Geborn in Kentoki (Born in Kentucky) - 1898 Yiddish vaudeville version of "She Was Bred in Old Kentucky" - by Isaac Reingold
She Was Bred In Old Kentucky
"She Was Bred in Old Kentucky" was a big hit for composer Stanley Harris and lyricist Henry Braisted. You can hear as many as 8 renditions on youtube, recorded back then on Edison brown cylinders.
The original lyrics could have said "She was Born in Old Kentucky," but Braisted intentionally used the verb bred, which is usually used for pedigree dogs and horses. As a woman I find this quite annoying. Other than that, his song is a happy one: the protagonist marries his dear blushing sweetheart Sue with her mother's blessings.
Isaac Reingold's contrafactum starts in the same time and place, and with two sweethearts, but as you've learned his outlook on life was bitter, so we quickly learn our hero's happiness was fleeting. I note the unnamed girl has nothing to say in the song, it's her MOTHER who does all the talking. Also, the protagonist admits that it all went south because of his own jealousies. And then of course the girl dies.
Do you think Isaac Reingold, or any of the New York City Jews, could imagine what Kentucky was like?
I wrote a piano part with the bare minimum number of notes and still had to cut-and-paste it together. I'm afraid I'm never going to learn how to really play. Anyway, here's my living room recording from yesterday:
Transliteration of the Yiddish and translation after the jump.
Vu bagrobn iz mayn hofenung un mayn glik
Di, velkhe ikh hob dan gelibt hot mayn freylekh herts batribt
Gedenken vel ikh eybik yenem oygnblik
Ven ikh mayn libe hob derklert tsu di vos var mir lang bashert
Dan hot ir muter mikh oysgehert mit freyd
Ven kh'hob gebetn, "Zog mir fray, blaybstu eybik mir getray?"
Dan hot ir muter mir geentfert dize reyd
"Zi iz geborn in Kentoki vu di luft iz reyn un fray
Un dos froyen-hertz vos libt nor blaybt do eybik, eybik tray
Zi iz geborn in Kentoki, megst ir gloybn zikher zay
Un eybik blaybt zi nor dir getray."
A tsayt fargeyt, a tog vi haynt, ikh tref zi mit mayn bizstn fraynd
Shpatsirndik mit im zo frayndlekh, gants aleyn
Di eyferzukht dervakht in mir, der khshad vekt uf mayn has af ir(jealousy/suspicion)
Un ikh farloz ir dan, nit mer tsu zen
Shpeter hob ikh mikh farbenkt un mir hot mayn herts gekrenkt
Ir umshuld hot mikh shnel aheym geyogt
Ikh bin tsurik ikh kum tsu geyn un tref ir muter gants aleyn
Un mir tsaygndik ir keyver, her ikh vi zi zogt:
In my old home there's a place that's holy for me,
where my hopes and happiness were buried.
She who I loved then tormented my happy heart
I will always remember that blink of an eye
When I declared my love to she who was long my destined love
Her mother heard me out with happiness.
When I asked: "Tell me freely, will you always be true to me?"
Then her mother answered me with these words:
"She was born in Kentucky where the air is clean and free
And that loving woman's heart remains forever faithful
She was born in Kentucky, you can certainly be assured
And she will always be true to you."
Some time passed, a day like today,
I met her with my best friend
Walking so companionably with him, quite alone
Jealousy woke in me, suspicion awoke my hate
And I abandoned her then, never to see her again
Later, I felt longing, my heart sickened
Her innocence quickly had me rushing home
I returned, I came back and met her mother, all alone.
And as she shows me the tomb, I hear her say:
For sheet music and/or performances contact me: jane@mappamundi.com
Yiddish Ragtime
Ikh bin busy
Opgenarte velt
Vos hot men tsu mir
Der East Side fun amol
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home