsetretn.
O, loz mikh! ikh vel mir tsvishn di mashinen
an erlekhn man, a gelibtn gefinen.
A shapmeydl bin ikh, vos hob ikh tsu klaybn.
Bin orem geborn, vel orem farblaybn.
Dokh, du host mit zise un kuntsike verter
geshvorn az du nor muzst zayn mayn basherter.
Tsu sheyn bin ikh, hostu gezogt, tsu farvyanen
far mir iz a beseres lebn faranen.
Gedenkstu di nakht tsi iz lang shoyn fargangen
der vint hot koym vos geshoklt di zangen.
Arum di natur hot gekukt un geshvign
o, ver hot gerekhnt du zolst mikh batribn.

With compassion I pleaded with you.
O, don’t tear me out; stomp on me later.
O, leave me, so that among the machines
I will find an honest man, a lover.
I’m a shopgirl, what is my choice –
I am poor and will remain poor.
Still, with sweet and artful words
you swore that you must be my destined one.
Too beautiful am I, you said, to every wilt.
For me there is a better life awaiting.
Do you remember the night or is it far in the past?
The wind barely moved the stalks.
The nature around watched and was silent.
O who would have thought you would sadden me so.

4
Atsind zogstu vilstu mikh mer nit bagegenen
ikh hob derkegn, ikh kum zikh gezegenen.
Ikh veys az du gist zikh an anderer iber.
Nu, vintsh ikh dir, mazel-tov, mazl mayn liber.
Du bist keyn bal-khayim, dayn shem iz genezn
Di shuld zi iz mayne, yo, mayne gevezn.
Ikh hob nit gegloybt az du vest mikh baroybn
Ikh hob nit gevust nokh dem umglik fun gloybn.
Ikh hob nokh di mentshn genoy nit bagrifn.
Ikh hob nit gevust az di tsung iz geshifn.
Neyn, du bist nit shuldik; Ikh kum dir fartsayen
Ikh vil dikh farlozn, ikh vil dikh bafrayen.
Vi kum ikh, an oysvorf, in elnt geshlosn
farlangen mayn maysters a zun far a khosn?

Now you say you no longer want to see me.
I, to the contrary, come to bid farewell.
I know that you now love another:
so I wish you good luck and good fortune my love.
You are a living creature, your name will recover.
Guilty am I, yes I was the guilty one.
I did not believe that you would rob me.
I did not know of the tragedy in believing.
I did not know that the tongue is sharpened.
No, you are not guilty; I come to ask your pardon.
I want to leave you; I want to liberate you.
How could I, an outcast, trapped in loneliness,
ask my boss’s son to be my groom?

“S’iz shvarts in himl” Performed by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman

S’iz shvarts in himl / The Sky is Black by Avrom Goldfaden
Sung by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman.
Recorded by Leybl Kahn, Bronx 1954

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman: 

This song about Rebecca in the Bible is a folklorized version of a song written by Avrom Goldfaden. It appears, text only, in his volume Dos yidele, where it is called “Rivkes toyt” (Rebecca’s Death, see scans below). Before the poem, Goldfaden gives this introduction:

In the midrash it says: When Rebecca died, they had to bury her at night so that Esau would not see and follow her to the burial. For if he did so, she would be cursed for having such a son. Jacob had run away to Horon and Isaac was too old. So no one accompanied her at her funeral. 

“Rebecca at the Well”, painting by Corot, 1839

The midrash addresses the question – why was Rebecca’s death not mentioned in the Torah?

Goldfaden was a master of creating songs that resonated with Yiddish folklore. Though this song is about Biblical figures, it resembles a typical Yiddish orphan song. The second line “S’iz a pakhed af der gas aroystsugeyn” (It is a fright to go out in the street) is the exact same as the second line in the ballad “Fintser glitshik shpeyt ba der nakht“, the first song ever presented on Yiddish Song of the Week. And the last line “Elnt blaybsti du vi a shteyn” (Alone you remain like a stone) is found in other Yiddish orphan songs. In this case, biblical Jacob is the orphan. LSW, in her slow, emotional and mournful style, sings this song about Biblical characters as if it reflected a contemporary, local tragedy.

Two textual changes worth noting:

1) Instead of Goldfaden’s “A mes, a mes” א מת, א מת  (A corpse, a corpse), Lifshe sings “emes, emes” (true, true) אמת אמת. which just by combining the two words into one word, changes the meaning completely. This reminds us of the Golem legend in which “emes” אמת [truth] was written on the Golem’s forehead, but when he was no longer needed, the rabbi wiped off the first letter, the alef א and the Golem became dead מת

2) LSW sings “miter Rukhl” (mother Rachel) instead of “miter Rivke” (mother Rebecca). This can be explained, I believe, by the fact that the appellation “muter/miter Rukhl” is far more common than “muter Rivke”. I  did a Google Search in Yiddish to compare both and “muter Rukhl” won 453 – 65. The Yiddish folksinger would have found the phrase “muter Rivke” strange to the ear. In addition, the matriarch Rachel also had an unusual burial: she was buried far from home, on the road to Efrat, and therefore all alone, as Rebecca.

In the papers of the YIVO Ethnographic Commission there is a version of the song collected in the 1920s or 1930s, singer, collector and town unknown. There too the singer changed “a mes” to “emes” but sang Rivke not Rukhl.

TRANSLITERATION

S’iz shvarts in himl me zeyt nit kayn shtern.
S’iz a pakhid af der gas aroystsugeyn.
Shvartse volkn gisn heyse trern
un der vint, er bluzt mit eyn geveyn.

Emes, emes, ersht nisht lang geshtorbn.
Etlekhe mentshn geyen trit ba trit.
Me trugt deym toytn, ersht a frishn korbn:
indzer miter Rukhl, ver ken zi nit?

Yankl iz dekh fin der heym antlofn.
Er shluft dekh dort af deym altn shteyn.
Shtey of di yusem! Di host dekh shoyn keyn mame nisht.
Elnt blabsti du vi a shteyn.

TRANSLATION

The sky is black, no stars can be seen.
It’s a fright to go out in the street.
Black clouds gush hot tears
and the wind blows with a great cry.

True, true she died not long ago.
Several people walked step by step.
They carry the deceased, a fresh sacrifice:
our mother Rukhl, who doesn’t know her?

Jacob had run away from home.
He sleeps on that old rock.
Wake up you orphan! You no longer have a mother.
You remain alone like a stone.

From Goldfadn’s Dos yidele, 1891:

“Der nakhtvekhter” Performed by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman

Der nakhtvekhter / The Night Watchman
Words by Avrom Reyzen, performance by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman
Recorded by Itzik Gottesman, 1980s Bronx

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman.

Beyle Schaechter Gottesman (BSG) remembers learning this song in Jewish school in Chernovitz, Romania in the 1930s. She attended two schools: the Morgnroyt, a Bundist (socialist) school, every day after Romanian public school. On Sundays she attended the Yidisher shul-fareyn which was more left. She remembers learning Nakhtvekhter  at the Morgnroyt school.

 The words are by Avrom Reyzen (1876 – 1953), a beloved Yiddish writer whose poetry was often turned into song.  In Reisin’s volume of selected poetry (Di lider, 1951) he placed this poem among his earliest, so we can assume it was written around the turn of the century.  We are attaching a scan of the words as they appear in that volume. BSG’s version varies slightly.  When she repeats the last two lines of each verse, she corrects herself twice when she felt she had sung those lines incorrectly the first time.

I have not found any recordings yet. Paul Lamkoff composed a different melody to the poem and it can be heard at the Milken Archive of Jewish Music.

Der nakhtvekhter

Shpeyt di nakht iz kalt in fintster.
Neypldik in nas.
In di hayzer ruen ale
shtil un toyt in gas
In di hayzer ruen ale
toyt in shtim in gas.

Elnt shlept zikh nokh der vekhter
of der gas arim.
in di shtile hayzer kikt er
troyerik in shtim.
In di shtile hayzer kikt er
troyerik in shtim.

Dort in veykhn varem betl
shluft zikh azoy git.
Oy, vi voltn mayne beyner
Dort zikh oysrerit.
Oy, vi voltn mayne beyner
Dort zikh oysrerit.

In er klugt zikh farn himl –
zey mayn troyer tsi!
Ikh aleyn hob gornisht, hit ikh
yenems shluf un ri.
Ikh aleyn hob gornisht, hit ikh
yenems gits un ri.

The Night Watchman

Late at night, it’s cold and dark,
foggy and wet.
In the houses all are resting
Silent and dead on the street.
In the houses all are resting
dead and silent on the street.

Alone, the watchman drags himself
along the street.
He looks into the quiet houses
sadly and silently.
He looks into the quiet houses
sadly and silently.

There in a soft warm bed
one sleeps so well.
Oh, how my bones would
love to rest there.
Oh, how my bones would
love to rest there.

And he laments to the heavens –
witness my sorrow!
I myself have nothing, so I guard
another’s sleep and rest.
I myself have nothing, so I watch
another’s goods and rest.

“Di levune shaynt in der fintsterer nakht” Performed by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman

Di levune shaynt in der fintsterer nakht
The moon shines in the dark night
Sung by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman
Recorded by Leybl Kahn, Bronx 1954

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman

Lifshe Schaechter-Widman with her 2nd husband, Isaac Widman,
approximately at the time of the recording of this song, 1950s. 

This lyrical love song from the man’s perspective contrasts with the ballads in Lifshe Schaechter Widman’s repertoire which have a single narrative plot. The three verses barely relate to each other other than the two lines about sending letters that connect the second and third verse, and the reptition of the woman’s name Libele. As in most lyrical songs, the song emphasizes the emotion rather than the storyline. The lines about swimming in a deep river would usually signal an upcoming tragedy but nothing is made of it.

TRANSLITERATION

Di levune shaynt in der fintsterer nakht.
Libele zitst dort baym fentster un trakht.
Es dakht zikh ir az Itzikl geyt
in nayem mantl ungetin.

Gebudn hob ikh mikh in a takhele.
Dus takhlele iz geveyzn tif.
Veyn nit, veyn nit Libele,
ikh vel dir shikn briv.

Brivelekh vel ikh dir shikn.
Brivelekh vesti leynen.
Az ikh vel mekh dermanen in dan tayer zis punim,
klugn vel ikh in veynen.

TRANSLATION

The moon shines in the dark night.
Libele sits there at the window and thinks.
She imagines that Itzikl is coming
dressed in a new coat.

I was bathing in a river;
the river was deep.
Don’t cry, don’t cry Libele,
I will send you letters.

Letters I will send you
Letters you will read.
And when I think of your dear, sweet face,
I will lament and cry.

A Second Melody for “Katshke grin” Performed by Abba Rubin

A Second Melody for “Katshke grin”
Performed by Abba Rubin, recorded by Rachel Rubin 1991.

Commentary by Itzik Gottesman.

The Yiddish children’s song “Katshke grin”, also known as “Geyt arum a grine katshke” and “Grine katshke”,  has been recorded but with a different melody. This week we present a previously unknown melody for the song. The singer, Abba Rubin, was recorded by his daughter Rachel Rubin at the same field recording session as the previously posted Burekes af Peysekh in 1991.

The words to Katshke grin were written by artist and writer Zuni Maud (1891 – 1956) and printed in Kinder Zhurnal, a monthly Yiddish children’s magazine published by the Sholem Aleichem Folk Institute in NYC, where he often contributed poetry and drawings.

Zuni Maud’s frequent collaborator was artist/writer Yosl Cutler and together they created the first successful Yiddish puppet theater Modicut (1925 – 1933) in NY. According to Edward Portnoy who wrote on the radical Modicut troupe, Mikhl Gelbart and Moyshe Rappaport wrote much of the music for Modicut, so perhaps one of them was the composer of one or both of the melodies.

Mariam Nirenberg sings Grine katshke with another melody on her record Folksongs in the East European Tradition: Mariam Nirenberg (Global Village GV M117).  You can hear Niremberg’s version on iTunes. She only sings one verse and the duck has a red nose, not a broad one as in Rubin’s version. Nirenberg emigrated from her town Czarnawcyce, Poland (Yiddish = Tsharnovtshits) to Canada in 1932.

The song, with Nirenberg’s melody, become more popular recently thanks to the CD recording Di grine katshke/The Green Duck (Living Traditions, 1997).  There it is sung with four verses by Henry Sapoznik.

Thanks for their help for this week’s post go to Abba Rubin, Edward Portnoy and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett. 

TRANSLITERATION

Katshke grin, breyte noz
un keyner veyst nisht vos iz dos.

Geyt arum a grine katshke,
geyt arum un trakht.
volt zi davenen shakhris
falt shoyn tsu di nakht.

Katshke grin, breyte noz
un keyner veyst nisht vos iz dos.

Geyt arum a grine katshke
geyt arum un kayt.
Volt zi brokn lokshn
hot zi nit keyn tsayt.

Katshke grin, breyte noz
un keyner veyst nisht vos iz dos.

Geyt arum a grine katshke
mit a breyter noz.
Volt zi shmekn tabak
hot zi nisht mit vos.

Kashke grin, breyte noz
un keyner veyst nisht vos iz dos.

TRANSLATION

Green duck, wide nose,
and no one knows what this is.

A green duck wanders,
wanders and thinks:
She would pray the morning prayers
but night has just fallen.

Green duck, wide nose,
and no one knows what this is.

A green duck wanders,
wanders and chews.
She would cut up the noodles,
but she doesn’t have the time.

Green duck, wide nose,
and no one knows what this is.

A green duck wanders,
with a wide nose.
She would smell tobacco,
but she doesn’t have with what.

Green duck, wide nose,
and no one knows what this is.