Folk song (textual variant published in 1901 by S. Ginzburg and P. Marek; text and music published in 1912 by Y.L. Cahan). This dialogue or miniature folk play has many international parallels: the English “Whistle, Daughter, Whistle,” the German “Spinn, spinn, liebste Tochter,” the Polish “Dziwna, dziwna, oj dzwina ja matke mam,” the French Languedoc “Ma filha, tu vos una bela rauba,” the Alsatian “Mueder, ich will e Ding,” to mention a few.
— Yome, Yome*, play me a song
[about] what my little girl wants;
— Your little girl wants a pair of shoes,
So you have to go tell the shoemaker!
— No, mother dear, no!
You cannot understand me,
You don’t know what I want!
— Yome, Yome, play me a song
[about] what my little girl wants;
— Your little girl wants a hat,
So you have to go tell the milliner!
— No, mother dear, no!…
— Yome, Yome, play me a song
[about] what my little girl wants;
— Your little girl wants a bridegroom,
So you have to go tell the matchmaker!
— Yes, mother dear, yes!
Now you understand me,
You know what I want!
*Yome is a familiar form of the name Benyomen (Benjamin).
Yome, Yome, shpil mir a lidele,
Vos dos meydele vil;
Dos meydele vil a por shikhelekh hobn,
Muz men geyn dem shuster zogn!
— Neyn, mameshi, neyn!
Du kenst mikh nisht farshteyn,
Du veyst nisht, vos ikh meyn!
— Yome, Yome, shpil mir a lidele,
Vos dos meydele vil;
— Dos meydele vil a hitele hobn,
Muz men geyn dem putserke zogn!
— Neyn, mameshi, neyn! . . .
— Yome, Yome, shpil mir a lidele,
Vos dos meydele vil;
— Dos meydele vil a khosndl hobn,
Muz men geyn dem shadkhn zogn!
— Yo, mameshi, yo!
Du kenst mikh shoyn farshteyn,
Du veyst shoyn vos ikh meyn!
— יאָמע, יאָמע, שפּיל מיר א לידעלע,
װאָס דאָס מײדעלע װיל:
— דאָס מײדעלע װיל אַ פּאָר שיכעלעך האָבן,
מוז מען גײן דעם שוסטער זאָגן!
— נײן מאַמעשי, נײן!
דו קענסט מיך נישט פֿאַרשטײן,
דו װײסט נישט װאָס איך מײן!
— יאָמע, יאָמע, שפּיל מיר אַ לידעלע,
װאָס דאָס מײדעלע װױל:
— דאָס מײדעלע װיל אַ היטעלע האָבן,
מוז מען גײן דער פּוצערקע זאָגן!
— נײן, מאַמעשי, נײן!. . .
— יאָמע, יאַמע, שפּיל מיר אַ לידעלע,
װאָס דאָס מײדעלע וױל:
— דאָס מײדעלע װיל אַ חתנדל האָבן,
מוז מען גײן דעם שדכן זאָגן!
— יאָ, מאַמעשי, יאַָ!
דו קענסט מיך שױן פֿאַרשטײן,
דו װײסט שױן װאָס איך מײן!
Song Title: Yome, Yome
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.
