Song by Abraham Goldfaden (1840-1908), founder of the modern Yiddish theatre, for his operetta Doktor Almasado, 1882.
The song was printed in a choral arrangement by Ephraim Skliar by the Society for Jewish Folk Music in St. Petersburg in 1909. It was also published in sheet music by S. Schenker, N.Y., 1916, bearing the title “A yid bistu, gey vayter, gey” (You are a Jew, move on, move on). In Alexander Harkavy’s English translation, it was called ”The Wandering Jew.” Later Isaac Reingold wrote a parody “A tremp bistu, gey vayter, gey’” (You’re a tramp, move on, move on).
In the 1890’s Yiddish sweatshop poet, Morris Rosenfeld, wrote a poem about Castle Garden using this song’s melody. Over the years numerous variations of the original melody were published. The version presented here duplicates the 1916 corrected song sheet of Sholom Secunda’s arrangement and the recording by opera tenor Richard Tucker.
In grief, in despair, driven from his home for his great sin — the child cursed by God wanders everywhere. He may not remain long in any one place, but must move on and not grow tired. And therewith, his Father, the Lord, has branded him with the name “Jew.” He begs to rest his head somewhere. Despite his weeping, despite his cries — No, they tell him and don’t allow him in. — You’re a Jew, move on, go!
I’m not a stranger, you know me well. I have many documents! My pass, the old one, you yourself hide it in your drawer. My Bible, the fine one, is mine. Don’t you know the truth of what I say? And you read the Book of Psalms every day.
— Yes, it’s true. We know it well, but that stems from the Hebrews; you’re a Jew and we don’t acknowledge you at all. Go! Go!
— Oh, let me in. I can be useful to you. After all, I’ve got talent for everything, brains for learning, strength for trade, I’m a clever fellow for business. — We can do these things too, with you just as without you. How did you get to be this way? You used to till the soil, graze sheep and cattle. — Where can I gather today the strength I once had. I am weak, I can barely stand from all the endless beating and running. — It’s an excuse. Go! Go!
How can I see to go on in the dark? I shall wait for the sun to rise — perhaps in the light they will recognize who I am. God, I vow fervently to sin no more, so persuade the gentiles to let me have a place to rest, and let their kings — may they be granted long lives, — be disposed in my favor, so that people no longer shout at me to… Go!
Faryomert, farklogt,
Fun zayn heym faryogt
Far zayne groyse zind;
Azoy umetum
Blondzhet arum
Fun got dos farsholtene kind;
Az er zol oyf keyn ort
Nit lang blaybn dort
Nor geyn un nisht vern mid,
Dertsu hot im
Zayn tate elokim
Geshtemplt mit dem nomen yid.
Zayn kop ontsushparn bet er zikh ayn,
Khotsh veyn, khotsh shray, oy-vey!
— Neyn, entfert men im,
Men lozt nit arayn,
— A yid bistu, gey vayter, gey!
— Fremd bin ikh nit,
Ir kent mikh gants git,
Ikh hob dokumentn a sakh!
Mayn pas dem altn
Halt ir bahaltn;
Aleyn in der shafe bay aykh.
Di bibl di fayne,
Di iz dokh mayne,
Nit emes, filaykht, vos ikh zog?
Un dos tileml vos, neyn?
Leyent ir aleyn
Iber far aykh ale tog.
— Yo, dos iz emes, dos veysn mir git,
Dos geher ober tsu yevrey,
Du rufst zikh ober mit dem numen ‘yid’,
Dikh kenen mir gornit, gey, gey.
Oy, lozt mikh arayn,
Ikh vel aykh nitslekh zayn,
Ikh bin dokh feik tsu altsding:
Tsum lernen a moyekh,
Tsu melokhe a koyekh,
Tsum handlen a gants kluger ying.
— Dos kenen oykh mir
Mit dir, vi on dir,
Vi kumstu gor den dertsu?
Du flegst dokh fartsaytn
Erd baarbetn,
Shefelekh pashen un fi.
— Vu nem ikh haynt dem koyekh vos a mol,
Shvakh bin ikh, koym vos ikh shtey,
Fun shlogn un yogn gor on a tsol!
— A terets iz dos, gey, gey!
Vi ken ikh zen
In der fintster tsu geyn?
Ikh vel vartn biz s’vet oyfgeyn di zun!
Bay der likhtiker shayn
Ken meglekh zayn
Vet men derkenen mikh oykh ver ikh bin!
Ikh vel shoyn, ikh shver,
Nit zindikn mer,
Dos shver ikh dir, got, heylik tsu,
Abi gib shoyn ayn
In zinen arayn
Di felker mir shenken mayn ru!
Un far di melokhim bet ikh bay dir,
Zolst lozn lang lebn zey,
Un shtarkn dos harts tsum gutn oyf mir,
Men zol mir nisht shrayen mer: gey!
פֿאַריאָמערט, פֿאַרקלאָגט,
פֿון זײַן הײם פֿאַריאָגט
פֿאַר זײַנע גרױסע זינד;
אַזױ אומעטום
בלאָנדזשעט אַרום
פֿון גאָט דאָס פֿאַרשאָלטענע קינד;
אַז ער זאָל אױף קײן אָרט
ניט לאַנג בלײַבן דאָרט
נאָר גײן און נישט װערן מיד,
דערצו האָט אים
זײַן טאַטע אלקים
געשטעמפּלט מיט דעם נאָמען ייִד.
זײַן קאָפּ אָנצושפּאַרן בעט ער זיך אײַן,
כאָטש װײן, כאָטש שרײַ, אױ־װײ!
— נײן, ענטפֿערט מען אים,
מען לאָזט ניט אַרײַן,
— אַ ייִד ביסטו, גײ װײַטער, גײ!
פֿרעמד בין איך ניט,
איר קענט מיך גאַנץ גיט,
איך האָב דאָקומענטן אַ סך!
מײַן פּאַס דעם אַלטן
האַלט איר באַהאַלטן,
אַלײן אין דער שאַפֿע בײַ אײַך.
די ביבל די פֿײַנע,
די איז דאָך מײַנע,
ניט אמת, פֿילײַכט, װאָס איך זאָג?
און דאָס תּהילימל װאָס, נײן?
לײענט איר אַלײן
איבער פֿאַר אײַך אַלע טאָג.
— יאָ, דאָס איז אמת, דאָס װײסן מיר גוט,
דאָס געהער אָבער צו יעװרײ,
דו רופֿסט זיך אָבער מיט דעם נאָמען ייִד,
דיך קענען מיר גאָרניט, גײ, גײ.
אױ, לאָזט מיך אַרײַן,
איך װעל אײַך ניצלעך זײַן,
איך בין דאָך פֿעיִק צו אַלצדינג:
צום לערנען אַ מוח,
צו מלאָכה אַ כּוח,
צום האַנדלען אַ גאַנץ קלוגער ייִנג.
— דאָס קענען אױך מיר
מיט דיר, װי אָן דיר,
װי קומסטו נאָר דען דערצו?
דו פֿלעגסט דאָך פֿאַרצײַטן
ערד באַאַרבעטן,
שעפֿעלעך פּאַשען און פֿי,
— װוּ נעם איך הײַנט דעם כּוח װאָס אַ מאָל,
שװאַך בין איך, קױם װאָס איך שטײ,
פֿון שלאָגן און יאָגן גאָר אָן אַ צאָל?
אַ תּירוץ איז דאָס, גײ; גײ!
װי קען איך זען
אין דער פֿינצטער צו גײן?
איך װעל װאַרטן ביז ס’װעט אױפֿגײן די זון
בײַ דער ליכטיקער שײַן
קען מעגלעך זײַן
װעט מען דערקענען מיך אױך װער איך בין!
איך װעל שױן, איך שװער,
ניט זינדיקן מער,
דאָס שװער איך דיר, גאָט, הײליק צו,
אַבי גיב שױן אײַן
אין זינען אַרײַן
די פֿעלקער מיר שענקען מײַן רו!
און פֿאַר די מלכים בעט איך בײַ דיר,
זאָלסט לאָזן לאַנג לעבן זײ,
און שטאַרקן דאָס האַרץ צום גוטן אױף מיר,
מען זאָל מיר ניט שרײַען מער: גײ.
Song Title: Faryomert, Farklogt
First published in 1988 as Pearls of Yiddish Song: Favorite Folk, Art and Theatre Songs, this anthology contains 115 songs. Some material had never been published, while others, included in rare song collections or sheet music, were largely inaccessible. The songs presented reflect Jewish life in Eastern Europe and the United States and depict childhood, love, family celebrations, poverty, work and struggle. There are also songs from the Hasidic and Maskilic movements, songs of Zion and of America, as well as songs from the Yiddish theater.
The title of this anthology derives from the weekly two-page feature column “Pearls of Yiddish Poetry,” which the compilers Yosl and Chana Mlotek initiated in 1970 in the Yiddish newspaper Der Forvertz (the Yiddish Daily Forward). Hundreds of readers from around the world — including authors, composers, singers, actors — became co-participants in this collective folk project and recalled melodies, lines, fragments, stanzas and their variants of songs, poems, and plays which they had heard in their youth. At first, readers sent in only written material. Later, they also taped songs on cassettes, many of whose melodies had, until then, never been recorded. They also identified and supplied missing information regarding lyricists, poets, and composers and described the circumstances surrounding the songs’ origins, their dissemination, diffusion and impact.
