Mister, bay vos arbet ir? A Yiddish World War I propaganda song by Rubin Doctor
The song, composed by Rubin Doctor, the self-designated "Most Popular Jewish Song writer and Composer," was recorded as Mister, by vos arbeit ihr by Nellie Casman. On the sheet music, published in 1918, it's spelled Mister By Vus Arbeit Ihr? It was featured in the show Lebn un lakhn (or as it is spelled on the sheet music, Leben un Lachen) at the Tomashefsky's Peoples Theater.Bob Freedman at the Robert and Molly Freedman Jewish Song Archive kindly sent me the sheet music (part of the first page is reproduced at the bottom of this post), and you can hear Nellie's version at the Florida Atlantic University website. Here's my version recorded yesterday:
This song was fun and easy to sing, but I'm uncomfortable with the lyrics, which call to mind officious busybodies handing out white feathers to men they thought should have enlisted in the war. The song demands that you collar strangers in the street if they seem to be ne'er do wells and order them to get to work. Or the police will get them.
Historian Hannah Farber writes:
During World War I, labor shortages (e.g. in agriculture, railroads, and steel production) and anxiety about the country's recent flood of immigrants amplified older American concerns about vagrants. The result was a tremendous pressure on immigrants to gain employment -- or at least, as this song suggests, to look busy!
From Wikipedia:
The private American Protective League, working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was one of many private patriotic associations that sprang up to support the war and at the same time identify slackers, spies, draft dodgers and anti-war organizations...
World War I saw many women taking traditionally men's jobs for the first time in American history. Many worked on the assembly lines of factories, producing trucks and munitions...
[A concern about recent immigrants] was their loyalty to their native countries ... Numerous agencies became active in promoting "Americanization" so that the ethnics would be psychologically and politically loyal to the U.S.
Sometimes I wheedle a real pianist into recording these songs with me, but often I play the keyboard part myself, and in those cases it has to be dead simple, because I stink at the piano. I don't mean these videos to represent actual performances, I think of them as blueprints for future musicians who may want to revive this historically fascinating repertoire. If I worried about them not being perfect, there wouldn't be any of them at all. Click below for a larger view.
Here's my translation from the Yiddish:
There's a new law now, when you see a man you ask:
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
You can't go around idle, you'll get nabbed in the street
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
Don't be embarrassed, it's no shame, the land needs workers now
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
Take the iron and the scissors, make clothes, shoes, weapons,
Help annihilate the Kaiser!
When you see a man in the street, ask him right off, don't forget:
"Mister, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
Uncle Sam really needs you, help him right now!
Hurry hurry, hurry up, before a policeman gets you
"Mister, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
Next door, my neighbor sits at home, all day she's dressed up
"Missus, what's the work you do?"
Men are coming endlessly, by twos, threes, fours
"Missus, what's the work you do?"
Her husband, he doesn't work. But they live very well
"Missus, what's the work you do?".
Men come and go, and she is never alone, who can understand her?
She never goes into the street, maybe you can guess what she does?
"Missus, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
Uncle Sam really needs you, help him right now!
Hurry hurry, hurry up, before a policeman gets you
"Missus, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
A boy's sitting there who laughs and beams, he lives well and throws money around
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
He's watching everybody right and left, he's trying to do business
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
He's a partner everywhere, a gentleman who pretends piety
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
He wears top hat and tails, he sneaks into a stranger's pocket
He seeks a watch and chain, a locket...
When he sits next to you, ask him right off:
"Mister, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
Uncle Sam really needs you, help him right now!
Hurry hurry, hurry up, before a policeman gets you.
"Mister, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
You can't go around idle, you'll get nabbed in the street
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
Don't be embarrassed, it's no shame, the land needs workers now
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
Take the iron and the scissors, make clothes, shoes, weapons,
Help annihilate the Kaiser!
When you see a man in the street, ask him right off, don't forget:
"Mister, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
Uncle Sam really needs you, help him right now!
Hurry hurry, hurry up, before a policeman gets you
"Mister, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
Next door, my neighbor sits at home, all day she's dressed up
"Missus, what's the work you do?"
Men are coming endlessly, by twos, threes, fours
"Missus, what's the work you do?"
Her husband, he doesn't work. But they live very well
"Missus, what's the work you do?".
Men come and go, and she is never alone, who can understand her?
She never goes into the street, maybe you can guess what she does?
"Missus, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
Uncle Sam really needs you, help him right now!
Hurry hurry, hurry up, before a policeman gets you
"Missus, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
A boy's sitting there who laughs and beams, he lives well and throws money around
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
He's watching everybody right and left, he's trying to do business
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
He's a partner everywhere, a gentleman who pretends piety
"Mister, what's the work you do?"
He wears top hat and tails, he sneaks into a stranger's pocket
He seeks a watch and chain, a locket...
When he sits next to you, ask him right off:
"Mister, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
Uncle Sam really needs you, help him right now!
Hurry hurry, hurry up, before a policeman gets you.
"Mister, what's the work you do?" Answer me right away.
by melinama @ 10:04 AM
Yiddish Ragtime
Ikh bin busy
Opgenarte velt
Vos hot men tsu mir
Der East Side fun amol
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