Published by A. Bulkin and L. Efron in 1917. Adapted from a folksong about the Jewish clergy: “Der rebele, der gabele; / Der khazndl, der shamesl / Gants kley-koydesh geyt dokh tantsn” (The rabbi, the trustee, the cantor, the sexton—the whole clergy is going dancing) published by Sussman Kisselgof in 1911.
The Bulkin-Efron version has the rabbi joining the dance. In the adaptation that Yosl Mlotek brings in his textbook Yidishe kinder, alef, 1971, it is the mother who is going to dance.
A little boy, a little girl,
A little girl, a little boy,
Lets all go dancing.
Let’s all go dancing
Even Mommy is going dancing too.
A little boy, a little girl,…
Even Mommy is going dancing too…
Even Daddy is going dancing too…
Even Bobe is going dancing too…
Even Zeyde is going dancing too…
The whole family is going dancing.
Bobe – grandmother.
Zeyde – grandfather.
A yingele, a meydele,
A meydele, a yingele,
Lomir ale geyn tantsn.
Lomir ale tantsn geyn,
Di mame aleyn geyt oykh tantsn.
A yingele, a meydele. . .
Der tate aleyn geyt oykh tantsn. . .
Di bobe aleyn geyt oykh tantsn. . .
Der zeyde aleyn geyt oykh tantsn . . .
Di gantse mishpokhe geyt tantsn.
א ייִנגעלע, א מײדעלע,
אַ מײדעלע, אַ ייִנגעלע,
לאָמיר אַלע גײן טאַנצן.
לאָמיר אַלע טאַנצן גײן,
די מאַמע אַלײן גײט אױך טאַנצן.
אַ ייִנגעלע, אַ מײדעלע. . .
דער טאַטע אַלײן גײט אַױך טאַנצן. . .
די באָבע אַלײן גײט אױך טאַנצן. . .
דער זײדע אַלײן גײט אױך טאַנצן. . .
די גאַנצע משפּחה גײט טאַנצן.
Song Title: A Yingele, A Meydele
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.”
