Researching Yiddish penny songs (tenement song broadsides of theater and variety show songs, 1895-1925)
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UPDATE: reposted to include a video I just did of this song.

Half of each issue of Katzenelenbogen's Lider magazin comprised the lyrics to songs from one Yiddish operetta. I mostly ignored those songs, since generally they're available as sheet music from the Library of Congress website. But here's one example, from the issue that featured texts from Dovids fidele (Dowids fiedele, David's violin), an opera by Lateiner & Mogulesco. The words of this one attracted me although the tune is repetitive.



I made this a new way: I sang a cappella into the webcam and then came along behind and added keyboard. The words don't fit nicely; in these cases you can either smoosh and stretch the words to fit a rhythmic accompaniment, or you can smoosh and stretch the accompaniment to fit the words. That's what I did here. But my webcam has a horrible microphone so I ended up re-doing the vocal over the new keyboard part. I DO NOT recommend this method, it was time consuming and the result is lousy.

BTW the sheet music transliteration is Shiker Lied (Noiach kuplet). I guess Noah was the drunkard. And note the LOC transliteration: The music is found in a folio here: Dowid's fiedele

For ease of reading I redid the sheet music onto one page. The tune is repetitive but the words are fun. You have to pronounce neyn "nayn" or it doesn't rhyme.
For ease of reading I redid the sheet music onto one page. Click to see/save the full-sized page.



The Yiddish lyrics, transliterated, and a translation after the jump.

 

The Drunkard's Song

I swear no, no, no, I'm not drinking
I'm throwing drinking away
Except for just this time and one more swig

Only occasionally for melancholy, then I have to drink a fearful amount
And by a corpse, for sorrow, drinking's indispensable
And when my heart gnaws I have to drink all day

But beyond that I swear, no...

And when I meet up with a khasid, then I have to drink again
And when my wife scolds me then I have to drink, endlessly
When lying down and getting up how can one manage without drinking

But beyond that I swear, no...

And Friday evening by the kiddush, then one has to drink remarkably
And when one sits at the table one drinks before and after the fish
And when it's my father's yartseit, how can a bit of liquor be amiss? 

 

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

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