Adaptation by Daniel Charney (1888-1959). Published in Zamlbukh fun kinder-lider. 1917.
Oh come, quiet evening,
and rock the fields to sleep.
We are singing a hymn to you
oh, beloved evening glow.
How quiet it has become,
the air is growing cold;
His song is now completed,
the nightingale in the forest.
The meadow is growing darker,
and along comes the night;
The young white birch tree
remains standing alone in the field.
O kum shoyn, shtiler ovnt,
Un vig di felder ayn,
Mir zingen dir a loyblid,
O, liber ovnt-shayn.
Vi shtil es iz gevorn,
Es vert di luft shoyn kalt;
Zayn lid hot shoyn farendikt
Der nakhtigal in vald.
S’vert tunkeler di lonke,
Es kumt di nakht tsu geyn;
Di vaysinke beryoze
Blaybt shteyn in feld aleyn.
אָ קום שױן, שטילער אָװנט,
און װיג די פֿעלדער אײַן,
מיר זינגען דיר אַ לױבליד,
אָ, ליבער אָװנט-שײַן.
װי שטיל עס איז געװאָרן,
עס װערט די לופֿט שױן קאַלט;
זײַן ליד האָט שױן פֿאַרענדיקט
דער נאַכטיגאַל אין װאַלד.
ס’װערט טונקעלער די לאָנקע,
עס קומט די נאַכט צו גײן;
די װײַסינקע בעריאָזע
בלײַבט שטײן אין פֿעלד אַלײן.
Song Title: O Kum Shoyn Shtiler Ovnt
First published in 1972, Mir Trogn A Gezang: Favorite Yiddish Songs was reprinted six more times (in 1977, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000) due to popular demand. The songs in this anthology represent a sampling of beloved folk and well-known Yiddish songs, many of which are scattered in various song collections; some appear in very rare and inaccessible collections; and some were never before published. Folk songs comprise about a third of this volume and were selected mainly on the basis of popularity and sometimes for their historic significance. Needless to say, they are only representative of the vast, rich treasure of Yiddish folk material. The selection was made not only on the basis of personal preference, but in the knowledge they are favorites of many who sing these songs. Most of the songs represent the repertoire that was sung at Yiddish summer camps, May 1st demonstrations and at social gatherings. Many songs were introduced to American Jewry by Jewish immigrants who came to the United States after World War II, for whom these songs had been favorites in Poland and other East European communities destroyed by the Nazis.
