Music by Peretz Sandler (1881-1926), from the play Mendl in yapan (Mendel in Japan). Published in 1924. The song was one of the favorites of compiler Chana Mlotek’s father Leo Gordon, of blessed memory.
— Don’t worry, don’t let it upset you.
You won’t suffer very long.
For when I’m there,
I won’t forget you,
Believe me.
Everything I’ll do
To bring you there.
You may be sure
That you’ll always be mine,
I swear to you.
— Oh, you’re going away!
For whom are you leaving me?
I’ll swim across the oceans
Just to get to you,
I love you more than anything.
— It’s even worse for me than for you,
You may believe me.
My heart will suffer,
And yearn for you endlessly.
Refrain:
Two little flowers
Bloomed deep in the woods.
Someone separated them,
Tore them apart by force.
One must go
To the far corners of the earth,
While the other stays alone and lonely.
Who can feel the pain of the little flowers?
Two little flowers
Withered before their time,
Someone separated them
By broad oceans.
Life will fly past
And they’ll bloom no longer.
The two little flowers,
They won’t be seen anymore.
After a rain, my dearest,
Come happiness and sunshine, after all.
My darling,
We will yet be happy.
Your beautiful eyes
Lighten my deep pain.
My darling,
You heal my pain.
We’ll be happy again
And no longer be separated.
We’ll live quietly again, for always,
And sing the song with joy.
Two little flowers. . .
— Zorg nit, zol dir nit ton bang,
Du vest nit laydn lang,
Vayl dort vel ikh
Nit fargesn dir,
Gleyb es mir.
Ales, ales vel ikh ton
Dikh nemen dort ahin.
Megst zikher zayn,
Eybik blayb ikh dayn,
lkh shver es dir.
— Oy, du forst avek,
Oy, du forst avek.
Oyf vemen lozstu mikh iber?
Oyf yamen vel ikh shvimen,
Nor tsu dir tsu kimen,*
Fun ales, bistu mir liber.
— S’iz mir erger nokh fun dir,
Du megst es gleybn mir,
Mayn harts vet laydn,
Benken on a shir.
Refrain:
Blimelekh tsvey
Geblit tif in vald.
Tsesheydt hot men zey,
Tserisn mit gvald.
Eyns muz in ek velt geyn,
Dos tsveyte elnt aleyn,
Ver ken dem veytik fun
Di blimelekh farshteyn?
Blimelekh tsvey
Farvelkt far der tsayt,
Tsesheydt hot men zey
lber yamen vayt.
Dos lebn vet farflien,
Zey kenen mer nit blien,
Di blimelekh tsvey,
Zey vein zikh shoyn mer nit zen.
Nokh a regn, libster mayn,
Kumt dos glik un zunenshayn,
Lyube mayn,
Mir veln nokh gliklekh zayn.
Dayne sheyne oygn tsvey
Lindern mayn tifn vey,
Lyube mayn,
Du heylst mayn shmerts un payn.
Mir veln vider hobn freyd,
Mer nit zayn tsesheydt.
Lebn ruik shtil, solid,
Zingen sheyn dos lid:
Blimelekh tsvey . . .
• kumen
— זאָרג ניט, זאָל דיר ניט טאָן באַנג,
דו װעסט ניט לײַדן לאַנג,
װײַל דאָרט װעל איך
ניט פֿאַרגעסן דיר,
גלײב עס מיר;
אַלעס, אַלעס װעל איך טאָן
דיך נעמען דאָרט אַהין,
מעגסט זיכער זײַן,
אײביק בלײַב איך דײַן,
איך שװער עס דיר.
— אױ, דו פֿאָרסט אַװעק,
אױ, דו פֿאָרסט אַװעק,
אױף װעמען לאָזסטו מיך איבער!
אױף ימען װעל איך שװימען,
נאָר צו דיר צו קומען.
פֿון אַלעס ביסטו מיר ליבער!
— ס׳איז מיר ערגער נאָך פֿון דיר,
דו מעגסט עס גלײבן מיר;
מײן האַרץ װעט לײַדן,
בענקען אָן אַ שיעור.
רעפֿרײן:
בלימעלעך צװײ
געבליט טיף אין װאַלד,
צעשײדט האָט מען זײ,
צעריסן מיט געװאַלד.
אײנס מוז אין עק װעלט גײן,
דאָס צװײטע עלנט אַלײן,
װער קען דעם װײטיק פֿון
די בלימעלעך פֿאַרשטײן?
בלימעלעך צװײ
פֿאַרװעלקט פֿאַר דער צײַט,
צעשײדט האָט מען זײ
איבער ימען װײַט;
דאָס לעבן װעט פֿאַרפֿליִען,
זײ קענען מער ניט בליִען,
די בלימעלעך צװײ,
זײ װעלן זיך שױן מער ניט זען.
נאָך אַ רעגן, ליבסטער מײַן,
קומט דאָך גליק און זונענשײַן,
ליובע מײַן —
מיר װעלן נאָך גליקלעך זײַן.
דײַנע שײנע אױגן צװײ,
לינדערן מײַן טיפֿן װײ,
ליובע מײַן,
דו הײלסט מײַן שמערץ און פּײַן.
מיר װעלן װידער האָבן פֿרײד,
מער ניט זײַן צעשײדט;
לעבן רויִק שטיל, סאָליד
זינגען שײן דאָס ליד:
בלימעלעך צװײ. . .
Song Title: Blimelekh Tsvey
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.”
