This is a poem by David Bromberg (1915-), Soviet Yiddish poet. The music is by Emil Gorovets. (See note about composer in Gehat Hob Ikh a Heym).
My mother longed to be there on my wedding day,
Both day and night this in her thoughts would lie.
But Hitler, worms devour him in hell, I say,
Threw her alive, in a ravine, to die.
My mother longed to be there on my wedding day,
Vengeance, mother, I took for you and me.
This song, musicians, slowly you will have to play,
My mother sings, my mother is with me.
My mother longed to be there on my wedding day,
Why do you swallow, foolish one, a tear?
They say that one must cry upon one’s wedding day –
Then cry now so you’ll not cry through the years.
My mother longed to be there on my wedding day,
With what delight I see her coming to me here –
So wider make the circle, let the music play,
My mother joins the dancers in a sher.
Mayn mame hot gevolt zayn af mayn khasene
Oy, teg un nekht hot zi derfun geklert,
Hot Hitler, zoln im verem totshen dort in dr’erd,
Farshotn zi in riv a nit-dershosene. . .
Mayn mame hot gevolt zayn af mayn khasene.
Nekome, mame, genumen kh’hob far dir.
Klezmorim, shpilt, klezmorim, shpilt gelasener,
Mayn mame zingt, mayn mame iz mit mir.
Mayn mame hot gevolt zayn af mayn khasene.
To vos zhe shlingstu, narele, a trer?
Me zogt, az me darf veynen af a khasene,
Iz veyn zhe, az du zolst nit veynen mer.
Mayn mame hot gevolt zayn af mayn khasene
A gliklekhe, zi kumt tsu mir aher,
Klezmorim, shpilt, klezmorim, shpilt gelasener,
Mayn mame geyt mit alemen a sher.
מײַן מאַמע האָט געװאָלט זײַן אױף מײַן חתונה. . .
אױ, טעג און נעכט האָט זי דערפֿון געקלערט,
האָט היטלער, זאָלן אים װערעם טאָטשען דאָרט אין דר׳ערד,
פֿאַרשאָטן זי אין ריװ אַ ניט־דערשאָסענע. . .
מײַן מאַמע האָט געװאָלט זײַן אױף מײַן חתונה,
נקמה, מאַמע, גענומען כ׳האָב פֿאַר דיר.
קלעזמאָרים, שפּילט, קלעזמאָרים, שפּילט געלאַסענער,
מײַן מאַמע זינגט, מײַן מאַמע איז מיט מיר.
מײַן מאַמע האָט געװאָלט זײַן אױף מײַן חתונה,
טאָ װאָס זשע שלינגסטו, נאַרעלע, אַ טרער!
מע זאָגט, אַז מע דאַרף װײנען אױף אַ חתונה,
איז װײן זשע, אַז דו זאָלסט ניט װײנען מער.
מײַן מאַמע האָט געװאָלט זײַן אױף מײַן חתונה,
אַ גליקלעכע, זי קומט צו מיר אַהער.
קלעזמאָרים, שפּילט, קלעזמאָרים, שפּילט, געלאַסענער.
מײַן מאַמע גײט מיט אַלעמען אַ שער.
Song Title: Mayn Mame Hot Gevolt Zayn Oyf Mayn Khasene
Compiled by sisters Malke Gottleib and Chana Mlotek, this collection of 40 songs, issued on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, reflects the suffering, despair, longing, as well as the strength, hope and courage that led the last remnant of enfeebled Jews to take up arms against the mammoth Nazi war-machine. Save for five songs, this compilation comprises songs that were actually written or sung in the ghettos and concentration camps. Four exceptions written after the war: “Babi Yar,” “Moyshelekh un Shloymelekh,” “Kadish,” and “Mayn mame hot gevolt zayn oyf mayn khasene” are often presented at commemorative gatherings and were therefore included. The fifth song “Am Yisroel Khay” was written in a D.P. camp and is an affirmation of the will of the survivors to build new lives for themselves, holding high their belief in the endurance of the Jewish people. To enable readers and singers not conversant with the Yiddish alphabet to utilize this collection, We Are Here! Songs of the Holocaust provides parallel transliterations and singable English translations by Roslyn Bresnick Perry.
