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Translated Songs
Vaudeville
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Yiddish Theater
Original language
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Original lyrics
Geyt a goy in shenkl arayn, in shenkl arayn, in shenkl arayn, trinkt er dort a gut glezl vayn, a gut glezl vayn, a gut glezl vayn. Oy, shiker iz a goy, shiker iz a goy, shiker iz er, trinken muz er,* vayl er iz a goy. Geyt a yid in bes-medresh arayn, in bes-medresh arayn, in bes-medresh arayn, khapt er dort a kedushele arayn, a kedushele arayn, a kedushele arayn. Oy, nikhter iz a yid, nikhter iz a yid, nikhter iz er, davnen muz er, vayl er iz a yid. Geyt a goy fun shenkl aroys, fun shenkl aroys, fun shenkl aroys, brekht er dort a por shaybelekh oys, a por shaybelekh oys, a por shaybelekh oys. Oy, shiker iz a goy, shiker iz a goy, shiker iz er, brekhen muz er, vayl er iz a goy. Geyt a yid fun bes-medresh aroys, fun bes-medresh aroys, fun bes-medresh aroys, kusht er dort a por mezuzelekh oys, a por mezuzelekh oys, a por mezuzelekh oys. Oy, nikhter iz a yid, nikhter iz a yid, nikhter iz er, kushn muz er, vayl er iz a yid. *probably sung (in Polish or Ukrainian Yiddish) "miz er," which gives an internal rhyme
Translated lyrics
A GOY ENTERS A TAVERN A Goy enters a tavern. There he has a glass of wine, a stiff drink, a sizable one. A Goy is drunk; he needs to drink, because he is a Goy. A Jew enters the chapel. There he catches a Minkhe service, a Borkhu response, a Kaddish. A Jew is sober; he needs to pray, because he is a Jew. A Goy steps out into the street. There he breaks our windows, the window panes, lets the feathers out. A Goy is drunk; he needs to break [possible pun on needs to vomit], because he is a Goy. A Jew exits the chapel. There he kisses a couple of Mezuzahs, a Torah mantle, a holy book. A Jew is sober; he needs to kiss, because he is a Jew.
Notes
(from jewish-music email discussion list - www.shamash.org) From Bob Rothstein: The text here is(converted to YIVO standard) as published in _Yiddish Folk Songs: 50 Songs for Voice and Piano_, collected by Sarah Pitkowsky Schack with piano arrangement by Ethel Silberman Cohen (New York: Bloch Publishing Company, 1924), 50-51 Those interested in this song may also be interested in the texts included in my paper "'Geyt a yid in shenkl arayn': Yiddish Songs of Drunkenness," _The Field of Yiddish: Studies in Language, Folklore, and Literature_, Fifth Collection, ed. David Goldberg (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press and YIVO, 1993), 243-62. ---------------------------------------------------- From Sam Weiss: I had remembered this folksong as appearing in the Schack- Cohen Yiddish Folk Songs collection, but I could not find it in the copy that I had. On closer inspection I noticed that there is a blanked-out entry for a song #22 in the table of contents, as well as in the song summaries section. Since this copy is the 5th edition published in 1950, Im assuming that "Geyt a goy in shenkl arayn" is the censored song. Abe Ellstein wrote an arrangement of the song in 1926. -----------------------------------------------------
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