Dray Tekhterlekh
Mordechai Gebirtig
Mordechai Gebirtig
Yiddish Lyrics
1.
Ven mit mazl, gezunt un lebn
S'letzte tekhterl mir veln oysgebn
Vel ikh tantzn mir hop, hop!
Arop an oyl fun kop
Shpilt klezmorim, shpil mit lebn
S'ershte tekhterl haynt oysgegebn
Nokh geblibn undz meydlekh tzvey
Vi halt men shoyn bay zey
Shpilt, klezmorim, nemt di kley-zayen
Zol di gantse velt mit undz zikh freyen
Oy, undzer simkhe veyst nor eyn Got
Un der vos tekhter hot
2.
Ven kh'vel zen syoyn dow tzveyte meydl
Ongeton in vaysn khupe-kleydl
Vel ikh trinken un freylekh zayn -
Arop fun hart a shteyn
Vel ikh trinken oy vel ikh trinken
Arop fun harts a shteyn
Shpilt klezmorim, heybt on shaydn!
S'tsveyte meydl givn mir oys in freydn
Dos mizinkl nokh hobn mir,
Vi halt men shoyn bay ir
Shpilt klezmorimg, far undz mekhutonim
Zoln a leb ton oykh amol kabtsonim
A kind oysgegebn, oy gotenyu
A meydl nokh dertsu
3.
Ven baym letstn kh'vel shpiln hern
Vel ikh epes troyerik shteyn un klern-
S'letste tekhterl shoyn oykhavek,
Vos nokh iz do der tsvek?
Shpilt, klezmorim, bazetst di kale,
Tsugenumen undz di kinder ale,
Shver geven undz di tekhter dray
Oy, shverer nokh on zey
Shpilt, klezmorim, aroys undz trern
S'letste betl vet haynt leydik vern,
S'gantse shtibl, ir kleyder-shank
Oy, vey, vi pust un bang
Translation
1.
When, with good luck, there arrives the day
When I marry off my youngest daughter,
I will dance and dance
A burden has been taken off my mind-
My eldest daughter is getting married
I have two more maiden daughters waiting for their turn to
be married
You bandsmen, tear at your strings!
Let everyone rejoice with us.
My joy is so great.
Only the good God can understand how great it is,
And so can those who have also given away their daughters
in marriage
2.
When I see my second daughter getting married in her white
wedding dress,
I will drink wine with joy -
What a burden off my shoulder!
You bandsmen - tear at yours strings!
My second daughter is getting married.
Now it is only my youngest one who remains in the house
I wish she would be married soon, too
Play, bandsmen play for our in-laws!
Let all poor folk share our happiness
We are having our child settled down to married life
And this child is a daughter, too
3.
Now the sounds of a third wedding are dying away
And this makes me sad and thoughtful
My youngest daughter is gone
What else is there for me to be living for?
You bandsmen, play for the bride.
All three daughters have now been given away in marriage
All our children have left us
It was hard for us to bring them up,
And without them life is even harder
Go on playing.
Let my tears run down.
Today, the last bed will be deserted
Their room will be empty
And so will their wardrobe
Oh, how desolate the life is now.
Finally, a father gives away his third daughter in marriage -- and yet now he is thoughtful and sad.
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Added September 16th, 1999