Folksong. Text published by Y. L. Cahan; text and music published by Moishe Beregovski, 1962. In the version that Y. L. Cahan brings, the song ends with: “Avu nemt men a vaybele? / Volt ikh gehat a vaybele, / Volt zi mir gemakht vartsiklekh” (Where does one get a wife? If I had a wife, she would make me dumplings.) The song was also published by M. Goldin in 1972. It was popularized by Mascha Benya Matz in the arrangement of Harry Anik and was also a popular repertory piece of the Soviet-Yiddish singer Misha Alexandrovich, who has a different closing stanza: “Vu nemt men a bokher tsu esn di varnishkes, / Ven ikh bin aleyn on zalts, on fefer un on shmalts” (Where can I get a boy to eat the varnishkes when I myself am without salt, without pepper and without spice? [literally: chicken fat]).
Help, help! Where to get it?
Where do I get, where do I get
a noodle board to roll out dough for
the dumplings?
Help, help! Where to get it?
Where do I get, where do I get
a knife with which to cut
the dumplings?
Without yeast and without shmalts,
and without pepper or salt –
Oy, a knife with which to cut
the dumplings!
Help, help! Where to get it?
Where do I get, where do I get
a pot to cook
the dumplings?
WIthout yeast and without shmalts,
and without pepper or salt –
Oy, a pot to cook
the dumplings?
Help, help! Where to get it?
Where do I get, where do I get
a young man to eat
the dumplings?
WIthout yeast and without shmalts,
and without pepper or salt –
Oy, a young man to eat
the dumplings?
Gevald, vu nemt men?
Vu nemt men, vu nemt men —
A lokshnbret oyf katshen
Di varnitshkes?
On heyvn, un on shmalts,
Un on fefer, un on zalts —
Oy, a lokshnbret tsu katshen
Di varnitshkes!
Gevald, vu nemt men?
Vu nemt men, vu nemt men —
A meser oyf tsu shnaydn Di varnitshkes?
On heyvn, un on shmalts,
Un on fefer, un on zalts —
Oy, a meser oyf tsu shnaydn
Di varnitshkes!
Gevald, vu nemt men?
Vu nemt men, vu nemt men —
A tepl oyf tsu kokhn
Di varnitshkes?
On heyvn, un on shmalts,
Un on fefer, un on zalts —
Oy, a tepl oyf tsu kokhn
Di varnitshkes?
Gevald, vu nemt men?
Vu nemt men, vu nemt men —
A bokher oyf tsu esn
Di varnitshkes?
On heyvn, un on shmalts,
Un on fefer, un on zalts —
Oy, a bokher oyf tsu esn
Di varnitshkes!
געװואַלד, װוּ נעמט מען?
װוּ נעמט מען, װוּ נעמט מען —
א לאָקשנברעט אױף קאַטשען
די װאַרניטשקעס?
אָן הײװן, און אָן שמאָלצ,
און אָן פעפֿער, און אָן זאַלצ —
אױ, אַ לאָקשנברעט צו קאַטשען
די װאַרניטשקעס!
געװואַלד, װוּ נעמט מען!
װוּ נעמט מען, װוּ נעמט מען —
אַ מעסער אױף צו שנײַדן
די װאַרניטשקעס?
אָן הײװן, און אָן שמאָלצ,
און אָן פעפער, און אָן זאַלצ —
אױ, אַ מעסער אױף צו שנײַדן
די װאַרניטשקעס!
געװאָלד, װוּ נעמט מען?
װוּ נעמט מען, װוּ נעמט מען —
אַ טעפּל אױף צו קאָכן
די װאַרניטשקעס?
אָן הײװן, און אָן שמאַלץ,
און אָן פֿעפֿער, און אָן זאַלצ —
אױ, אַ טעפּל אױף צו קאָכן
די װאַרניטשקעס!
געװאָלד, װוּ נעמט מען
װוּ נעמט מען, װוּ נעמט מען —
אַ בחור אױף צו עסן
די װאַרניטשקעס!
אָן הײװן, און אָן שמאַלצ,
און אָן פֿעפֿער, און אָן זאַלצ —
אױ, אַ בחור אױף צו עסן
די װאַרניטשקעס!
Song Title: Varnitshkes
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.”
