JoansYiddishBlog

While the Yiddish version of This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie (and posted here) appears to have the work of other translators, I did not want to neglect to mention that Woody Guthrie, who wrote this and so many other songs, was the son-in-law of Aliza Greenblatt, a well-known Yiddish poet. They reportedly had a close relationship and I'm still trying to learn more about this!

Read more about her here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliza_Greenblatt

And scroll past the "merchandise" to read this interesting account:

https://www.woodyguthrie.org/merchandise/klezmatics.htm

Here's an excerpt from that website:

The Yiddish Connection

Guthrie’s Jewish lyrics can be traced to the unusual collaborative relationship he had with his mother-in-law, Aliza Greenblatt, a prominent Yiddish poet who lived across from Guthrie and his family in Brooklyn in the 1940s. Guthrie – the Oklahoma troubadour – and Greenblatt – the Jewish wordsmith – often discussed their artistic projects and critiqued each other’s works, finding common ground in their shared love of culture and social justice, despite very different backgrounds. Their collaboration flourished in 1940s Brooklyn, where Jewish culture was interwoven with music, modern dance, poetry and anti-fascist, pro-labor activism.

Woody Guthrie’s Jewish lyrics came as a surprise to Nora Guthrie, director of the Woody Guthrie Archives and Woody’s daughter. She became aware of his connection to Judaism only recently, in a chance encounter with the Klezmatics and Itzhak Perlman. Following a concert at Tanglewood, where (unbeknownst to Nora) Perlman and the band had performed some of Greenblatt’s Yiddish songs, Guthrie was introduced to Perlman as “Aliza’s granddaughter.” She recalls, “All my life, I’ve been introduced as Woody’s daughter, Arlo’s sister and Marjorie Mazia’s daughter…but this was the first time I’d ever been introduced as ’Aliza Greenblatt’s granddaughter!’ Then Itzhak asked me how I liked his version of Aliza’s song – I almost fell through the floor. I never knew she wrote songs – I always thought she was just my Bubbie!” The revelation about her grandmother’s history encouraged Nora Guthrie to bring her father’s Jewish songs to light, and she enlisted the Klezmatics – one of the world’s preeminent klezmer groups – in the project that comes to fruition in this concert at the 92nd Street Y.

The Klezmatics perform around the world, and wrote music for Tony Kushner’s A Dybbuk and Pilobolus Dance Theater’s Davenen. They have recorded twice with Itzhak Perlman and collaborated with poet Allen Ginsberg and Morocco’s Master Musicians of Jajouka. Their latest CD, Rise Up! Shteyt Oyf! (Rounder) was released in September to critical acclaim, particularly for their bilingual version of Holly Near's anti-fundamentalist "I Ain't Afraid."

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Tuesday, May 11, 2021

HULYET HULYET BEYZE VINTN (ANOTHER TRANSLATION)

Hulyet hulyet, beyze vintn, frei bahersht di velt

Brekht di tsvaygn, varft di beymer, tut vos aykh gefelt

Traybt di feygl fun di felder un faryogt zey fort

Di vos kenen vayt nisht flien, teyt zey afn ort

Rayst di lodn fun di hayzlekh, shoybn brekht aroys

Brent a likhtl ergets tunkl, lesht mit tsorn oys

Hulyet hulyet, beyze vintn, itst iz ayer tsayt

Lang vet doyern der vinter, zumer iz nokh vayt

Lang vet doyern nisht der vinter, zumer iz nisht vayt

Wailing, wailing winds of evil, play upon the land

Fell the trees and break the branches by your raging hand

Roust the birds from quiet meadows, let them seek to fly

If a wing is weak or broken, crush them as they try

Rend the doors off all the hinges, shatter every pane

If in darkness shines a flicker, kill the fucking flame

Wailing, wailing winds of evil, while your time is nigh

Long will winter keep the light of summer from the sky

words Avrum Reisen

music Mikhl Gelbart

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Monday, May 10, 2021

HULYET, HULYET BEYZE VINTN

From the time of the most evil winds in the most evil winter.

Words: Avrum Reisen; Music: Michl Gelbart

This copy is from the Yiddish Song Project:

http://www.yiddishsongproject.com

at: http://www.yiddishsongproject.com/view_song/Tsum%20vinter/29

And elsewhere online as well.

(Unfortunately the links do not work from this blog, but you can hear it elsewhere online. See: Hulyet Hulyet Beze Vintn.

(Please note: this is an entirely different song from Hulyet, Hulyet Kinderlekh found elsewhere in this blog!)

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Grine Kuzine

'Di Grine Kuzine,' or 'My Greenhorn Cousin' by A. Schwartz and/or Hyman Prizant in 1922

Mostly as translated at Yidlid.org:

To me has come a cousin, beautiful as gold she was, the greenhorn!

Cheeks like red oranges, feet begging to dance!

Hair like a web of silken locks, teeth like polished pearls,

Eyes the blue of a spring sky, lips like a pair of cherries!

She didn't walk, she leaped. She didn't talk, she sang.

Happy, joyful was her face, Thus was my cousin!

I went to my next door neighbor who had a millenary store.

A job I found for my cousin! Long live Columbus's golden land!

Many years have flown by, my cousin has become a ruin.

She received "pay-days" all year long, till nothing was left of her.

Under her beautiful blue eyes, black rings have stretched.

Her checks, those red oranges, turned completely green!

Now when I meet my cousin, And ask her, "How are you, greenhorn?"

She answers, making a face: May Columbus' land burn to ashes!!

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Wednesday, March 24, 2021

All Day All Night Mary Ann by KFT

A gantsn tog, a gantse nakht Miriam

Shpilt zikh mitn zamd baym breg yam.

Kleyne kinder shpiln zikh mit Miriam

A gantsn tog inem zamd mit Miriam.

Miriam, oy Miriam khívil zolst mayne zayn

Mirn zikh freyen un trinken kosher vayn

Mirn hobn khasene un kinder on a shir,

Miriam, oy Miriam, Ikh vil zayn mit dir.

___________

Rock Around the Clock -- Rokn arum di Zeyger

ראָקן אַרום דעם זײגער

Yiddish Lyrics by Khane-Faygl Turtletaub

אײנס, צװײ, דרײַ אַ זײגער, פֿיר אַ זײגער – קנאַק!

פֿינף, זעקס, זיבן אַ זײגער, אַכט אַ זײגער – האַק!

נײַן, צען, עלף אַ זײגער, צװעלף אַ זײגער – שלאַק!

מיר װעלן הוליען ביזן טאָג אַרײַן!

טו זיך אָן גאָר פֿײַן־אַ קלײדל, אַ שײנס,

מיר װעלן גוט פֿאַרברענגען װען דער זײגער שלאָגט אײנס!

מיר װעלן הוליען ביזן טאָג אַרײַן,

ביז מיר זעען זונענשײַן,

מיר װעלן טאַנצן, זינגען, און טרינקען כּשר װײַן!

װען דער זײגער שלאָגט צװײ, דרײַ און פֿיר,

די קאַפּעליע װעט שפּילן אָן אַ שיעור!

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װען די גלאָקן שלאָגן פֿינף, זעקס און זיבן,

װעלן מיר אַלע טוען דאָס װאָס מיר ליבן

———————————————————

װען ס'איז אַכט, נײַן, צען, און עלפֿע אױך

װעלן מיר נאָך זײַן שטאַרק, ס'װעט גײן אַ רױך,

װען דער זײגער שלאָגט צװעלף, גיבן מ,יר אַ לאַך

װײַל מיר הײבן אָן נאָך אַ מאָל די גאַנצע זאַך!

Rokn Arum dem Zeyger

Yiddish Lyrics (c) Khane-Faygl Turtletaub

Eyns, tzvey, dray a zeyger, fir a zeyger – knak!

Finf, zeks, zibn a zeyger, akht a zeyger – hak!

Nayn, tsen elf a zeyger, tsvelf a zeyger –shlak!

Mir veln hulyen bizn tog arayn!

Tu zikh on gor fayn-a kleydl a-sheyns,

Mir veln gut farbrengen ven der zeyger shlogt eyns!

Mir veln hulyen bizn tog arayn,

Biz mir zeen zunenshayn,

Mir veln tantsn, zingen, un trinken kosher vayn!

Ven der zeyger shlogt tsvey, dray un fir,

Di kapelye vet shpiln on a shir!

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Ven di glokn shlogn finf, zeks un zibn,

Veln mir ale tuen dos vos mir libn!

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Ven s’iz akht, nayn, tsen un elfe oykh,

Veln mir nokh zayn shtark, s’vet geyn a roykh!

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Ven der zeyger shlogt tsvelf, gibn mir a lakh,

Vayl mir heybn on nokh a mol di gantse zakh!

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Roughly this translates as:

1, 2, 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock, bang!

We'll party until daylight,

Put on your best clothes,

We're going to enjoy ourselves when the clock strikes one!

Until we see sunshine!

We're going to dance, sing and drink kosher wine.

When the clock strikes two, three and four,

The band will play without stopping!

When the bells strike five, six and seven,

We'll do whatever we like!

When it's eight, nine, ten and also eleven,

We'll still be going strong and making a big racket!

When the clock strikes twelve we'll give a laugh,

Because we'll start the whole thing all over again!

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Here are the original lyrics as popularized by

Bill Haley and the Comets!

One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock, rock,

Five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock, rock,

Nine, ten, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock, rock,

We're gonna rock around the clock tonight.

Put your glad rags on and join me, hon,

We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one,