Words by Joseph/Yosl Mlotek (born 1918) in 1936, music by Jacob Glatstein, director of the chorus of the Tsukunft Youth Organization of the Bund in Warsaw. Submitted by Sara Rosenfeld and Chana Gonshar, Montreal, members of the Tsukunft chorus.
My comrades, just working lads with call used hands, live out their day in darkness in shops where day is turned in tonight.
My comrades, barely eighteen years old, dream dreams of happiness. Now my comrades’ dreams are ground up into the dust of the factories.
That’s why friends leave factories, go right into clubs and unions, and meet working men, brothers of need and pain.
They join their harsh fate with brothers from near and far, and sow hatred for those who strike down their youth so prematurely.
That’s why friends have sworn an oath, an oath of life and death. That’s why friend shave turned their eyes toward tomorrow, which shines bright red.
Mayne khaveyrim – bloyz arbeter-yatn,
Mit hent fun mazoles un hart,
Fintstern op zey’re teg in varshtatn,
Vu tog vert farbitn oyf nakht.
Mayne khaveyrim, koym yinglekh fun akhtsn,
Gevebt zikh khaloymes fun glik.
ltst vern di troymen fun mayne khaveyrim
Tsemoln oyf shtoyb fun fabrik.
Derfar geyen khevre avek fun fabrikn,
Glaykh inem klub, in fareyn;
Un trefn zikh dortn mit mentshn fun arbet,
Mit brider fun noyt un fun payn.
Un bindn tsunoyf zeyer goyrl dem shvern,
Mit brider fun nont un fun vayt;
Un zeyen a has kegn di vos farshmakhtn
A yugnt aza far der tsayt.
Derfar hobn khevre a shvue geshvoyrn,
A shvue oyf lebn un toyt.
Derfar hobn khevre zey’re blikn gevondn
Tsum morgn, vos shaynt oyf hel-royt.
מײַנע חברים – בלױז אַרבעטער-יאַטן,
מיט הענט פֿון מאַזאַלעס און האַרט,
פֿינצטערן אַפּ זײ׳רע טעג אין װאַרשטאַטן,
װוּ טאָג װערט פֿאַרביטן אױף נאַכט.
מײנע חברים, קױם ייִנגלעך פֿון אַכצן,
געװעבט זיך חלומות פֿון גליק,
איצט װערן די טרױמען פֿון מײַנע חבֿרים
צעמאָלן אױף שטױב פֿון פֿאַבריק.
דערפֿאַר גײען חברה אַװעק פֿון פֿאַבריקן
גלײַך אינעם קלוב, אין פֿאַראײן;
און טרעפֿן זיך דאָרטן מיט מענטשן פֿון אַרבעט,
מיט ברידער פֿון נױט און פֿון פּײַן.
און בינדן צונױף זײער גורל דעס שװערן,
מיט ברידער פֿון נאָנט און פֿון װײַט;
און זײען אַ האָס קעגן די װאָס פֿאַרשמאַכטן
אַ יוגנט אַזאַ פֿאַר דער צײַט.
דערפֿאַר האָבן חבֿרה אַ שבֿועה געשװױרן,
אַ שבֿועה אױף לעבן און טױט,
דערפֿאַר האָבן חברה זײ׳רע בליקן געוואָנדן
צום מאָרגן, װאָס שײַנט אױף העל רױט.
Song Title: Mayne Khaveyrim
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.”
