All time favorite yiddish song. Music
and Lyrics by Mark Warshawsky.
Oyfn Pripetchik
(written by Mark Warshavsky)
אױפֿן פּריפּעטשיק
Oyfn pripetchik brent a fayerl,
un in shtub is heys.
Un der rebe lernt kleyne kinderlakh
dem alef-beyz.
Zet zhe kinderlakh,
gedenkt zhe, tayere, vos ir lernt do.
Zogt zhe nokh a mol un take nokh a mol:
"Komets-alef: o!"
Lernt kinderlakh, lernt mit freyd,
lernt dem alef-beyz.
Gliklekh is der Yid, wos kent die toyre
un dos alef-beyz.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
At the fireplace
(Yiddish Translation)
At the fireplace a little fire burns
And in the room it's warm.
And the Rabbi teaches little children
the aleph-bet
See you children-dear,
remember dear, what you're learning
here.
Say once again, and then once again,
"Komets-alef: o!"
Children, learn with happiness,
learn the aleph-bet.
Lucky is the jew who knows the Torah.
and the aleph-bet.
Note: At the end of the video are TWO POLISH JEWS paintings. "'Samuel Goldenburg and Schmuyle' were two Polish Jews and were originally the subjects of two separate paintings by Victor Hartman. Mussorgorsky combined the essence of the two paintings into one movement, perhaps to emphasize a rich man/poor man contrast. Samuel Goldenburg, probably large, well dressed and rich, is represented by the first tune in the movement. Schmuyle on the other hand is represented by a piercing, troubled-sounding melody, making him 'appear' to be thin and poor." MUSSOGORSKY : PICTURES AT
AN EXHIBITION.
Mark Warshavsky
Mark Markovich Warshavsky -- folk poet, was born in Zhitomir ca. 1845*, died in Kiev in 1907. He graduated from the Kiev University and practiced law in Kiev. In spare time Warshavsky liked to compose and sing Yiddish songs. He wrote lyrics and music for these songs simultaneously. Assuming that his songs have no artistic value, Warshavsky did not record them. Later, following Sholom Aleychem's advice, Warshavsky published his first 25-song collection "Judische Volkslieder" with Sholom Aleychem's enthusiastic preface. Music to these songs was published shortly thereafter. Warshavsky's book was a great success, many of his songs became very popular and were regarded as folk songs (for example, "Der Alef-Beis", "A Brif fun Amerike", "Der Zeide mit der Babe"). Warshavsky's songs ingenuously and emotionally embody the motifs of Jewish folk poetry, whose spirit the author grasped so precisely. Warshavsky's work is inseparably linked with the life of his people, with all their sufferings and joys. People's tears ("Tsum badekens der Kale"), and sadness ("A Yidish Lid fun Ruminien"), pogroms ("Peisach"), poverty ("Neben Klaisel"), and immigration ("A Brif fun Amerike", "Di shif") find a response in Warshavsky's songs. But these sad motifs are alleviated by the presence of special spiritual courage. Jewish hero of Warshavsky's songs is an optimist. Suffering could not restrain their deep believe in better future, suppress theirs joyous sense of life: "Suffer and sing". Warshavsky's songs are warmed by touching love to the "Yidishe Gas" (Jewish Street) with its simple way of life. Stuffy cheder, where Jewish children study AlefBeis, Jewish wedding rituals ("Tsum badekens"), family anniversaries ("Der Zeide mit der Babe") - all this cherished and familiar to the author. The language of the songs is simple and open-hearted. It is an authentic dialect spoken in Volyn. The metre of the verses is not always sustained, form is quite diverse, poem's structure and rhyme is folk and gentle. Melodies are graceful, intimate and in full harmony with the text. Sincere melody of the "A Brif fun Amerike" makes especially strong expression. Many Warshavsky's poems remain unpublished.
* in 1840, 1845, or 1848 according to different sources.
Adopted from the article by Noah Prilutsky (1882-1944), Yiddish linguist and folklorist, in Evreiskaia entsiklopediia. S.-Peterburg: Obshchestvo Dlia Nauchnykh Evreiskikh Izdanii, Brokhaus-Efron, 1906-13. Translated into the English by Shura Vaisma""
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