Folksong, text published in Tsaytshrift II-III (1927-1928); a longer text with music was published in the Filologishe shriftn fun YIVO, V (1938). The song was part of a tailors’ scene entitled “A shnayderish gezang,” written and performed by Ben Bonus. There it was sung by his wife, actress-singer Mina Bern, who submitted it to the compilers.
I sit at my workbench and work
and no one knows of my troubles;
But one of my friends kept saying:
Why are you so glum, like a candle going out?
The boss used to say to me:
Foolish girl, don’t give yourself over to him;
Just look what has become of you,
you’re ready to be taken to the hospital.
My mother would always say to me:
Why are you so glum, like a candle going out?*
Can I explain it to you, dear mother?
I’ve fallen in love with a boy
and I’m in a bad way.
I’m dying for the love of a boy;
He has given me consumption, mother.
I’m dying for the love of a boy;
And in the end, he laughed and laughed at me.
*Repeating what her girlfriend said, but with an accent.
lkh zits mir bay der arbet un ikh arbet,
Un fun mayne tsores veyst dokh keyner nit;
Nor eyn padruge flegt mir shtendik zogn:
Vos zhe geystu oys azoy vi a likht?
Di balaboste flegt mir shtendik zogn:
Narish meydl, loz zikh in im nit arayn;
Gib a kuk, vos fun dir iz gevorn,
Az m’firt dikh shoyn in bolnitse arayn.
Di mame, zi flegt mir shtendik zogn:
Vos zhe geystu oys azoy vi a lekht*?
Tsi den ken ikh dir, mameshi, dertseyln,
Kh’hob zikh ayngelibt in a yingele,
un s’iz mir shlekht.
Kh’hob zikh ayngelibt in a yingele biz tsum shtarbn;
Di tshakhotke, mame, hot er mir ongemakht.
Kh’hob zikh ayngelibt in a yingele biz tsum shtarbn
Un tsum ende hot er zikh fun mir oysgelakht.
*likht
דער אַרבעט און איך אַרבעט
איך זיצ מיר בײַ דער אַרבעט און איך אַרבעט,
און פֿון מײַנע צרות װײסט דאָך קײנער ניט;
נאָר אײן פּאָדרוגע פֿלעגט מיר שטענדיק זאָגן:
װאָס זשע גײסטו אױס אַזױ װי אַ ליכט!
די בעל-הביתטע פֿלעגט מיר שטענדיק זאָגן;
נאַריש מײדל, לאָז זיך אין אים ניט אַרײַן
גיב אַ קוק, װאָס פֿון דיר איז געװואָרן,
אַז מ׳פֿירט דיך שױן אין באָלניצע אַרײַן.
די מאַמע, זי פֿלעגט מיר שטענדיק זאָגן;
װאָס זשע גײסטו אױס אַזױ װי אַ לעכט? (ליכט)
צי דען קען איך דיר, מאַמעשי, דערצײלן,
כיהאָב זיך אײַנגעליבט אין אַ יינגעלע,
און סיאיז מיר שלעכט.
כיהאָב זיך אטנגעליבט אין אַ יינגעלע ביז צום שטאַרבן,
דו טשאַכאָטקע, מאַמע, האָט ער מיר אָנגעמאַכט.
כיהאָב זיך אײַנגעליבט אין אַ ײנגעלע ביז צום שטאַרבן
און צום ענדע האָט ער זיך פֿון מיר אױסגעלאַכט.
Song Title: Ikh Zits Mir Bay Mayn Arbet Un Ikh Arbet
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.”
