This is a very popular Yiddish lullaby, sung from a mother to her son as she rocks him to sleep.
The following track and lyrics are as sung by Jan Peerce.
אין דעם בית המקדש
אין א ווינקל חדר
זיצט די אלמנה בת ציון אליין
איר בן יחיד’ל יידעלע’ן
וויגט זי כסדר
און זינגט אים צום שלאפן א לידעלע שיין
איי, איי, איי……..
אונטער יידעלע’ס וויגעלע
שטייט א קלאר ווייס ציגעלע
דאס ציגעלע איז געפארן האנדלען
דאס וועט זיין דיין בארוף
ראזשינקעס מיט מאנדלען
שלאף’זשע יידעלע שלאף
אין דעם לידל, מיין קינד
ליגט פיל נביאות
אז דו וועסט אמאל זיין צוזייט אויף דער וועלט
א סוחר וועסטו זיין
פון אלע תבואות
און וועסט אין דעם אויך פארדינען פיל געלט
איי, איי, איי……..
אונטער יידעלע’ס וויגעלע
שטייט א קלאר ווייס ציגעלע
דאס ציגעלע איז געפארן האנדלען
דאס וועט זיין דיין בארוף
ראזשינקעס מיט מאנדלען
שלאף’זשע יידעלע שלאף
שלאף’זשע יידעלע שלאף!
Transliteration
In dem beys hamikdash
In a vinkl kheyder
Zitzt di almone Bas Zion aleyn.
Ir ben yokhidl Yidele
Vigt zi keseyder
Un zingt im tzu shlofn a lidele sheyn: ay-lu-lu…
Unter Yidele’s vigele
Shteyt a klor vayse tzigele
Dos tzigele is geforn handlen
Dos vet zayn dayn baruf,
Rozhinkes mit mandlen
Shlof zhe Yidele, shlof.
In dem lidl, mayn kind,
Ligt fil neviyes.
Az du vest amol zayn tzezeyt oyf der velt.
A soykher vestu zayn
Fun ale tvues.
Un vest in dem oykh fardinen fil gelt.
Unter Yidele’s vigele
Shteyt a klor vayse tzigele
Dos tzigele is geforn handlen
Dos vet zayn dayn baruf,
Rozhinkes mit mandlen
Shlof zhe Yidele, shlof
Shlof zhe Yidele, shlof!
Translation:
In the temple, in the corner of a chamber,
The widow The Daughter of Zion is sitting all alone.
As she rocks her only son Yidele to sleep,
She sings him a pretty song, a lullaby.
“Under Yidele’s cradle, there stands a snow-white kid
that has been to market.
It will be your calling, too -
Trading in raisins and almonds,
And now sleep, Yidele, sleep.
In this pretty lullaby, my child, there lie many
prophecies.
Some day you’ll be wandering in the wide world -
You will choose to be a tradesman,
And you’ll be trading and earning a lot of money.
“Under Yidele’s cradle, there stands a snow-white kid
that has been to market.
It will be your calling, too -
Trading in raisins and almonds,
And now sleep, Yidele, sleep.
And now sleep, Yidele, sleep!
9 comments
Comments feed for this article
December 19, 2007 at 11:53 am
יעקב פייג
צימוקים ושקדים מילים,לחן ,הטכסט המקורי ביידיש ובתרגום לאנגלית !!! וכן המילים ,רבותי ,המילים ! 1
December 20, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Aaron
יעקב, אני שמח מאוד שיכולתי לעזור לך
July 24, 2008 at 6:21 am
Norbert Hirschhorn
Excellent! What a great resource.
Lately I’ve been making what I call ‘free translations’ of Yiddish melodies into poems in English. I find many of the translations out there too sentimental, bland — none of the grittiness I think I hear in the original (yours above is fine!). In this song I see a Jewish widow, perhaps a beggar, proudly or sadly (or both) called a daughter of Zion, in a beys medrosh (not a temple or synagogue) where the men study Talmud and ignore her. The best she can hope for her darling son is that he will push a cart, wandering the world (as Jews must), selling produce (soykher tvues). And then he’ll be rich — but this feels like a sad resignation.
How do you interpret the song? What are it’s origins?
And thank you for the marvelous Jan Peerce recording!
cheers,
Norbert
August 12, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Philip Crown
I am an experienced composer so I can listen with a dispassionate ear.But this was simply so beautiful that I cried.
The voice could not be bettered nor could the accompaniment.
This song is the apotheosis of Yiddish songs.Most of the serious ones written after this one were very much copying the melody style
May 10, 2010 at 5:14 pm
bluechazzan
Thank you for your posts. It should be noted that though Richard Tucker in this recording (and Jan Peerce in his recordings of Mamele and others) beautifully sang these lullabies in full voice, the songs as written should really be sung in mezzo; softly as one would imagine a lullaby being sung.
December 17, 2011 at 11:36 am
ira abrams
these are wonderful Cannot connect to the Jan Peerce one. Why???
December 18, 2011 at 11:58 am
ira abrams
i can open the 1st 3 , but not the 4th. Is there a reason ,am I doing something wrong??Pls help/ I love these. Brings back old memories
Ira Abrams
February 16, 2012 at 5:21 am
Boris Rumney
Can anyone point me in the direction of an english translation of a yiddish song with the chorus “oy oy oy shkker is der goy” (oh, oh, oh drunk is the non-jew)?
February 28, 2012 at 3:00 am
pilcrow
The link to the audio is broken ;(
My father used to sing this song. His interpretation was that the mother was wishing for her son that he should have a sweet life as a dealer in the sweetest thing she knew — raisins with almonds.. My father died in 1975, aged 79.