Words by ltsik Manger (1901-1969), music by Nurit Hirsh transcribed by the compilers from the record Poems and Songs by ltsik Manger, (CBS 52568). The original words come from the second part of Manger’s poem “Gram·shtram far Note.” Manger imitates the opening lines of a popular children’s folksong: “ltsik shpitsik nodl-teshl / Gey in kleyt, khap a fleshl.”
Different versions of the folksong were discussed by Alfred Landau in an interesting article “Bamerkungen tsum yidishn folklor,” Filo/ogishe shriftn fun YIVO, I, 1926. In Manger’s printed text there is a misprint which he corrects in the supplement of the book. The first line should read: “ltsik, shpitsik, got-mit-dir,” as in the familiar expression “Got iz mit dir” instead of “geyt mit dir.”
ltsik Shpitsik, have a heart!
Run and buy a flask of beer.
Run and buy a flask of wine and we’ll have a good time.
I run, I buy, and run right back,
And see something really wondrous:
Pious Reb Elkone jumping toward the moon.
He says such things to her that she covers her face from embarassment.
Oh, you, passionate thing, oh, you beauty! which all the men repeat.
So completely confused am I that I drink the flask of wine.
I get so light-hearted that colors begin to change.
When I drink the flask of beer,
I feel so compassionate for her and jump into the circle.
And my father, next to me, keeps repeating, together with all the men:
Oh, you passionate thing, oh, you beauty!
ltsik shpitsik, got-mit-dir,
Loyf un koyf a fleshl bir,
Loyf un koyf a fleshl vayn,
Vein mir ale freylekh zayn.
Loyf ikh, koyf ikh, kum tsurik,
Ze ikh epes an antik:
Der frumer Reb Elkone
Shpringt kegn der levone.
Er redt tsu ir azoyne reyd,
Az zi tayet on far freyd:
— Ay, ay, ay, bal-tavetse,
Ay, ay, ay, krasavitse.
Un ale yidn mit a mol
Khazern iber oyf a kol:
— Ay, ay, ay, bal-tavetse,
Ay, ay, ay, krasavitse.
Veys ikh nisht, vu oys vu ayn,
Trink ikh oys dos fleshl Vayn.
Vert mir likhtik oyfn harts,
Royt iz grin un blo iz shvarts.
Trink ikh oys dos fleshl bir,
Fil ikh, mir zol zayn far ir.
Shpring ikh oykh arayn in kon,
Reb Elkone oybn on.
Un der tate nebn mir,
Khazert iber on a shir:
— Ay, ay, ay, bal-tavetse,
Ay, ay, ay, krasavitse.
Un ale yidn mit a mol
Khazern iber oyf a kol:
Ay, ay, ay, bal-tavetse,
Ay, ay, ay, krasavitse.
איציק שפּיציק, גאָט-מיט-דיר,
לױף און קױף אַ פֿלעשל ביר,
לױף און קױף אַ פֿלעשל װײַן,
װעלן מִיר אַלע פֿרײלעך זײַן.
לױף איך, קױף איך, קום צוריק,
זע איך עפּעס אַן אַנטיק:
דער פֿרומער ר׳ אלקנה,
שפּרינגט קעגן דער לבֿנה.
ער רעדט צו איר אַזױנע רײד,
אָז זי טײַעט אָן פֿאַר פֿרײד;
— אײַ, אײַ, אײַ, בעל-תּאװהצע
אײַ, אײַ, אײַ, קראַסאַװיצע.
און אַלע ייִדן מיט א מאָל
חזרן איבער אױף אַ קול:
— אײַ, אײַ, אײַ, בעל-תאװהצע,
אײַ, אײַ, אײַ, קראַסאַװיצע.
װײס איך נישט, װוּ אױס װוּ אײַן,
טרינק איך אױס דאָס פֿלעשל װײַן.
װערט מיר ליכטיק אױפֿן האַרץ,
רױט איז גרין און בלאָ איז שװואַרץ.
טרינק איך אױס דאָס פֿלעשל ביר,
פֿיל איך, מיר זאָל זײַן פֿאַר איר.
שפּרינג איך אױך אַרײַן אין קאָן,
ר׳ אלקנה אױבן אָן.
און דער טאַטע נעבן מיר,
חזרט איבער אָן א שיעור:
— אײַ, אײַ, אײַ, בעל-תּאװהצע,
אײַ, אײַ, אײַ, קראַסאַװיצע.
און אַלע יידן מיט אַ מאָל
חזרן איבער אױף אַ קול:
— אײַ, אײַ, אײַ, בעל-תּאװהצע,
אײַ, אײַ, אײַ, קראַסאַװיצע.
Song Title: Itsik Shpitsik
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.”
