Folksong published in Leye Bloch-Lederer, Di shenste geklibene yidishe lider,1992. There are different words in Nokhem Shakhnovski’s Lidergezungen funem folk, Paris, 1958. The song was parodied in the Warsaw Ghetto: “In dzhoynt kumt tsu geyn a yid” (A Jew comes to the Joint [Joint Distribution Committee]).
Let us sing, little children,
a song together,
with a happy tune,
and with words that rhyme.
Momma is cooking a noodle soup,
with kashe in the matzo balls,
when the Khanike holiday comes,
we will play with dreydls.
Tshiri-bim, tshiri-bam…
Once, our dear Rebbe
was walking on the road
suddenly a downpour opened up,
pouring, oy, rain.
The Rebbe screamed into the cloudiness
Stop pouring water.
All the Hassidim came out dry,
but the Rabbi came out wet.
Tshiri-bim, tshiri-bam…
They say that in the town of Chelm,
only fools grow.
If we are the clever ones,
we present a pretty picture.
But day and night I hear
the thieves laughing, out of spite.
So tell me, who are the fools,
and who the wise men.
Tshiri-bim, tshiri-bam…
note: Last stanza– “Ikh her nor…” if the speaker of these lines, the ‘ikh’, is listening, it is the thieves who are laughing. Orig. translation is not correct.
Lomir zingen, kinderlekh,
A zemerl tsuzamen,
A nigndl a freylekhn
Mit verter vos es gramen.
Di mame kokht a lokshn-zup,
Mit kashe in di kneydlekh,
Vet kumen der yomtev khanike,
Vein mir shpiln zikh in dreydlekh.
Tshiribim, tshiribam. . .
A mol iz undzer rebenyu
Gegangen unter vegn,
Mit a mol fangt on tsu plyukhenen,
Gisn, oy, a regn.
Shrayt der rebe tsu der khmare:
Her oyf gisn vaser.
Zaynen ale khsidim trukn aroys,
Nor der rebe iz aroys a naser.
Tshiribim, tshiribam. . .
Me zogt az in dem shtetl khelm
Vaksn nor naronim,
Oyb mir zaynen di klige,
Hobn mir a sheynem ponem.
lkh her nor lakhn tog un nakht,
Tsu k>khes di gazlonim,
Zogt ver zaynen di narishe,
Ver zaynen di khakhomim.
Tshiribim, tshiribam. . .
לאָמיר זינגען, קינדערלעך,
אַ זמרל צוזאַמען,
א ניגונדל אַ פֿרײלעכן
מיט װערטער װאָס עס גראַמען.
די מאַמע קאָכט אַ לאָקשן זופֿ,
מיט קאַשע אין די קנײדלעך,
װעט קומען דער יום-טובֿ חנוכּה,
װעלן מיר שפֿילן זיך אין דרײדלעך.
טשיריבים, טשיריבאַם. . .
אַ מאָל איז אונדזער רביניו
געגאַנגען אונטער װעגן,
מיט אַ מאָל פֿאַנגט אָן צו פּליוכענען,
גיסן, אױ, אַ רעגן.
שרײַט דער רבי צו דער כמאַרע:
הער אױף גיסן װאַסער.
זײַנען אַלע חסידים טרוקן אַרױס,
נאָר דער רבי איז אַרױס אַ נאַסער,
טשיריבים, טשיריבאַם. . .
מיזאָגט אַז אין דעם שטעטל כעלעם
װואַקסן נאָר נאָראָנים,
אוב מיר זײַנען די קליגע,
האָבן מיר אַ שײנעם פּנים.
איך הער נאָר לאַכן טאָג און נאַכט,
צו להכעיס די גזלנים,
זאָגט װער זײַנען די נאַרישע,
װער זײַנען די חכמים,
טשיריבים, טשיריבאַם. . .
Song Title: Tshiribim
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.”
