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Translated Songs
Vaudeville
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Yiddish Theater
Original language
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Original lyrics
Tsen brider zenen mir gevezn, Hobn mir gehandlt in vayn. Zenen ayns fun undz geshtorbn, Zenen mir geblibn nayn. Nayn brider zenen mir gevezn, Hobn mir gehandlt in frakht. Zenen ayns fun undz geshtorbn, Zenen mir geblibn akht. Yidl mitn fidl, Gedalye mitn bas Shpil-zhe mir a lidl oyfn mitn gas. Ay ay ay ay ay, ay ay ay ay ay Shpil-zhe mir a lidl oyfn mitn gas. Akht brider zenen mir gevezn, Hobn mir gehandlt mit ribn. Zenen ayns fun undz geshtorbn, Zenen mir geblibn zibn. Zibn brider zenen mir gevezn, Hobn mir gehandlt mit gebeks. Zenen ayns fun undz geshtorbn, Zenen mir geblibn zeks. Zeks brider zenen mir gevezn, Hobn mir gehandlt mit shtrimp. Zenen ayns fun undz geshtorbn, Zenen mir geblibn finf. Finf brider zenen mir gevezn, Hobn mir gehandlt mit bir. Zenen ayns fun undz geshtorbn, Zenen mir geblibn fir. Fir brider zenen mir gevezn, Hobn mir gehandlt mit tay. Zenen ayns fun undz geshtorbn, Zenen mir geblibn dray. Dray brider zenen mir geblibn, Hobn mir gehandlt mit blay. Zenen ayns fun undz geshtorbn, Zenen mir geblibn tsvay. Tsvay brider zenen mir gevezn, Hobn mir gehandlt mit bayner. Zenen ayns fun undz geshtorbn, Bin ikh mir geblibn nor nokh ayner. Ayn brider bin ikh mir geblibn, Handl ikh mit likht. Shtarbn tor ikh yedn tog Vayl tsu esn hob ikh nisht.
Translated lyrics
We were ten brothers, We dealt in wine. One of us died, Nine of us remained. We were nine brothers, We dealt in freight. One of us died, Eight of us remained. Yidl with your fiddle, Gedalye with your bass Play a little tune for me In the middle of the street. We were eight brothers, We dealt in beets. One of us died, Seven of us remained. We were seven brothers, We dealt in baked goods. One of us died, Six of us remained. We were six brothers, We dealt in hose. One of us died, Five of us remained. We were five brothers, We dealt in beer. One of us died, Four of us remained. We were four brothers, We dealt in tea. One of us died, Three of us remained. We were three brothers, We dealt in lead. One of us died, Two of us remained. We were two brothers, We dealt in bones. One of us died, I am left alone. I remain the only brother, I deal in candles. I die every day Because I have nothing to eat.
Notes
from Wolf Krakowski's "Transmigrations": http://www.kamea.com AYNER IS FUN UNDZ GESHTORBN!!! The following "lighter" version of this song was recently on the Yiddish Radio Project on NPR. It was originally sung by the Barry sisters. This version begins and ends with a slightly modified version of the original Yiddish chorus, and there is an alternate English chorus between the verses. CHORUS: Yidl mit dem fidl, tevye mit dem bass shpil she mir a lidele oyfn mitn gas oy oy oy oy oy, oy oy oy oy oy shpilshe mir a lidele oyfn mitn gas English chorus: Joseph with his fiddle, Charlie with his bass, They played diddle diddle As they went from place to place Once there were ten brothers And they organized a band When they started playing Gee their music sounded grand(english chorus) At a one night stand in Brooklyn Joseph played "Sweet Adeline" He fell asleep while playing And the band just played with nine(EC) Brooklyn blondes are beautiful So Charlie made a date She took him for a ride And then the band was down to eight(EC) Tschachen wedding And the bill collector took four more The band went right on playing Even though there were just four(EC) The brothers kept on leaving Til just two were on the stand Then they started fighting Over who would lead the band(EC) You can just imagine What their music sounded like One man joined the union And they called him out on strike(C) Since it is the lyrics to my version of Tsen Brider that appear first, it is incorrect to write that the composer is "Ellstein." "Tsen Brider"'s origins are shrouded in the mists of time; it is a folksong. -- traditional and anonymous. You should clarify that the Barry Sister's PARODY has lyrics by Ellstein -- not mine. It is erroneous to say that the Barry Sister's "Tsen Brider" is the "original" version of this song. Their "Tsen Brider" is a PARODY not a VERSION. There is a difference. Thanks. Wolf Krakowski Sara: I just saw the movie Yidl mitn Fidl, with Molly Picon - it uses a version of this song. And there's another song on this website called Lenin mitn Fidl, and more comments there.
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