Monday, November 2, 2009
!זינג, וועלוול זינג
Velvel sings it a bit different than the words that follow here, probably since he's doing it from memory. I guess when he says "how are you all going," he's using a Yiddishism, which would probably be "vi geit es eich" in Yiddish. Cute. The written version was sent to me by a reader and is printed in a Jewish rhyme collection published in pre-WW2 Warsaw. It seems like after the war - or maybe still during - that sentences about the Deitschen were added. Velvel sings them beautifully, with the necessary "Marik and Karig" for מארק און קארג. We have yet to figure out what "gilkes" are, maybe crutches. The rhymes are to be sung in the Polish/Galician accent, where "Ku" becomes "Kee" and so on.
אלה תולדות נח,
פֿון בראנפען קריגט מען כח,
אַ גלעזעלע ווייַן איז דער עיקר,
פֿון בראָנפען ווערט מען שכּור.
אבֿ איז א פֿאָטער,
קדר איז א טאָטער,
אַ טאָטער איז א קדר,
בגדים זענען קליידער,
קליידער זענען בגדים,
רויט איז אדום,
אדום איז רויט,
לחם איז ברויט,
ברויט איז לחם,
טראַכט הייסט רחם,
רחם איז טראכט,
שמונה איז אַכט,
אַכט איז שמונה,
אַ טויב הייסט יונה,
יונה איז אַ טויב,
מצנפת איז אַ הויב,
אַ הויב איז מצנפת,
אַ שטאַל הייסט רפת,
רפת איז א שטאַל,
מרה איז א גאַל,
אַ גאַל הייסט מרה,
אַ קו הייסט פרה,
פרה איז אַ קו,
בֹקר איז אין דער פֿרי,
אין דער פֿרי איז בֹקר,
טייַער הייסט יוקר,
יוקר איז טייַער,
אש איז פֿייַער,
פֿייער איז אש,
בשר איז פֿלייש,
פֿלייש איז בשר,
חזיר איז אָסור,
אָסור איז חזיר,
מים איז וואַסער,
וואַסער איז מים,
לאָמיר ביידע טרינקען לחיים
Velvel adds:
לחיים לאמיר טרינקן
אלע דייטשן זאלען ווערן פארזינקן
פארזינקן זאלען זיי ווערן
אויפ'ן מארק זאלען זיי קערן
קערן זאלען זיי אויפ'ן מארק
צוברעכן זאלען זיי דעם קארג
דעם קארג זאלען זיי צוברעכן
מיט שפילקעס וועלן מיר זיי שטעכן
שטעכן וועלן מיר זיי מיט שפילקעס
און גייען זאלען זיי מיט גילקעס
אויף גילקעס זאלען זיי גיין
ונאמר אמן
My wife's great-uncle used to sing every purim a similar related verse rhyme he called his "peerim-toire" that he learnt in cheder in Minkatch...I always told myself that I would tape record it, and nebech, I never did, and now he is no longer with us. Perhaps someone in the audience would know what I am talking about, and could post it. It started with "Vyhee beemai achashveiresh" and went all over the place from the pesach seder to davenen, etc, etc.
ReplyDeleteMarried to Minkatcher
that, I believe, is a Purim kiddush. I heard it too as a kid.
ReplyDeleteThere are very few people left whose yiddish is rich enough to compose extra verses like that. We should appreciate them while they're still around.
ReplyDeleteWho is Uncle Velvel?
ReplyDeleteI did not get one of the last verses "Deym karg zolen zei tzebrechen"
They should break what? Karg usually means stingy or almost as in "a kargeh toizent" what does it mean here?
karg is a neck
ReplyDeleteThanks
ReplyDeleteActually after checking in my Weinreich yiddish dictionary it's spelled with a kuf,KARK.
Hirshel what did you see in this childish silly "song".
ReplyDeleteOy vey iz mir!
Are you running out of material that you have to stoop so low?
C'mon such good Carlebach stuff, l'regel the 15 yahrtzait.
One of nicer ones is a kumzitz in Lakewood here: http://www.thelakewoodscoop.com/news/2009/11/videos-of-the-carlebach-kumzitz-in-honor-of-his-yuhrtzeit.html
How is tracht rechem?
ReplyDeleteI heard this in cheder many years ago (with a different tune) but had forgotten most of it. Thanks for putting it up.
the Lipa that everyone loves to hate has a lot of talent with the Yidisher Shprach
ReplyDeleteLove it.
ReplyDeleteUncle Velvel is a teacher and children's entertainer in Sydney, Australia.
ReplyDeleteHirschel,
ReplyDeleteDid you check out these pics, the Tzanzer in Netanyas' wedding with Insdorfer from Montreal, riding horses to the chipeh?
http://www.bhol.co.il/news_read.asp?id=13222&cat_id=2
What do you think?
So maybe the story with the KKotzker is true??
ReplyDeleteUncel Velevel Is Mr ledderman from Sydney Australia. Hes been teaching little boys in Sydney for many years.
ReplyDeleteHe has many children s tapes, though i don't think any of them are in Yiddish.
"How are you going?" is not a Yiddishism, it's normal English, at least in Australia.
ReplyDeleteas a son of uncle velvel may i take the liberty of saying that a) he does have a yiddish cassette, composed of alot of his fathers my grandafthers songs from the heim in lodz pre war, my father is a 6th generation chazan and my grandafther was the first chazan at mizrachi in sydney for any of you who may know it, for those of you who think this song is childish i can only assume that its due to your ignorance or inappreciation in yiddish and or poetry in general. ill send my dad this site so he can respond himself
ReplyDeleteThank you for publishing this song. My Zeideh used to sing it twice a year. 1) on Purim and 2) Every year shabbes parshas Noach. He is in Oliom ho-emes and It will be great to be able to pass along this tradition to my kids.
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