Dear Friends,
I am so grateful that I have followers that have read my blog this year. A blog is something I never thought I would do, since I wasn’t sure what I had to say. But, it has proven to be a great place to share some of my favorite songs and continue to get others interested in Yiddish song.
Thank you all for the support and I wish you all a warm holiday season and a happy new year!
During the winter season I produce a benefit concert for local food banks: Hungry for Yiddish; A Mitzvah project.
Come hear some of the songs that I have written about on my blog. Thanks for your support! (Click performances for more information).
A sheynem dank, happy holidays and happy new year,
Heather
3rd Annual Hungry for Yiddish; A Mitzvah Project~
Thursday, December 6th @ 7:30 p.m.
Arbeter Ring (Workmen’s Circle) 1525 S. Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA.
Thursday December 13th ~ 9 p.m.
Subterranean Arthouse ~ 2169 Bancroft, Berkeley, CA
Holiday Song~
Di Chanuke Likht (or Tiny Lights; as it also is known)
music: Zavel Zilberts; words: Morris Rosenfeld
This song was introduced to me by a Yiddish singer from Las Vegas (my hometown). While going through sheet music in her house she sang this song to me. She didn’t have the sheet music, so I recorded her. Then, after learning it through her recording I found that I already had the music! It was an exciting moment to find that the sheet music was already in my possession. When you look at the music it looks like a classically composed song, but when I heard my friend sing it in her home, it sounded like a folk song she had sung all her life.
Why sing it?
This is a great Chanuke song to sing in the stead of some of the well known holiday songs. I am playing around this year with incorporating some newer Chanuke songs with some older ones that people know. That way, no one is completely shocked when they hear a new piece. It is a great song.
What does it mean?
Oh ir klayne likhtelakh
ir getzehlt geshikhtelakh
Mayselakh on a zohl.
Ir derzehlt fun blutigkayt
Beryeshaft un Mutekayt
Vunder fun a mol
Oh ir klayne likhtelakh
Eyerer geshikhtelakh
Veken oof mayn payn.
Tif in hartz bavekt es zikh
Vos vet vayter zayn?
Oh you tiny lights
You tell such stories
Chapters without number
You tell of bloodshed, preserverance and bravery
Wonders from the past.
Oh you tiny lights
Your stories awaken my yearning and pain
Deep in my heart there is this rush
And with tears within me I ask myself
What will happen now?