Zog Nicht Keynmol in English

ZOG NIT KEYNMOL AZ DU GEYST DEM LETSTN VEG

‘Zog nit keynmol az du geyst dem letstn veg' (Never say that you are walking the final road), also known as ‘The Partisans' Song’, is perhaps the best-known of the Yiddish songs created during the Holocaust. It was written by the young Vilna poet Hirsh Glik, and based on a pre-existing melody by the Soviet-Jewish composer Dimitri Pokrass. Inspired by the news of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, the song was adopted as the official anthem of the Vilna partisans shortly after it was composed in 1943, and spread with remarkable rapidity to other ghettos and camps.  The song is powerful and defiantly optimistic, acknowledging Jewish suffering in the past and present, and urging the Jewish people to continue fighting for their survival. It is one of the most frequently performed songs at Holocaust commemoration ceremonies.

Never say that you are walking the final road,
Though leaden skies obscure blue days;
The hour we have been longing for will still come,
Our steps will drum – we are here! 

From green palm-land to distant land of snow,
We arrive with our pain, with our sorrow,
And where a spurt of our blood has fallen,
There will sprout our strength, our courage. 

The morning sun will tinge our today with gold,
And yesterday will vanish with the enemy,
But if the sun and the dawn are delayed –
Like a watchword this song will go from generation to generation. 

This song is written with blood and not with lead,
It’s not a song about a bird that is free,
A people, between falling walls,
Sang this song with pistols in their hands.

So never say that you are walking the final road
Though leaden skies obscure blue days.
The hour we have been longing for will still come –
Our steps will drum – we are here! 

Reference: Shirli Gilbert, Music in the Holocaust: Confronting Life in the Nazi Ghettos and Camps, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 71.

See 'Jewish Culture During the Shoah' website (Yivo) for a Yiddish version.

Nine versions of this song can be listened to from the Jewish Music Archive at SaveTheMusic.com

From the David Boder collection held in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC.

Topical Song

Music from the Ghettos

Partizaner Lid One Sheet

 

LID FUN TITANIC -- THE SONG OF THE TITANIC

There were a few songs about this horrific event which took place on April 15, 1912. 

This is the song I know best. I believe it was written by Joshua Rayzner and orchestrated by Larry Hochman with vocals by Mandy Patinkin and Judy Blazer.  

But I'm still trying to sort out who wrote this and when - more when I figure it out!

Here is the one I know best with a klezmer trio; it's not too clear a recording but you can get an idea of the tune: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz42xqAgPJs

Vasage Klezmer Trio: Vanessa Vromans - violin, Sanne Möricke - Accordion & Georg Brinkmann - voice(Not too clear but you can get an idea of the tune!)

And also find it at:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6X3f8viD8g

Here is the text:

Ir hot gevis libe mentshn gehert Vos oyf dem yavavam hot zikh farlofn Amerikaner shif hot zikh ibergekert Un file mentshn zenen dertrinken gevorn Oy shtelt aykh for libe mentsh di kartine Vi groys iz geven Gots tsorn Ven file vaser iz arayn in di mashinen Un di lektere iz farloshn gevorn Oy khosn kale zenen zikh gezetsn in freydn Zeyer freyd hot dokh keyner nisht geshtert Zey hobn geshrign: Liber Got! Vos tustu undz tsesheydn? Ober der liber Got hot zikh-tsu zey nisht tsugehert Oy shtelt aykh for libe mentsh di kartine Vi groys iz geven Gots tsorn Ven file vaser iz arayn in di mashinen Un di lektere iz farloshn gevorn

English Translation:

You have undoubtedly heard, dear people What has come to pass upon the ocean An American ship has been overturned And many people were drowned  

Imagine the scene, dear people How great was God's wrath When so much water got into the machines And the electricity went off A bride and groom were blissfully sitting together their joy had been undisturbed They screamed out: Dear God! Why are you separting us? But their dear God did not listen to them Imagine the scene, dear people How great was God's wrath When so much water got into the machines And the electricity went off.

AND SEE ANOTHER VERSION AT PENNY SONGS

http://www.yiddishpennysongs.com/2015/04/dos-grested-yam-umglik-fun-der-shif.html

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MAMELOSHN; AND OTHER YIDDISH WEBSITES

 I've just started looking into this - more later!

https://mameloshn.org

https://mameloshn.org/the-history-of-yiddish/

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https://yiddish-sources.com/magazines

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https://lebnsfragn.com/bin/articles.cgi?ID=1493

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A NICE WEBSITE FOR READING AND VOCABULARY BUILDING!

 League for Yiddish has some wonderful resources for learning and enjoying Yiddish.  Learn more at their website:

https://leagueforyiddish.org

They have posted several short vigniettes in their "Verter fun der Vokh" website:

https://leagueforyiddish.org/vfdv.html

Several of these posts have little stories and all have vocabulary lists.  One more way to keep up your language skills! 

Many of us learned Yiddish from Sheva Zucker's wonderful textbooks, and she now serves as the Executive Director of League for Yiddish.

https://leagueforyiddish.org/drshevazucker.html

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An Interesting Article on the History of Yiddish

The melody lingers: the Yiddish speech of Ashkenazic Jews by Zelda Kahn Newman from Beer Sheva, Israel, with a PhD in Linguistics from University of Michigan specializing in Yiddish.  

Here is a link to his interesting article: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+melody+lingers%3a+the+Yiddish+speech+of+Ashkenazic+Jews.-a090332022 

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Hulyet, Hulyet Kinderlekh --- Yiddish

http://yidlid.org/chansons/hulyet-kinder/index.html

Hear Theo Bikel sing it here -- he sings it very fast but you can at least catch the tune: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtKW2L5IB-o

(Please note: This is an entirely different song than the Holocaust song   Hulyet, Hulyet, Baze Vintn!)