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This song is from a show called דער יךסון Der Yakhsn, which is translated on the sheet music as "The Pride" but is translated in the dictionary as "member of a prestigious family; privileged person." (Usually דער יחסן)

Herman Wohl and Arnold Perlmutter wrote the music, which has a Gilbert and Sullivan flair to it, and Solomon Smulewitz (aka Solomon Small) wrote the words and sings on this recording, though "Mr Bernstein" sang it in the show. The title is also transliterated as Schemen megt ihr sich and Shemen megt ihr sich.

There was some lively discussion on Facebook about the meaning in the second verse of this couplet:

Kh'gey a mol a zuntik fri,
zey ikh a groysn oylem
Kum ikh oykh geveynlikh tsi,
ersht Miryam'l heyngt af a tseylem

Ri Turner came up with some references to Mary on the cross including, simply, this: "In the Church of the Mother of God of Polish Martyrs in Warsaw, Poland, Mary is depicted hanging on the cross holding the child Jesus." Shalom Goldman suggests this is just the typical Sunday morning scene as our Jewish narrator passes by a church and sees the goyim making a big fuss over Mary's image/statue.


Transliteration and translation from the Yiddish after the jump.




It's a world, a strange world, people seem clever
And as soon as it comes to money they go crazy
They kneel and fall before a rich man, though he may also be a pig,
And they also call him wise, everything he does is good and fine
And it aggravates me. Why, people do you do this?

Are you blind, can't you think?
Are you now, God forbid, insane?
Tell me, before whom do you bow and scrape and prostrate yourself? You should be ashamed.

Walking early one Sunday I see a big crowd,
Of course I come to see Miriam hung on a cross.
Goyim, bowing down, prostrate on the earth
I think and I look: are these people or horses?
And it aggravates me. Why, peasants, do you do this?

I know women like to show their charms to others' husbands,
They don't exert themselves for their own husbands at home.
I know a foolish rich lad, his father has a gold business,
He gives women rings, they kneel before him as if he were God.
And it aggravates me. Why, women, do you do this?

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For sheet music and/or performances contact me: jane@mappamundi.com

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