Yiddish Penny Songs: Di yidishe hofenung (The Jewish Hope) set to "It's a Long Way to Tipperary."

Ken Bloom and Jim Baird of Mappamundi came over to rehearse for a klezmer gig yesterday and while they were here I got them to play a couple of my Penny Songs. This was their first take, perfect! Heh.

As you'll see from the song sheet at the bottom of this post (which includes a nice big picture of Morris and also a fortune-teller's advertisement), Morris Rund wrote the song about what would happen when the Great War was over and his hope that Zion would be returned to the Jews. He set it to "It's a Long Long Way to Tipperary" so we reconstituted it. Click to hear yesterday's rendition:

Here is a transliteration in standard Yiddish and my translation

Ir kent ale lezn teglekh fun der groyser shlakht
Vi lender zaynen mobilizirt viln tsaygn zeyer makht.
A yeder far zayn foterland un in der shlakht tut geyn
Nor ven di shlakht vet zayn fariber demolt vet men zen:

Keyn Daytshland veln geyn di Daytshn, un keyn Rusland der Rus.
Keyn Frankraykh veln geyn Frantsoyzn un Belgien hot nit tsu vos.
Keyn Terkay veln geyn di Terkn un England der zelber fal.
Nor der yid, er nebekh hot keyn land nit un vandert iberal.

Ven di shlakht vet zayn fariber un fridn iz af der velt
Medaln vet men dan oysteyln tsu a yedn held
A yeder tsu zayn foterland vet geyn tsurik aheym
Nor der yid vet tsurik blaybn er hot nit vu tsu geyn.

Ven der kongres fun dem fridn vet derefent vern
Vet der yid bald oykh zayn shtime dortn lozn hern
Un baym farteyln fun di lender vet men zikh bashtrebn
Men zol dem yid zayn heylik land vider tsurik opgebn

Keyn Daytshland veln geyn di Daytshn, un keyn Rusland der Rus.
Keyn Frankraykh veln geyn Frantsoyzn di Estraykher tsum altn balebos
Keyn Terkey veln geyn di Terkn un England vet gornit ton.
Un der yid vet marshirn glaykh keyn Tsien mit zayn alter yidisher fon.

You can all read every day about the great combat
How lands are mobilized and want to show their might
Each goes into battle for his fatherland
But when the battle is over then one sees:

The Germans go back to Germany, the Russian goes back to Russia
The French will go back to France, the Belgians won't have to go anywhere.
The Turks will go back to Turkey, same thing with England,
But the Jew, poor thing, he has no land, and wanders everywhere,

When the war is over and freedom is upon the world
They'll parcel out medals to every hero.
Each one will go back to his homeland,
But the Jew will remain behind, he has nowhere to go.

When the freedom Congress is inaugurated
Then the Jew, too, will quickly let his voice be heard.
And when the lands are distributed he'll strive to have his holy land given back to him again,

The Germans go back to Germany, the Russian goes back to Russia
The French will go back to France, the Austrians back to their old boss.
The Turks will go back to Turkey and England won't do anything.
And the Jew will march straight to Zion with his old Jewish flag.

Click for a larger view: