As I promised earlier, I am trying to fulfill requests sent in via the comments. This song is called Rumania, Rumania. It is composed and sung by Aaron Lebedeff. As in the past I have included the song in Yiddish text, as well as transliteration and translation. The translation if from the back cover of the original album, and while it is a fairly accurate translation, it nonetheless fails to capture the true humor of the original Yiddish lyrics. In this song, Aaron Lebedeff sings about old Romania, its special foods and the good life there before the war. To the best of my knowledge, mamalige is some sort of maize dish (maybe similar to cornbread). Karnatsl is a garlicky meat patty. Kashtaval (or Kashkaval) is cheese made from sheep’s milk. If anyone knows what Kastrovet and Patlazhele are, please share it with us all in the comments.
Click play to hear the song, and as always, ENJOY!
אך, רומייניע, רומייניע, רומייניע
געווען א מאל א לאנד א זיסע, א שיינע
אך, רומייניע, רומייניע, רומייניע
געווען א מאל א לאנד א זיסע א פיינע
דארט צו וויינען איז א פערגעניגן
וואס דאס הארץ גלוסט דארט קענסטו קריגן
א מאמאליגעלע, א פאסטראמעלע, א קארנאצעלע
און א גלייזעלע וויין, אהא
איי, אין רומייניע איז דאך גיט
פון קיין דאגות ווייסט מען ניט
וויין טרינקט מען איבעראל
מ’פארבייסט מיט קאשטאוואל
היי, דיגאדי דאם
…
איי, אין רומייניע איז דאך גיט
פון קיין זארגען ווייסט מען ניט
וויין טרינקט מען שפעט ס’מעג זיין שפעט
מען פארבייסט א קאסטראוועט
היי, דיגאדי דאם
…
אוי געוואלד איך ווער מעשיגע
איך ליב נאר ברינזע, מאמאליגע
איך טאנץ און פריי זיך ביז דער סטעליע
ווען איך עס א פאטלאזשעלע
דזינג מא, טיי יידלדי טאם
…
איי ס’איז א מחיה, בעסער קען ניט זיין
איי א פארגעניגן איז נאר ראמייניש וויין
די ראמיינער טרינקען וויין
און עסן מאמאליגע
ווער עס קישט זיין אייגן ווייב
אה, יענער איז מעשיגע
זעץ! דזינג מא, טיי יידל די טאם
…
‘יקום פורקן מן שמיא’
שטייט און קושט די קעכענע, חיה
אנגעטאן אין אלטע שקראבעס
מאכט א קוגל לכבוד שבת
זעץ! טיי טי דידל די טאם
איז משה חיים אנגעקומען
דאס בעסטע חלק צוגענומען
משה חיים, ברוך שמואל
כאפט א קיצל אין דער שטיל
זעץ! דזינג מא, טיי יידל די טאם
…
און דאס מיידל נעבעך בלאזט זיך
און זי וויל ניט, נאר זי לאזט זיך
טשו!
גוט צו קושן איז א מויד
ווען זי איז אלט זעכצן
ווען מען קישט אן אלטן מויד
הייבט זי אן צו קרעכצן
זעץ! טיי יידל די טאם
…
איי ס’איז א מחיה, בעסער קען ניט זיין
איי א פארגעניגן איז נאר ראמייניש וויין
Transliteration:
Rumania, Rumania
Ekh! Rumania, Rumania, Rumania …
Geven amol a land a zise, a sheyne.
Ekh! Rumania, Rumania, Rumania …
Geven amol a land a zise, a fayne.
Dort tsu voynen iz a fargenign;
Vos dos harts glust kenstu krign:
A mamaligele, a pastramele, a karnatsele,
Un a glezele vayn, aha … !
Ay, in Rumania iz dokh git
Fun keyn dayges veyst men nit
Vayn trinkt men iberal –
M’farbayst mit kashtaval.
Hay, digadi dam …
Ay, in Rumania iz dokh git
Fun keyn zorgn veyst men nit.
Vayn trinkt men, s’meg zayn shpet
Men farbayst a kastrovet.
Hay digadi dam …
Oy, gevald, ikh ver meshige!
Ikh lib nor brinze, mamalige;
Ikh tants un frey zikh biz der stelye
Ven ikh es a patlazhele
Dzing ma, tay yidldi tam …
Ay, s’iz a mekhaye, beser ken nit zayn!
Ay, a fargenign iz nor Rumeynish vayn.
Di Rumeyner trinkn vayn
Un esn mamalige;
Ver es kisht zayn eygn vayb,
Ah, yener is meshige.
Zets, dzing ma, tay yidl di tam …
“Yokum purkon min shmayo”
Shteyt un kusht di kekhene, Khaye,
Ongeton in alte shkrabes;
Makht a kugel likoved Shabes.
Zets! Tay ti didl di tam …
Iz Myshe Khayim ongekumen
Dos beste kheylik tsugenumen;
Moyshe Khayim, Borukh Shmil –
Khapt a kitsl in der shtil.
Zets, dzing ma, tay yidl di tam …
Un dos meydl nebekh blozt zikh
Un zi vil nit, nor zi lozt zikh
Tshu!
Git tsu kishen iz a moyd
Ven zi is alt zekhtsn;
Ven men kisht an alte moyd,
Heybt zi on tsu krekhtsen.
Zets! Tay yidl di dam …
Ay, s’iz a mekhaye, beser ken nit zayn!
Ay, a fargenign iz nor Rumeynish vayn …
Translation:
Rumania, Rumania
Oh! Rumania, Rumania, Rumania …
Once there was a land, sweet and lovely.
Oh! Rumania, Rumania, Rumania …
Once there was a land, sweet and fine.
To live there is a pleasure;
What your heart desires you can get;
A mamalige, a pastrami, a karnatzl,
And a glass of wine, aha … !
Ay, in Rumania life is so good;
No one knows of care;
Everywhere they’re drinking wine –
And having a bite of kashtaval.
Hay, digadi dam …
Ay, in Rumania life is so good;
No one knows of worry.
They drink wine, though it’s late;
And have a bite of kastrovet.
Hay, digadi dam …
Oh, my, help, I’m going crazy!
I care only for brinze and mamalige
I dance and jump up to the ceiling
When I eat a patlazhele.
Dzing ma, tay yidldi tam …
What a pleasure, what could be better!
Oh, the only delight is Rumanian wine.
Rumanians drink wine
And eat mamalige;
And he who kisses his own wife,
Is the one who’s crazy.
Zets, dzing ma, tay yidl di tam …
“May salvation come from heaven … “
Stop and kiss the cook, Khaye,
Dressed in rags and tatters;
She makes a pudding for the Sabbath.
Zets! Tay ti didl di tam …
Moyshe Khayim comes along
And takes away the best part;
Moyshe Khayim, Borukh Shmil –
Tickle her on the sly.
Zets! Tay tidl di tam …
And the girl pouts, alas,
Seems unwilling, but allows it.
Tshu!
It’s good to kiss a lass
When she’s sweet sixteen;
When one kisses an old main,
She begins to grumble.
Zets! Tay yidl di dam …
What a pleasure, what could be better!
Oh, the only delight is Rumanian wine …
Yiddish Songs and Lyrics יידישע לידער און ווערטער 
87 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 13, 2011 at 2:49 am
Catalin
Hi,
Kastrovet (castravete) is cucumber and Patlazhele (pătlăgele) are tomatoes. Both these vegetables are used in Romania to make pickles from.
Best regards,
Catalin
July 1, 2017 at 5:07 am
fgniana ivanova
pătlăgele is not “tomato”, but eggplant!!!
May 4, 2019 at 2:47 pm
PNP
Exact: Tomatoes are pătlăgele roșii, eggplants are pătlăgele vintete. Coloquial: tomatoes = roșii, eggplants = vintete, plătlăgele= green , unrife tomatoes, use for making pickles thereof.
April 17, 2020 at 7:46 pm
Miruna
Not at all. Patlagele are green tomatoes, meaning not yet ripe. We eat them while conserved in vinegar, as side dish, especially with meat.
Nothing to do with eggplant.
January 16, 2011 at 10:01 am
Nachman
Patlegele is a Romanian eggplant salad.
Mamaliga is corn meal.
March 11, 2011 at 4:29 pm
L. Weber
Nachman, I should have read the comments before posting.
August 19, 2015 at 12:57 pm
Dan Nietzsche
Pătlăgele are not a romanian eggplant salat, but green tomatoes before they ripped.
Salată de vinete is eggplant salad
April 27, 2016 at 11:40 am
Carolina
So, FYI:
Mamaliga (mămăligă) is a corn meal, the same Italian polenta.
Khashkaval (cașcaval) is a yelow cheese like Ementaller.
Karnatzele (cârnați) is sausages, freed or not.
Pastrami (pastramă) is like ham.
Khastrovete (castravete) is cucumber. In Romania we take small cucumber and make pickles in salt water with them. (Plural: castraveți)
Pathlajele (pătlăgele) are tomatos that are stil green, we make them too in salt water jar for the winter, like pickles. (Singular: pătlăgea)
Eggplant salad is called “salată de vinete”! Vinete are eggplant! (Sg. Vânătă! Because of the color Violet=vânăt)
A romanian girl!
April 30, 2020 at 7:28 am
Add
“Patlagele” is green or yellow tommato, raw tommato…before becoming red ! Not eggplant.
January 31, 2011 at 6:38 am
LK
I confirm that Patlazhele is more likely to refer to eggplant in dialect.
See Turkish “patlıcan” and Hungarian “padlizsán” or Arabic “باذنجان.” .
March 3, 2012 at 1:28 pm
Peciorin
Sorry to say this, but pătlăgele means tomatoes (pickles). I know what I’m saying cause I’m romanian. Cașcaval is cheese and mămăligă is the same with the italian polenta.
September 8, 2016 at 12:46 pm
Eliezer Pennywhistler
It may – or may not – mean that in Yiddish.
September 11, 2018 at 2:52 am
acratia2
In the context pătlăgele has nothing to do wuth egg-plant salad. Romanians never call egg-plant “pătlăgea”(sg) “pătlăgele”(pl), they call it mostly “vânătă” (sg) “vinete” (pl), which is short from “pătlăgele vinete” (blue-violet pătlăgele). The tomatoes are sometimes called “pătlăgele roşii” (red or riped pătlăgele), but more often only “roşii”. “Pătlăgele” alone means non riped tomatoes, green tomatoes. Romanians conserve them just like they conserve “castraveți” (cucumbers), in salty water with some vinegar, and eat them as a side dish, accompanying other disher, especially during winter, where there are no vegetables. I hope this is helpful.
January 31, 2011 at 6:42 am
LK
further:
“karnatzl” is sausage,
“mamalige” is polenta,
“brinze” is cottage cheese.
The last two would go together in a popular dish.
March 11, 2011 at 3:52 pm
L. Weber
Patlazhele This is a Romanian roasted eggplant salad. Members of my family have made this in the USA, and during my one brief visit to Bucharest I made a point to sample it there. Delicious!
May 2, 2011 at 12:47 am
Romania Romania Romania — Imprint-The Online Community for Graphic Designers
[…] I think of Romania (Rumania), alas I think of this song in Yiddish by Aaron Lebedeff (you’ll need to click to play). I also think of Saul Steinberg, […]
May 2, 2011 at 10:16 am
Florin Iaru
No, pătlăgele are NOT eggplants! There are a kind of tomatoes, but green coloured, used, as Catalin said, for pickles!
September 10, 2012 at 6:11 pm
Barry L Tannenholz
I was raised by my grandparents on the lower east side of Manhattan. My grandfather was Romanian, from Bucharest. My grandmother prepared all his favorite dishes, one of which was–and here I”ll transliterate it to reflect the sounds–pah-tah-jeh-leh. I never heard an “l” sound; perhaps I wasn’t listening closely enough. My grandfather got it at home and ordered it at the Romanian Jewish restaurants we went to over the years. It was an eggplant salad. Maybe we are talking about two different things. After all, every language is loaded with words that sound alike–or say one thing, but mean another. Welsh Rabbit is not made of or with rabbit. As a result, some people insist on saying Welsh Rarebit, to show that they know it’s not rabbit. But the fact remains, patageleh was eggplant salad. If you asked for it at a restaurant, you didn’t wind up with green tomatoes. If you did, you would have thought the waiter was out of his mind.
It’s wonderful that there are people who still remember, care about, and enjoy these songs. They bring back great memories to me–listening on Sunday to WEVD and reading the Forward to my grandmother. Back then I thought these things were old fashioned and a waste of time. How wrong I was! I now troll the internet to recapture those sounds. That’s life.
October 22, 2015 at 3:39 pm
Aurel Iovitu
pat-la-gean is eggplant in BULGARIAN!!!! patlagele in ROMANIAN are green tomatoes used for pickles.
BORSCHT in ROMANIAN is sour soup and in YIDDISH is the russian soup.
April 27, 2016 at 11:39 am
Carolina
So, FYI:
Mamaliga (mămăligă) is a corn meal, the same Italian polenta.
Khashkaval (cașcaval) is a yelow cheese like Ementaller.
Karnatzele (cârnați) is sausages, freed or not.
Pastrami (pastramă) is like ham.
Khastrovete (castravete) is cucumber. In Romania we take small cucumber and make pickles in salt water with them. (Plural: castraveți)
Pathlajele (pătlăgele) are tomatos that are stil green, we make them too in salt water jar for the winter, like pickles. (Singular: pătlăgea)
Eggplant salad is called “salată de vinete”! Vinete are eggplant! (Sg. Vânătă! Because of the color Violet=vânăt)
A romanian girl!
May 30, 2016 at 3:43 pm
Mihaela
Hi, eggplants are pătlăgele vinete (purple), and now we just call them vinete, while tomatoes are roșii (red), so now we just call them roșii. So both are right! Although to call them just pătlăgele, then we would Be reffering to tomatoes
September 8, 2016 at 12:51 pm
Eliezer Pennywhistler
<>
Right! Because this is Yiddish and Yiddish culture, not Rumanian and Rumanian culture.
There are still a lot of people who wish to declare Yiddish, Israeli and Jewish culture as invalid … or even non-existent.
April 8, 2016 at 1:13 pm
Miron
Patlagele vinete are indeed eggplants/aubergines (bluish purple patlagele) and patlagele rosii are tomatoes (red patlagele).
The gogonele (green tomatoes) are used for pickles
May 2, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Ana Florea
Excelent!
May 6, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Matt
Karnatsl (or the Romanian “carnat”) is actually sausage. Nothing more, nothing less.
May 21, 2011 at 6:11 am
Alex
mamalige is some sort of maize dish (mamaliga – delicios with cheese products like branza/ branza de burduf <> used in making bulz )
Karnatsl is a garlicky meat patty( a sausage 🙂 delicios with mamaliga especially if it is smoked)
patlagica/ tomato is great with another cheese time : cas or telemea
Kashtaval (or Kashkaval) ( Cascaval / cascaval afumat : a chesse made from cow milk especially that has some extra processes in the making that condenses the taste, sometimes smoked to give a nice taste of wood aroma )
Kastrovet and Patlazhele ( castravete/castravete murati and tomato )- this pickled cucumbers and other pickled vegetables are a remedy after drinking to much good Romanian wine( co you can understand what he is meaning in the song)
brinze : branza ( de burduf ) – the cheese i was talking about that is great with hot mamaliga and cold as well
pastrami : pastrama ( de oaie ) a sheep meat ( but not only) salted, dried, smoked… tasty
don’t forget sarmale : stuffed cabbage ( pickled cabage traditionally) with mamaliga and cream 😀
you can look the word i translate on google but if you want the real taste come to Romania and you will find some areas that keep this products in the original traditional taste that no production line of a modern company can reproduce yet… maybe you will find a taste that you like and know ( my mouth is watering 😀 )
thank you for the translation of the song
July 6, 2011 at 11:59 pm
Shula
Love this song! Do you know when and where it was written?
October 2, 2011 at 10:19 am
Vicky
Hi,
Catalin answered correctly, but not so Nachman. What Nachman thinks of is “salata de vinete” which is eggplant salad, or aubergine (the British English word for ‘eggplant) salad. Mamaliga is what the Spanish call polenta. I was told that Polish people also eat mamaliga. The Romanian peasants used to take to the field a piece of mamaliga (it can be cooked to a thicker consistency), a piece of cheese and an onion (it’s the Romanian version of the English ‘ploughman’s lunch’).
October 12, 2011 at 8:52 pm
Richard L Seiden
Mammaliga is a yellow corn meal mush similar to Italian Polenta formed into a loaf with cheese. Take 2 cups corn meal and 6 cups of cold water – bring to a boil while stirring often – turn the heat down to a slow simmer and while stirring occasionally until the porridge thickens Put half the cornmeal mush on an oven proof serving platter
Cover with Bryndza, Kash, Kashkzval and Urdu cheeses (Feta, Mozzerla, Provolne, and Romano if the Rumainian cheeses are not available) Cover with the remaining mush and bake at 350F until the cheese oozes – Cut the loaf with a piece of string and serve with cold sour cream (traditional) or yougert, apple sauce, or for polenta, a red sause.
November 6, 2011 at 4:58 pm
arvin sloane
pahtlajel is like a “kosher jello” made from calves foot
November 10, 2011 at 9:35 pm
Lauren
Seconding the translation of kastrovet as cucumber and patlazhele as tomatoes. I think Nachman may be confusing the words patlazhele and patlezhane (which does mean eggplant).
November 20, 2011 at 12:57 pm
marion maidens
Patlagele is the same as baba ganouj, not a tomato. It is eggplant, broiled, skinned, and cooled, then combined with a bit of vinegar and oil, seasonings, and chopped until fine with onions. Traditionally, it is served cold.
Mamalige is the equivalent of the Italian polenta. Traditionally, it is cooked until thick, then spread out on a large flat plate. Shaved brindza, another sheep milk cheese, is sprinkled over it and then it is cut WITH A STRING.
March 3, 2012 at 1:32 pm
Peciorin
The patlagele are green pickled tomatoes, that’s it guys! All the romanians here said the same thing, why are you still searching for the meaning? Maybe because you didn’t read the previous comments?!
December 6, 2011 at 1:23 pm
olterigo
Are you sure “brinza” is cottage cheese? Across the border in Ukraine, it is a hard-soft cheese like feta. The difference with feta – at least in Odessa – is that you don’t taste the salt. (But I think the saltlessness is the quality specific to Odessa brinza.)
March 18, 2012 at 12:59 pm
Vicky
Branza is not at all cottage cheese, but feta cheese. It’s a salty, more or less, cheese which originates, I suppose, from Greece. Some people like to accompany it with watermelon; it’s similar to people who sprinkle salt over slices of pineapple.
June 9, 2017 at 9:04 pm
Marius
Why would you think it is originally from Greece? It is just the most straightforward thing to do with the milk. And btw it is not feta cheese. Somewhat similar but the taste, the saltiness, the amount of fat in it all differ and variate according to who produces it, how long it has been kept etc
Patlagele are definitely small tomatoes.
December 12, 2011 at 4:26 am
Rumania, Rumania…. – branza si mamaliga… | Petrica Moisuc
[…] Translation: Rumania, Rumania […]
January 16, 2012 at 7:37 am
Bazil
I will give you the right meaning of these Romanian words.
First, “patlagele”: as a matter of facts is hard to say. We (Romanians) have red p. that means tomato, green p. which is unriped tomato (used for pickles named “gogonele”) and purple p. that is eggplant. See the context.
“Castravets” is indeed cucumber, but I assume that Lebedeff means pickled cucumber, kind of “dill”.
“Cashkaval” is obviously the Italian caciocavallo, a semi-hard cheese (regardless the type of milk).
“Karnatsl” is sausages (of any kind) and “mamaliga” means plain polenta,; it is (or rather was) a staple food for Romanian peasants hence “mamaligari” (derogatory extended to all Romanians or restricted to cheap people).
The song was composed in the United States, between the wars and sure enough, was a kind of a minor hit.
June 9, 2017 at 9:08 pm
Marius
This post sounds the most accurate to me. Didn’t know that patlagele can be also aubergines but according to the Romanian dictionary it actually can.
March 18, 2012 at 1:14 pm
Vicky
Cashkaval is very similar in taste to the French gruyere which has a very special taste. When people talk about semi-hard cheeses they can mean cheddar cheeses which have nothing in common with cashkaval.
March 18, 2012 at 1:17 pm
J. Griffin Crump
I missed this when you first posted it, but am happy to see it now. Thank you for the excellent work!
March 18, 2012 at 1:47 pm
J. Griffin Crump
Not because it’s the day after St. Patrick’s Day — just a coincidence — but it’s interesting to me to note that the Irish word for cheese is “cáis”, which is pronounced “kawsh”. One wonders about the trail of that word.
March 24, 2012 at 2:56 pm
Danutz Nastase
Caș (it is pronouned ”cash”) is a romanian cheese made from sheep or cow milk. Maybe the word is common for many languages. After all, Irish and Romanian are two indo-european languages.
March 24, 2012 at 3:00 pm
Danutz Nastase
And, by the way, ”brinza” (now is actually written branza, after the orthography reform made 20 years ago) means ”cheese”. Any type of cheese, not a particular one.
August 10, 2012 at 11:13 am
Wayne Barker
Thank you so much for the transcription, transliteration, and translation, and to all the illuminating commentators too. This song is a thrilling, inspired masterpiece.
September 15, 2012 at 10:03 pm
Sanford E. Jacquard
Branza is any kind of cheese. Cashcaval is a form of cheese. Branza de Braila is feta cheese and it is delicious with mamaliga (polenta) and butter.
Patlagele are tomatoes; patlagele vinete are eggplant.
November 5, 2012 at 4:40 am
Mihail
My fellow Romanians, except Bazil, have limited knowledge of their mother language. Indeed pătlăgele can mean both tomatoes and eggplants. In the past tomatoes were called pătlăgele roşii = red pătlăgele and the egg plants were called pătlăgele vinete = purple pătlăgele. Now we only use roşii = tomatoes and vinete = eggplants. In the countryside tomatoes are also called simply pătlăgele. So in this case it is possible it’s about eggplants since eggplat salad is a favorite dish in Romania but i think it is just tomatoes since tomatoes and brânza (telemea) goes together like bread and butter.
mamalige = mămăligă a staple food made from maize flower, it goes very well with traditional Romanian foods.
karnatzl = cârnaţi a generic term for sausage. There are many type of cârnaţi, most of them use pork, but in this case i think it’s the veal or lamb kind.
kashtaval = caşcaval = a type of cheese. When I was a kid, like 20 years ago, caşcaval used to be something great, tasted like Grana Padano but softer, today most sorts are something tasteless, rubber-like, that resembles cheddar.
kastrovet = castraveţi = cucumbers more akin to the gherkins or cornishon also very popular as pickles.
brinza = brânză, actually this means simply cheese in Romanian, I am aware that this word was spread in eastern and central Europe and denote a certain type of cheese made by Romanian mountain shepherds that is known in Romanian as „brânză telemea”. Some say it’s close to feta, but it’s not although you can get an idea if you tasted feta.
pastrami = pastramă. Well you know what this is. That’s because Jewish immigrants from Romania brought the recipe for pastramă from Romania to US and there proved to have a great succes and today it’s known all over the world as pastrami, although I doubt the pastrami in the US preserved much in common with the Romanian kind.
September 8, 2016 at 12:56 pm
Eliezer Pennywhistler
Sorry, son … and sorry to your “fellow Rumanians”. We do not have to have knowledge of your mother language.
This song is 100% Yiddish. And the words mean what they mean in Yiddish.
We’re glad you have similar-sounding names for your foods, but we will continue to use our words to mean what our words mean.
March 24, 2013 at 10:57 am
Francine
My Mother always made Karnatzl and it is not sausage. We had to have ground sirloin not just any beenf. No eggs or breadcrumbs. Just pure meat with a lot of garlic. She would roll it into short logs which might be like a sausage. Then broil it till it was well done and crispy on the outside. Really declicious.
June 10, 2013 at 9:15 pm
Barry L Tannenholz
Exactly the way my grandmother made karnatzlach for my grand father. But sirloin was not an option as it was not sold in any kosher butcher.
May 12, 2013 at 12:45 pm
martin schmuckler
I remember hearing this song in the 1970-s MY father had it on a 78 r p m record on columbia label and asking freinds of the family originally from Romania and they said mamaliga might be a type of cereal
June 10, 2013 at 9:17 pm
Barry L Tannenholz
My grandmother made mamaliga for my grandfather. It was more or less the same as polenta.
July 29, 2016 at 2:29 pm
robin
hi martin do you still have that record??
drmgb18@aol.com
June 19, 2013 at 7:55 pm
Karl
I quote from an earlier email the very definition of what my Rumanian-Jewish family called not patlagele but shalutta. My wife learned the recipe from my mother and now, seventy years after my childhood in Brooklyn, when I alone can recall my great uncle singing the song with gusto (with or without Rumanish wine) makes it upon request. I can still hear the melody but I don’t have the musicality to sing the song myself.
Patlagele is the same as baba ganouj, not a tomato. It is eggplant, broiled, skinned, and cooled, then combined with a bit of vinegar and oil, seasonings, and chopped until fine with onions. Traditionally, it is served cold.
August 23, 2013 at 2:06 pm
Nathan
My Bubba made a lot of the stuff. She was from the Ukraine. She and Zayda used these food names for code words that had sexual inferences. They were sly altas. Think about Eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers sausages. I think these words had other meanings it makes me smile when I think back to the day Bubba gave me a small sweater she knitted that was shaped like my genitals. I turned red, she laughed. A pastramela…. Really!
September 5, 2013 at 9:20 pm
Petric
Romania had 9 provinces and each of them had their variations of the same food in consistency and name; of course certain dish had variations depending on the cook’s skills.
>>Mihail has the best description used in province of Moldova
September 5, 2013 at 9:28 pm
Petric
The song is inspired from Romanian country music.
October 14, 2013 at 7:32 am
Smaranda
Brilliant song! And the guy’s voice is absolutely charming! Look, I’m not Jewish and I’m not sure I know anyone Jewish round here, but judging from the song and the conversation it caused, this is a very lively culture. And yes, `patlagele` can mean both `tomato` and `eggplant` in Romanian, depending on who’s talking, where and when. Now, for instance, I mean in the new millennium, only older people and villagers would use ‘patlagele’ casually. It’s simply dated. But who cares, “the music makes all the money” (that’s one Romanian way of saying “the only thing that counts is music”). No allusion to the “manele”-song craze!
December 20, 2013 at 5:39 pm
Mike D.
Wonderful conversation regarding eastern European foods! I originally came across this song as performed by Eartha Kitt in a concert at Carnegie Hall. It was originally recorded sometime in the 50’s. Yiddish was one of the 7-8 languages she spoke fluently.
April 8, 2014 at 9:59 pm
Bar Mitzvah Project 42614
I just became sooo hungry reading the lyrics in English!
April 15, 2014 at 4:20 am
Linkuri si offtopice - 14 octombrie 2013 | BLOGARY
[…] […]
August 31, 2014 at 11:58 am
Jerry cohen
Just came home from the Ashkenaz festival in T.O 2014 . Heard “Roumania”. I loved this song .Trying to get the translation.
December 3, 2014 at 9:48 am
University Diaries » Ay Nebraska Nebraska!
[…] it to this tune: Ay Romania, […]
December 18, 2014 at 9:49 pm
Elizabeth Lewis
My dad used to make his own version of mamaliga, because he couldn’t find the proper ingredients. Yes, it’s polenta, but also added are cheese and drawn butter, each in a seperate dish. You take a forkful of the corn meal, then dip it in the cheese, then in the butter. He was very specific about the way his grandparents ate it. This was the proper way.
June 30, 2015 at 6:57 pm
ben spira
does anyone have the notes for Rumania ? if yes please send it to me thanks
July 29, 2015 at 9:30 pm
Gene Baumwoll
The song is over 6 minutes long as recorded by Aaron Leibedorf
Romania Romania
and Only at Katz’s Deli on E Houston St in NYC have I had real Pastramele =Pastrami
August 8, 2015 at 9:00 pm
Rogen
Hi, I agree that castravete is cucumber, but patlagele is eggplant, not tomato, because tomato in Romanian is tomate
.
September 24, 2015 at 1:14 am
B K
Karnatzaleh.. usually made form lean ground beef.. some who do not keep kosher add a little bit of lean pork.. others do not.. You add lots of minced garlic and a spice mixture that contains pepper, paprika, and oregano and some others in a powder format like used for kebob. Also, we use lots of soup broth, clear consommé..chicken or beef.. Roll into log .or thick wiener forms then freeze for a few hours, fire up the BBQ, grease the rack then cook medium.
piftie is something I can not tolerate.
Only the elders eat it, some do not.
pătlăgele is usually referring to tomatoes but in some regions I have learned can be ,rarely for eggplant.
Salata de vinete is what all my Romanian relations from all over but mostly from Bucharest call it.
Mamaliaga does not have to contain brânză, at all. It can be simply just the cornmeal and water , butter salt.
Adding cheese is optional.
We often add it to Ciorba and Tocana as well.
I love Ciorba and make it often as well as Tocana.
In Bukovina area they call mamaliga = Natchynka due to the heavy Ukrainian ancestry there.
We almost always have placinta at every important celebration meal, especially the holidays unless Pesach.
Also, for desserts, sarailie is like Baklava. Also, cornulete we make with Prune or cooked plums. lapte de pasare is the same as Floating Island in English.
February 27, 2016 at 4:34 am
Adrian
Great Song! Great Singer!
Great times of rejoicing and friendship inside Great Romania!
Thanks for posting!
April 27, 2016 at 11:45 am
Carolina
So, FYI:
Mamaliga (mămăligă) is a corn meal, the same Italian polenta.
Khashkaval (cașcaval) is a yelow cheese like Ementaller.
Karnatzele (cârnați) is sausages, freed or not.
Pastrami (pastramă) is like ham.
Khastrovete (castravete) is cucumber. In Romania we take small cucumber and make pickles in salt water with them. (Plural: castraveți)
Pathlajele (pătlăgele) are tomatos that are stil green, we make them too in salt water jar for the winter, like pickles. (Singular: pătlăgea)
Eggplant salad is called “salată de vinete”! Vinete are eggplant! (Sg. Vânătă! Because of the color Violet=vânăt)
A romanian girl!
August 29, 2016 at 4:56 pm
martin geller
Came to this website late– but my grandmother and mother used to make patlagele, mashed the cold eggplant and added chopped onions, then lemon juice. Mamaliga was a household item–a cornmeal mush , to which was added butter and cream cheese. Yogurt or light sour cream does well as well.—Martin Geller
March 9, 2017 at 6:02 pm
Roumania, Roumania: How It Sounds | Isaac Writes About Music
[…] Rumania, RUMANIA, Rumania, Rumania!” We hear the loss in his voice as he reminisces… “Once there was a land, sweet and lovely.” Is this song going to be yet another dirge about lost history and home, as was his Slutsk mein […]
April 30, 2017 at 7:05 am
Alexander Levy
Always found this song, with which I grew up, during WWII in Europe, so ironic. Romania was probably the worst place in Europe for Jews, barring none. And Romanian behavior by the populace during the Holocaust was almost unmatched.
January 9, 2018 at 8:48 am
Eliezer Pennywhistler
That’s one of the sly jokes in this song.
August 31, 2017 at 3:50 pm
Ricartdo Bekerman
Muy simpatico el envìo. “patlazhele” me suena a los bizcochitos “platzelej” cuya receta guarda Fanny y se la diò la tìa Mary.
September 20, 2017 at 11:43 am
Peter Daminoff
potlozhel must be patlijan in Turkish eggplant
January 9, 2018 at 1:23 pm
Roman Genut
The question was to translate the word ” Kastrovet”
It is clearly translated as Romanian word “castravete” which means “Cucumber”. Do doubts about it.
All the best.
January 9, 2018 at 8:44 am
Eliezer Pennywhistler
– It’s “to kiss a MAN, not MAIN.
– “Brikh shemo” (sp?) is “Blessed is the Name of God” from the morning prayers.
December 16, 2019 at 4:48 pm
Dr. Jud Newborn, Author/Lecturer/Curator
THIS ENDLESS FRIENDLY DISCOURSE ESPECIALLY ON WHAT PATLEJELE IS …. IS AS NUTTY AS THE SONG! I LOVE IT – and I love patlejele. BUT I WONT tell you whether I’m eating small green tomatoes, eggplant or anything else. Just eat and be happy, and don’t forget the Rumanish Wine!
May 31, 2018 at 4:55 am
Turturean
Hello,i am romanian. The original song sung by Aaron Lebedeff (1947) is longer than your translation. Why did you only translate half? The words of the second patient who have not been translated are not identical with the first part
Lumanesti, bucharesti, filanesti, lumanesti, bucharesti, lumanesti –
A-a-a-a-h, c h o w ! ! !
ay digge digge dam digge digge digge dam
[sort of heavy breathing] cha ee ow oo – – etc.
uuuu uuuuu uu looo – – etc.
bum blyim, bum blyim – – etc.
[g a r g l e]
[slap hand against open mouth] x x x x xxxxx xxxxx
Yikum pirkun min sh’maye – – shteyt un kisht di kekhne, khaye
Ongeton in alte shkrabes – – makht a kigl l’koved shabes,
Zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam, – zets! da yidl di dam, –
z e t s ! ! !
Iz moyshe khayim ongekimen, dem beste kheylik tsugenimen,
Moyshe khayim, borukh shmil – khapt a kitsl in der shpil,
Zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam, – zets! da yidl di dam, –
z e t s ! ! !
Un dos meydl nebekh blozt zakh
I zi vil nit nor zi lozt zakh – – u u u u u u u !
Loz zakh meydele, loz zakh! loz zakh vi nit loz zakh!
Loz zakh meydele, loz zakh! dayn mame hot zikh oykh gelozt.
Tantst meydlakh hulyet hopet {nem dem lopne nombe shaye},
Mazl tov {es rule shoshe, fan dar maydl} khayim yosef,
Zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam, – zets! da yidl di dam, –
z e t s ! ! !
Ay, shtot, shtot, shtot, shtot – ya di khnyabli yadni lubni,
Khotchet lyubit, khotchet dyevka, ni kopeki, dyengi nyet!
Zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam, –
z e t s ! ! !
Ay, ‘siz a mekhaye vos beser ken nit zayn,
Ay a fargenign iz dokh rumeynish vayn,
Ay, la, la, la, da, da – ay, la, la, da, da –
Ay, la, la, la, da, da – ay, la, la, da, da
a h ! ! a – a – a – a – ah ! ! ! c h o w ! ! !
Hop hop hop hop ha, {shtatn yatn hapn papn, chidl di papn – ha}
Ho, git tsu kishn iz a moyd ven zi’z alt zekhtsn,
Ven men kisht an alte moyd, heybt zi on tsu krekhtsn,
Zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam, –
h a !
Ven a bokher trit a meydl meynt zi (az) ‘siz a glik,
Er trit zi mit an “ice cream soda” kvetcht es oys tsurik,
Zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam,-
h e h !
Bashafn hot undz got a velt mit nisim un mit vinder,
Galitsyaner makhn gelt un litvakes kinder,
Zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam,- zets! da yidl di dam, – zets!!
Ay ‘siz a mekhaye vos beser ken nit zayn,
Ay a fargenign iz nor rumeynish vayn –
day – la, la, la, la, – la, day – la, la, la, lar
day – la, la, la, la, – lup, la, la, la, la, la, ay! ay! ay! rara!!
Translation please
August 12, 2018 at 1:40 pm
Cristina
Kastrovet is cucumber and Patlahzele is tomatoes.
December 16, 2018 at 10:40 pm
S S
Where’s this song from? It soulds like it came from a theater show or something like that.
January 11, 2019 at 3:14 am
Daniel ( Davedescu)
Let me help you out, my mother and father are both Romanian and wondered Europe escaping. So Mamaliga is corn meal mush but firmer it is formed in a cast iron skillet poured out on a plate and formed about 2-3 inches thick. Then topped with Romanian cheese (identical to Feta cheese) and topped with sour cream, (my Father sometimes used butter instead. I’ve been eating it for 60+ years now and I made it for my Father until a couple of years ago when he died. Also I know he eat the Iranian cucumbers, Not really to much tomatoes salad but Babaganoosh. (Sic)
March 4, 2019 at 11:00 am
Beïgalé Orkestra, e Israele riscoprì la musica klezmer - East Journal
[…] il klezmer non c’entra niente con il sionismo, e introdurre i toni nostalgici di pezzi come Rumania, Rumania!, in cui Aaron Lebedeff cantava in yiddish il paradiso perduto della Romania ebraica dove non […]
April 5, 2019 at 4:04 pm
Mike Klein
Patlazhele is an eggplant dish of some kind. It’s name comes from the Turkish name for eggplant “patlican.”
April 18, 2019 at 4:06 am
Romance Sign Language Of Romania - Print Magazine
[…] I think of Romania (Rumania), alas I think of this song in Yiddish by Aaron Lebedeff (you’ll need to click to play). I also think of Saul Steinberg, who […]
July 6, 2019 at 10:51 am
Ernst Sittig
Bought a big chunk of kashkaval at Lidl (Germany) today. Delicious!