Folksong published under the title “Freylekhs Itslk” (Itsik rejoices) by M. Goldin, 1972. One stanza was previously published by E. Saculet in 1959. Chava Lapin sings the last stanza: “S’hot im keyner nisht geneyt/ er hot zikh aleyn dem kop fardreyt.” (No one forced him into it; he trapped himself).
Shloyme Prizament presents an adaptation which was sung by cabaret singers of Odessa and which ended on a serious note: “Du host gevolt, ikh veys es,/ A shnur a meyukheyses,/ Nisht aza mekhutn hostu gemeynt:/ In oremkeyt dertsoygn,/ Nor efnt zi di oygn/ Dakht zikh az di zun hot oyfgeshaynt./ Host gezogt, az dir gefelt nisht,/ Di kale hot keyn gelt nisht,/ Tate, du bist fun der alter velt:/ Az m’hot tsvey hent gezunte/ Geyt men shoyn nisht unter,/ Un libe, tate, — dos iz mer fun gelt!” (I know you wanted a daughter-in-law with lofty pedigree and you didn’t intend to have such in-laws. But when she opens her eyes, it’s as if the sun began to shine. You said you didn’t like the fact that the bride had no money. But father, you’re from the old world: When you have two healthy arms, you don’t go under; and love, father, is more important than money!).
Oh, let’s kiss.
Mother may now know that ltsik got married.
Oh, Itsik got married!
Oh, Itsik got married!
Itsik is a bridegroom,
With not a penny in his pocket.
No bread, no meat, no challah, a dried-out bride.
Oh, Itsik got married!
No one forced him into it.
He brought his ruin upon himself.
Oy, lomir zikh tsekushn,
Di mame meg shoyn visn,
Az itsik hot shoyn khasene gehat.
Oy, Itsik hot shoyn khasene gehat!
Oy, Itsik hot shoyn khasene gehat!
Oy, Itsik iz a khosn,
In tash nito keyn groshn,
Itsik hot shoyn khasene gehat!
Keyn broyt, keyn fleysh, keyn khale,
An oysgeveykte kale,
Itsik hot shoyn khasene gehat!
Es hot im keyner nit genoyt,
Er hot zikh aleyn gemakht dem toyt,
Itslk hot shoyn khasene gehat!
אױ, לאָמיר זיך צעקושן,
די מאַמע טעג שױן װיסן,
אַז איציק האָט שױן חתונה געהאַט.
אױ, איציק האָט שױן חתונה געהאַט!
אױ, איציק האָט שױן חתונה געהאַט!
אױ, איציק איז אַ חתן,
אין טאַש ניטאָ קײן גראָשן,
איציק האָט שױן חתונה געהאַט!
קײן ברױט, קײן פֿלײש, קײן חלה,
אַן אױסגעװײקטע כּלה,
איציק האָט שױן חתונה געהאַט!
עס האָט אים קײנער ניט גענױט,
ער האָט זיך אַלײן געמאַכט דעם טױט,
איציק האָט שױן חתונה געהאַט!
Song Title: Itsik Hot Khasene Gehat
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.
