A Pastechl
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Yiddish Lyrics
1.
Iz geven amol a pastechl, a pastechl
Iz im farlorn gegangen zayn eyneyntzik shefele
Geyt er, zet er a fur mit shteyndelekh, mit shteyndelekh,
Hot er gemeynt az dos iz fun zayn shefele di beyndelekh
Zogt er: "Adoni, Adoni, Adoni!
Chi ne bachiv ti, chi ne vidziel ti moyey ovtsi?" (this line is in
Ukranian)
-Makht er: "Nyet!"
Refrain
Bida, bida, ovtsi nishtu,
A yak zhe ya domoy pridu?
2.
Geyt er, zet er a fur mit dernerlekh, mit dernerlekh,
Hot er gemeynt az dos iz fun zayn shefel di hernerlekh
Zogt er: Adoni... (etc.)
3.
Gey er, zet er a fur mit niselekh, mit niselekh.
Hot er gemeynt, az dos iz fun zayn shefele di fiselekh.
Zogt er: "Adoni..." (etc)
Translation
A Shepherd
1.
He saw some pebbles on a cart, some small stones,
and he thought they were his ewe's little bones.
Said he, "Oh God, have you seen my ewe?"
And he replied, "No";
Refrain
Oh bad luck, oh grief, how shall I go home now?
He walked on and saw a cartful of sprigs, of small twigs,
and he thought them to be his ewe's little horns.
He walked on and saw a cartful of nuts,
and he thought them to e his ewe's little limbs.
Said he, "Oh God, have you seen my ewe?"
And he replied, "No."
My thanks to Inna Barmash for directing me to the words of what was a long-lost song. My father, born in Lodz, Poland, in 1906, migrated to Australia in 1938. He had a wonderful tenor voice and was always singing ( when not attending meetings and other political commitments!). This was one of the songs he sang, but I don't remember him singing more than the first verse and the chorus. As I recall, his version of the refrain was re-worded (he often did this) into a mixture of Polish, singing language and Yiddish: thus 'Bida, bidu, as is nisht du/ Yakzhe ya a do-o-mu. (I think domu or something like it means 'home' in Polish.) I wish i could hear him sing it again... Many thanks, June Factor
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Added September 13th, 1999