Folksong. Textual variant printed in 1901 by S. Ginsburg and P. Marek; variant text and music entitled “Yosl mit dem fidl” (Yosl with the fiddle) published in Ost und West and by Z. Kisselgof in 1911.
A parody of the song appears in Kvutsat shirim: Of the ten brothers who traded in wine, one got drunk, another got into trouble, another was burned, another became entangled, etc. Finally, there were two brothers left who traded in stones. One turned into a gravestone. The one who remained was “the brother who fell in love with a pretty girl. I married the gentile girl and so no one was left.” The refrain about Shmerl or Yosl with his fiddle was later adapted by ltsik Manger for his popular song “Yidl mitn fidl.”
During the Holocaust, the song was transformed into a dirge about going to the gas chamber. In her collection, Shoshana Kalisch has the following adaptation which was written by Martin Rosenberg in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp: “Eyn bruder nor bin ikh geblibn,/ Mit vem zol ikh veynen?/ Di andere hot men derharget — tsi gedenkt ir zeyere nemen?/ Yidl mitn fidl; Moyshe mitn bas,/ Her mayn letst lidl,/ men firt mikh oykh tsum gaz” (One brother only I remain. With whom shall I cry? The others were killed — do you remember their names? Yidl with the fiddle, Moyshe with the bass. Listen to my last song. They’re taking me also to the gas).
Ten brothers, we were,
we traded in flax;
One died,
now we were nine.
Oh, Shmerl with your fiddle,
Tevye with your bass,
play a song for me
in the middle of the street!
Oy-oy-oy, oy-oy-oy,
play a song for me
in the middle of the street!
Nine brothers we were,
we traded in freight,
one died,
now we were eight.
Eight bothers we were,
we traded in turnips
one died
now we were seven.
Seven brothers we were,
we traded in baked goods,
one died
now we were six.
Six brothers we were,
we traded in stockings,
one died,
now we were five.
Five brothers we were,
we traded in beer,
one died,
now we were four.
Four brothers we were,
we traded in lead,
one died,
now we were three.
Three brothers we were,
we traded in hay,
one died,
now we were two.
Two brothers we were,
we traded in ivory,
one died,
now we were one.
One brother, I was,
I traded in candles,
I am dying every day,
because I have nothing to eat.
Tsen brider zaynen mir gevezn
Hobn mir gehandlt mit layn;
Eyner iz geshtorbn,
Iz geblibn nayn.
Refrain:
Oy, Shmerl mit dem fidl,
Teyve mitn bas,
Shpilt zhe mir a lidl
Oyfn mitn gas!
Oy-oy-oy, oy-oy-oy,
Shpllt zhe mir a lidl
Oyfn mitn gas!
Nayn brider zaynen mir gevezn,
Hobn mir gehandlt mit frakht,
Eyner iz geshtorbn,
Iz geblibn akht.
Akht brider zaynen mir gevezn,
Hobn mir gehandlt mit ribn,
Eyner iz geshtorbn,
Iz geblibn zibn.
Zibn brider zaynen mir gevezn,
Hobn mir gehandlt mit gebeks,
Eyner iz geshtorbn,
Iz geblibn zeks.
Zeks brider zaynen mir gevezn,
Hobn mir gehandlt mit shtrimp,
Eyner iz geshtorbn,
Iz geblibn finf.
Finf brider zaynen mir gevezn,
Hobn mir gehandlt mit bir,
Eyner iz geshtorbn,
Iz geblibn fir.
Fir brider zaynen mir gevezn,
Hobn mir gehandlt mit blay,
Eyner iz geshtorbn,
Iz geblibn dray.
Dray brlder zaynen mir gevezn,
Hobn mir gehandlt mit hey,
Eyner iz geshtorbn,
Iz geblibn tsvey.
Tsvey brider zaynen mir gevezn,
Hobn mir gehandlt mit beyner,
Eyner iz geshtorbn,
Iz geblibn eyner.
Eyn bruder bin ikh mir gevezn,
Hob ikh gehandlt mit likht,
Shtarbn tu ikh yedn tog,
Vayl esn hob ikh nisht.
צען ברידער זײַנען מיר געװעזן,
האָבן מיר געהאַנדלט מיט לײַן;
אײנער איז געשטאָרבן,
איז געבליבן נײַן:
רעפֿרײן:
אױ, שמערל מיט דעם פֿידל,
טבֿיה מיטן באָס,
שפּילט זשע מיר אַ לידל
אױפֿן מיטן גאָס!
אױ־אױ־אױ, אױ־אױ־אױ,
שפּילט זשע מיר אַ לידל
אױפֿן מיטן גאַס!
נײַן ברידער זײַנען מיר געװעזן,
האָבן מיר געהאַנדלט מיט פֿראַכט,
אײנער איז געשטאָרבן,
איז געבליבן אַכט.
אַכט ברידער זײַנען מיר געװעזן,
האָבן מיר געהאַנדלט מיט ריבן,
אײנער איז געשטאָרבן,
איז געבליבן זיבן.
זיבן ברידער זײַנען מיר געװעזן,
האָבן מיר געהאַנדלט מיט געבעקס,
אײנער איז געשטאָרבן,
איז געבליבן זעקס.
זעקס ברידער זײַנען מיר געװעזן,
האָבן מיר געהאַנדלט מיט שטרימפּ,
אײנער איז געשטאָרבן,
איז געבליבן פֿינף.
פֿינף ברידער זײַנען מיר געװעזן,
האָבן מיר געהאַנדלט מיט ביר,
אײנער איז געשטאָרבן,
איז געבליבן פֿיר.
פֿיר ברידער זײַנען מיר געװעזן,
האָבן מיר געהאַנדלט מיט בלײַ,
אײנער איז געשטאָרבן,
איז געבליבן דרײַ.
דרײַ ברידער זײַנען מיר געװעזן,
האָבן מיר געהאַנדלט מיט הײ,
אײנער איז געשטאָרבן,
איז געבליבן צװײ.
צװײ ברידער זײַנען מיר געװעזן,
האָבן מיר געהאַנדלט מיט בײנער,
אײנער איז געשטאָרבן,
איז געבליבן אײנער.
אײן ברודער בּין איך מיר געװעזן,
האָב איך געהאַנדלט מיט ליכט,
שטאַרבן טו איך יעדן טאָג,
װײַל עסן האָב איך נישט.
Song Title: Tsen Brider
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.
