Words and music by Mordkhe Gebirtig (1877-1942), popular folk poet killed by the Nazis in the Cracow Ghetto. Published in the author’s collection, 1936. The song was sung in English in the musical Those Were the Days by Zalmen Mlotek and Moishe Rosenfeld, 1991-1992. In her book Singing for Survival, Gila Flam writes that the song was popular in the Lodz Ghetto Revue Theater, where her informants believed that it was an original ghetto composition.
I will certainly not be the first to laugh, Avreml,
I bet you, no matter what jokes you tell.
I’ll think of sad things,
you can even tickle me.
You’ll laugh, I bet you,
Shloymele. You will laugh for sure,
I have a way, a fine thing;
Even if you keep thinking
of the saddest things
you’ll have to be the first one to laugh.
First of all, Avreml, I’ll concentrate
on my poor, weak father
who keeps looking for work and can’t find any.
Well? Will I feel like laughing?
You’ll laugh, I bet you,
Shloymele. You are going to lose,
I have a way, a fine thing;
I’ll meow like a kitten
and bark like a little dog,
you’ll have to be the first one to laugh.
I will remember
that yesterday in kheyder
I forgot the passage of the day,
the teacher wants me to study constantly,
he doesn’t know how hungry I am.
You’ll laugh, I bet you,
You won’t be so awful,
I’ll bet a button, I’ll bet you four to one,
You’ll be holding your sides
and gasping from laughter
when you see what I have here with me.
And I will remember the teacher’s angry face,
when he heard me start to recite,
I am still black and blue from his whip
I cried biterly from the pain.
You’ll laugh, you’ll laugh,
here, give me the button already.
Look, Shloymele, see what I have here for you!
A roll and butter
and a fine herring head!
Well, what do you say, Shloymele? Who will be the first to laugh?
A roll and butter
and a fine herring head!
I’ll bet you again tomorrow.
—Kh’vel zikher, Avreml, der ershter nisht lakhn,
lkh vet zikh, megst vi nokh zikh vitslen,
Kh’vel nemen in zinen mir troyerike zakhn,
Nu, megstu afile mikh kitslen.
—Vest lakhn, ikh vet zikh,
Vest, Shloymele, shoyn lakhn,
lkh hob a mitl gor a voyle zakh:
Megst hobn zikh in zinen
Di troyerikste zakhn,
Vet muzn zayn bay dir der ershter lakh.
—Dos ershte, Avreml, nem ikh mir in zinen
Mayn oremen tatn dem shvakhn,
Vos zukht arum arbet un ken nisht gefinen,
Nu, vet zikh mir glustn tsu lakhn?
—Vest lakhn, ikh vet zikh,
Vest, Shloymele, farshpiln,
lkh hob a mitl gor a voyle zakh:
Kh’vel myauken vi a ketsl
Un vi a hintl biln,
Vet muzn zayn bay dir der ershter lakh.
lkh vel zikh dermonen,
Kh’hob nekhtn in kheyder
Di sedre vos geyt haynt fargesn,
Der rebe, er vil nor kh’zol lernen keseyder,
Er veyst nisht vi mir vilt zikh esn.
—Vest lakhn, ikh vet zikh,
Vest nisht zayn aza shlekhter,
Kh’shtel ayn a knepl, kh’shtel akegn fir,
Vest haltn zikh di zaytn
Un kaykhn fun gelekhter,
Derzeendik vos ikh hob do bay mir.
—Un kh’vel zikh dermanen dem rebns tsornik ponem,
Ven r’hot mikh genumen farhern,
Nokh hob ikh fun kantshik fil bloe simonim,
Geveynt fun yisurim mit trern.
—Vest lakhn, vest lakhn,
Aher gib shoyn dos knepl,
Ze, Shloymele, vos ikh hob do far dir!
A zemele mit puter,
Un hering a fayn kepl,
Anu, zog, Shloymele, ver vet lakhn frier?
A zemele mit puter
Un hering a fayn kepl
Kh’vel morgn vider vetn zikh mit dir.
— כיװעל זיכער, אַװורעמל, דער ערשטער נישט לאַכן,
איך װעט זיך, מעגסט וױ נאָך זיך װיצלען,
כ’װעל נעמען אין זינען מיר טרױעריקע זאַכן,
נו, מעגסטו אַפֿילו מיך קיצלען.
— װעסט לאַכן, איך װעט זיך,
װעסט, שלמהלע, שױן לאַכן,
איך האָב אַ מיטל גאָר אַ װױלע זאך:
מעגסט האָבן זיך אין זינען
די טרױעריקסטע זאַכן,
װעט מוזן זײַן בײַ דיר דער ערשטער לאַך.
— דאָס ערשטע, אַװורעמל, נעם איך מיר אין זינען
מײַן אָרעמען טאַטן דעם שװאַכן,
װאָס זוכט אָרום אַרבעט און קען נישט געפֿינען,
נו, װעט זיך מיר גלוסטן צו לאַכן?
— װעסט לאַכן, איך װעט זיך,
װעסט, שלמהלע, פֿאַרשפּילן,
איך האָב אַ מיטל גאָר אַ װױלע זאַך:
כיװעל מיאָוקען װי אַ קעצל
און װי א הינטל בילן,
װעט מוזן זײַן בײַ דיר דער ערשטער לאַך.
— איך װעל זיך, דערמאַנען,
כיהאָב נעכטן אין חדר
די סדרה װאָס גײט הײַנט פֿאַרגעסן,
דער רבי, ער װיל נאָר כ’זאָל לערנען כּסדר,
ער װײסט נישט װי מיר װילט זיך עסן.
— װעסט לאַכן, איך װעט זיך,
װעסט נישט זײַן אַזאַ שלעכטער,
כ’שטעל אײַן א קנעפּל, כישטעל אַקעגן פֿיר,
װעסט האַלטן זיך די זײַטן
און קײַכן פֿון געלעכטער,
דערזעענדיק װאָס איך האָב דאָ בײַ מיר.
— און כ’װעל זיך דערמאַנען דעס רבינס צארניק פּנים,
װען ר’האָט מיך גענומען פֿאַרהערן,
נאָך האָב איך פֿון קאַנטשיק פֿיל בלאָע סימנים,
געװײנט פֿון יסורים מיט טרערן.
— װעסט לאַכן, װעסט לאַכן,
אַהער גיב שױן דאָס קנעפֿל,
זע, שלמהלע, װאָס איך האָב דאָ פֿאַר דיר!
אַ זעמעלע מִיט פֿוטער,.
און הערינג אַז פֿײַן קעפּל,
אַנו, זאָג, שלמהלע, װער װעט לאַכן פֿריער?
אַ זעמעלע מיט פֿוטער,
און הערינג אַ פײַן קנעפּל,
כ’װעל מאָרגן װידער װעטן זיך מיט דיר.
Song Title: Ver Der Ershter Vet Lakhn
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.”
