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A Grus Fun Di "Trentshes"

Regards from the Trenches
אַ גרוס פֿון די ״טרענטשעס״

Song about the first World War, words and music by Isidor Lillian (1882-1960), published in 1918. The second stanza speaks of fighting for a Jewish homeland. The song was revived in the musical The Golden Land.

Illustration of musical notes from the books

Lyrics

I hold a letter in my hand,
I got the letter today,
the letter is very important
and very interesting, too.
In the letter, I have read
a lot of good news
and, in fact, in this same letter
there is a greeting for you.

I bring you regards from the trenches.
I bring you regards from the boys,
they are fighting bravely,
with courage and blood,
and they laugh at the Germans.
I bring you regards, too, from the G.I.s–
this is their greeting. They say:
As long as we are in it,
we must win the battle.
That’s the greeting from Uncle Sam’s army.

There’s a bit of hope,
a ray of good fortune is shining,
we are at the point of getting
our land back.
In that land, they are establishing
a Jewish Legion,
they are going to fight for the homeland
of our nation.

I bring you regards from the trenches.
I bring you regards from the boys.
This Jewish blood
and the core of Jewishness,
that still flares
and is not extinguished.
Regards from the Jewish heroes,
this is their greeting. They say:
To renew our old home,
to liberate our holy land,
Long live the Jewish Army!

lkh halt in hant a briv,
lkh hob dem briv gekrign haynt,
Der briv iz zeyer vikhtik
Un oykh zeyer interesant.
In dem briv gelezn hob ikh
Gute nays a sakh,
Un take in dem zelbn briv
lz do a grus far aykh.

Refrain:
lkh breng aykh a grus fun di “trentshes”*
lkh breng aykh a grus fun di “boys,”
Zey kemfn mit mut,
Mit kurazh un mit blut,
Un fun di daytshn lakhn zey zikh oys.
lkh breng aykh a grus fun di “Sammys,”­
Dos iz der grus, dos zogn zey:
Oyb mir zenen shoyn derinen,
Muzn mir di shlakht gevinen
lz der grus fun “Uncle Sam’s” armey.
S’iz do a shtikl hofnung,
Es shaynt a shtral fun glik,
Es halt derbay, mir zoln krign
Undzer land tsurik.
Es grindet zikh in yedn land
A yidishe legyon,
Zey geyen un kemfn far der heym
Fun undzer natsyon.

Refrain:
lkh breng aykh a grus fun di “trentshes,”
lkh breng aykh a grus fun di “boys,”
Dos yidishe blit**
Un dos pintele yid,
Es flakert nokh atsind,
Es lesht nit oys.
A grus fun di yidishe heldn,
Dos iz der grus, dos zogn zey:
Undzer alte heym banayen,
Undzer heylik land bafrayen,
Lebn zol di yidishe armey!

* trenches

** blut

איך האַלט אין האַנט אַ בריװ,
איך האָב דעם בריװ געקריגן הײַנט,
דער בריװ איז זײער װיכטיק
און אױך זײער אינטערעסאַנט.
אין דעם בריװ געלעזן האָב איך
גוטע נײַס אַ סך,
און טאַקע אין דעם זעלבן בריװ
איז דאָ אַ גרוס פֿאַר אײַך.

רעפֿרײן:
איך ברענג אײַך אַ גרוס פֿון די „טרענטשעס,“
איך ברענג אײַך אַ גרוס פֿון די „בױס,“
זײ קעמפֿן מיט מוט,
מיט קוראַזש און מיט בלוט
און פֿון די דײַטשן לאַכן זײ זיך אױס.
איך ברענג אײַך אַ גרוס פֿון די „סעמיס,“
דאָס איז דער גרוס, דאָס זאָגן זײ:
אױב מיר זענען שױן דערינען,
מוזן מיר די שלאַכט געװינען
איז דער גרוס פֿון „אָנקל סעמס“ אַרמײ.

ס׳איז דאָ אַ שטיקל האָפֿנונג,
עס שײַנט אַ שטראַל פֿון גליק,
עס האַלט דערבײַ, מיר זאָלן קריגן
אונדזער לאַנד צוריק,
עס גרינדעט זיך אין יעדן לאַנד
אַ ייִדישע לעגיאָן,
זײ גײען און קעמפֿן פֿאַר דער הײם
פֿון אונדזער נאַציאָן,

רעפֿרײן:
איך ברענג אײַך אַ גרוס פֿון די „טרענטשעס,“
איך ברענג אײַך אַ גרוס פֿון די „בױס,“
דאָס ייִדישע בלוט
און דאָס פּינטעלע ייִד,
עס פֿלאַקערט נאָך אַצינד,
עס לעשט ניט אױס.
אַ גרוס פֿון די ייִדישע העלדן,
דאָס איז דער גרוס, דאָס זאָגן זײ:
אונדזער אַלטע הײם באַנײַען,
אונדזער הײליק לאַנד באַפֿרײַען,
לעבן זאָל די ייִדישע אַרמײ!

Song Title: A Grus Fun Di “Trentshes”

Composer: Isidor Lillian
Composer’s Yiddish Name: איסידאָר ליליאַן
Lyricist: Isidor Lillian
Lyricist’s Yiddish Name: איסידאָר ליליאַן
Time Period: Unspecified

This Song is Part of a Collection

Songs of Generations: New Pearls of Yiddish Song

The Songs of Generations: New Pearls of Yiddish Song anthology comprises songs that were either never printed before or appeared in rare and inaccessible publications — sometimes in different versions and without proper sources. Most of the songs in this book were submitted by readers of Chana and Yosl’s column “Perl fun der yidisher poezye” (Pearls of Yiddish Poetry) in the Yiddish newspaper Der Forverts (The Forward), initiated in October, 1970. Over 25 years, thousands of songs were collected in correspondence and on cassettes from readers throughout the world, and they represent a veritable national Yiddish song archive. Chana Mlotek, in her introduction, writes, “In the course of years the inquiries, contributions and enthusiasm of these readers have kept our own interest unflagging and have reinforced our dedication to this effort. And in recent years our participants have also been augmented by new readers from the former Soviet Russia, who receive our newspaper there or from newly-arrived immigrants in this country and Israel.”

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