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Vu Is Dos Gesele
Vu iz dos gesele, vu iz di shtib (shtub)?
Vu iz dos meydele, vemen kh'hob lib?
Ot iz dos gesele, ot iz di shtib,
Ot iz dos meydele, vemen kh'hob lib.
Vu iz dos taykhele, vu iz di mil?
Vu iz dos derfele, vu iz di shil?
Ot iz dos taykhele, ot iz di mil,
Ot iz dos derfele, ot iz di shil.
Arayn in di shtiber, mayn veytog iz groys,
Alts iz geblibn a kholem nor bloyz,
Nishto mer dos gesele, nishto mer di shtib,
Nishto mer dos meydele vemen kh'hob lib.
Notes: Folksong: the text of one stanza was published in 1912 by Y. L. Cahan. The Ukrainian equivalent, beginning with "Gdye eto ulitsa" was published by Z. Skuditski in 1936. Dov Noy and Meir Noy bring the first stanza in Yiddish, Hebrew and Russian. It also appears in another folksong "Du zolst nit geyn mit keyn andere meydelekh" (You Shouldn't Go With Any Other Girls). The second stanza of the present text was transcribed by the compilers from a recording of Jan Peerce. A related theme is in the song "Fargangene yorn" by Leyb Ayzn in Leye Bloch-Lederer's collection Di shenste geklibene yidishe lider:
"Ikh ze nokh dem shtetl, Ikh ze nokh di shil
Ikh ze nokh dem taykhl vi oykh di vaser-mil
Ikh ze nokh mayn libste fun vayt ergets dort
Zi kumt mir in kholem un redt nit keyn vort"
I still see the town,
I still see the synagogue,
I still see the brook and the mill.
I still see my beloved in the distance.
She silently comes to me in my dream.
Actress Mina Bern sang the song in the musical Those Were the Days.
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Vu iz dos gesele, vu iz di shtib (shtub)?
Where is the small lane, where is the chamber?
Vu iz dos meydele, vemen kh'hob lib?
Where is the girl I love?
Ot iz dos gesele, ot iz di shtib,
Ot iz dos meydele, vemen kh'hob lib.
There is ...
Vu iz dos taykhele, vu iz di mil?
Where is the small pond, where is the mill?
Vu iz dos derfele, vu iz di shil?
Where is the small village, where is the school?
Ot iz dos taykhele, ot iz di mil,
Ot iz dos derfele, ot iz di shil.
There is ...
Arayn in di shtiber, mayn veytog iz groys,
In the chambers my pain is great
Alts iz geblibn a kholem nor bloyz,
All that has remained only a dream now
Nishto mer dos gesele, nishto mer di shtib,
Nishto mer dos meydele vemen kh'hob lib.
No more the small lane ... (as in 1st stanza)
The small lane: In former times the Jews were restricted to a limited area in villages and towns, mostly a narrow lane. In my hometown we still have a Jews' lane which is a little bit broader and longer than usual. In cities like Frankfurt and similar metropoles of commerce one could find a Jewish quarter in former times.
Shtib: could be a small house, consisting of only one room.
The school is the synagogue in Yiddish.
The use of the Slavic words ot (there) and nishto (nothing) proves that the song originated in Eastern Europe.
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Lauri Õunapuu
lauri[ät]metsatoll.ee
+372 56155559
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