Index to all the songs on this site
This blog was hacked and all its links were going to some spam site so I had to take it apart, delete a bunch of stuff, and do this index BY HAND. I hope you appreciate it! I will say, going through every single post to get the spam out was a walk down memory lane. An awful lot of my time and love went into this. I hope some few people have appreciated it.
Ver ken di libe fun a heyliker mame farshteyn? Fabulous Yiddish tango from "Bandit Gentleman
Lo lanu di naye (Yiddish theater song) (Lo Lani)
Yosl un Sore-Dvoshe: a tale of a lover's spat which culminates in a noisy trip to the theater
Sex Appeal! Sung (then) by Benzion Witler and Adam Aston - now by Mappamundi!
Der Dales - Nikodem - Yiddish and Polish versions of the same theater song
An eytsele tsum vaser-treger (Advice for the water carrier) - Moyshe Broderson and Henech Kon
Cockeyed Jenny: a new version of the Barton Brothers hit, from a woman's point of view.
A fine review of a Barton Brothers show (1951)
Oy, vi es tyokhket! Oh, how it throbs! Concerning love and the yeytser hore
Ales kumt dokh fun upstairs (Everything comes from upstairs) - Max Wilner's TV appearance
Birobidzhan: Stalin thought you should want to live there and this song agrees.
Khsidemlekh zingen (Khsidemlekh tantsn) - Yiddish theater song by Yosele Kolodny
Goodbye New York by Pesach Burstein (aka Gud-bay Nyu York)
Yamtsa daritsa a tsa tsa - Pesach Burstein's hit of the 1930s
Dir a nickel, mir a nickel - from Fishel der gerotener, a song about getting ahead as a trolley conductor
What happened to Yiddish theater star Herman Fenigstein?
Masquerade balls - featured for decades.
Benzin (Max Perlman's hit) - fossil fuels, gambling, and a tired old bridegroom
Der dishvasher (The Dishwasher) - Yiddish theater song from Herman Yablokoff's 1934 show
In a hoyz vu men veynt un men lakht (In a house where one cries and laughs) - Yiddish song about a brothel.
Di rumenishe kretshme (The Romanian Tavern) sung by Irving Grossman. Yiddish theater song of 1929
Oy mame bin ikh farlibt! Not rare, but often requested Yiddish theater song
Lebedike yesoymim (Children of divorced parents) - a Yiddish warning and lament.
S'iz gut far mir (It's good for me) aka Sgit far mir - an old song recently revived.
Tsen kopikes hob ikh (I have ten kopecks) - Aaron Lebedeff hit - first of the new shlager series!
Don der Dondek (Don the Ninny) - my personal protest song (with subtitles) against Combover Caligula
Shvayg mayn harts by Herman Yablokoff - was it really the source of the eden ahbez hit "Nature Boy" ?
Vos kh'hob gevolt hob ikh oysgefirt: an Aaron Lebedeff yiddish show tune made over for a girl klezmer band
Mazl mazl vi bistu mazl? Luck, where are you? Joseph Feldman writes a Yiddish folk song.
Chort vozmi, a variant by Joseph Feldman
Kadish nokh a yidishn zelner, aka Durkhn Dorf Geyt A Geshrey
Az men farzukht (Az men farzikht un s'iz git) - Leo Fuchs version
Az men farzukht un s'iz gut, vilt zikh nokh a mol - as sung by Aaron Lebedeff. Reader's request.
Me darf makhn a lebn (You gotta make a living) as composed and performed by Leo Fuchs
Alts far gelt (Henri Gerro's version) - Everything for money
Mir zol zayn far dir (If I could only take it upon myself) - Yiddish theater song from "Circus Girl"
Af a shteyndl (Yiddish version of the Russian folksong Ya na kamushke sizhu)
Dos reydele dreyt zikh (The wheel turns) sung by Pinnie Goldstein
Zing, Brider, Zing! Sheet music and performances of a Ben Zion Witler song
Glik (Happiness/Luck) by Alex Olshanetsky and Bella Meise
Krokhmalne gas - waltz / tango by Benzion Witler
New information comes to light about Itzik Zhelonek
Mir voyle yingelekh (Hert oys gute brider) A lost song found! White slavery in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Di firme Boymvol is a parody of "Katinka" by Ben Russell and Henry Tobias
Ikh hob dikh tsufil lib: an "evergreen" classic Yiddish song by Alexander Olshanetsky and Chaim Tauber
Better Go Back into the Dream - a stunning Yiddish ballad by Iso Shayevitsh
Slutsk mayn shtetele: mp3 for download and sheet music
Tankhum: he spent too much time studying and his girl married somebody else. Moshe Koussevitsky sings.
S'iz nisht geven, s'iz nishto, un s'vet nisht zayn. (It wasn't then, it isn't now, and it never will be) Honesty in this world? Never happen. (Yiddish theater song)
Shvayg, hertsele (Be Silent, Heart) - Jack Rechtzeit's forgotten Yiddish theater song
A puster kholem iz dos gantse lebn (Tate-mame) - a tango by Fanny Gordon and Benzion Witler
Oy, mame, shlog mikh nit ... s'iz shoyn tsu shpet (Yiddish theater song by Aaron Lebedeff)
Oy vey, me shoklt zikh! (People are shaking)
Oy, Avreml! A comedy song by Adolf King which was a hit for Nellie Casman.
Mayn vayb kumt fun Zakopane (Yoshke fort avek)
Mikitka, what will happen to you? A Ukrainian-Yiddish folksong (aka Mikita) as sung by Mordechai Hershmann
Men leygt arayn un nemt nisht aroys (you put in, but you get nothing back) - a tale of life's discontents from 1930s Warsaw, Poland
Lebedik Yankel (Lebedig Yankl, Lebedig Yankel)
Kolumbus, ikh hob tsu dir gornit (Columbus, I've got nothing against you)
A kidushin ringele aka "Das Keduschin Ringele" (The wedding ring) by Anshel Shorr
Keyn glikn hob ikh dir nisht tsugezogt (aka Dos vos du zest!) What you see is what you get! I never promised you happiness.
Katarina, a wonderful Yiddish-Russian-Hebrew folksong from the Zhelonek collection
In dr'erd dos shnayderay (To Hell with the Tailoring Business) - Yiddish singalong for disgruntled workers
Ikh hob a gut harts (I have a good heart), a Yiddish theater song by Rubin Doctor
Ikh vil zikh shpiln means "I want to have fun" (Yiddish theater song)
A gute vokh fun der alter heym - a sentimental remembrance of the Sabbath's end in the old country
Ikh un du a porele (You and I, a Pair) - Yiddish theater song remembered by Masha Roskies
Di Galitsianer Khasene (A Galician Wedding) - a Ludwig Satz special!
Dos fishele - a Zionist song by Moyshe Ratner
Der balegole (humorous Yiddish folk song) - "The driver"
Di naye 'Al Chet' - a song for Yom Kippur if you're feeling a bit sardonic
Oyf a maskn bal (At the Masquerade Ball)
Nu! A daygeh? About couplets and Pesach Burstein
Me meynt nit di hagode, nor di kneydlekh (He's only in it for the matzo balls) Yiddish theater song
Far nile, nokh nile by Aaron Lebedeff (Yiddish Theater song) - sheet music
Avreml der marvikher - a Yiddish pickpocket's self-eulogy, by Mordechai Gebirtig
Ikh ken shoyn nit mithaltn means "I Can't Keep Up" in Yiddish - my song that won the 2015 Der Yidisher Idol competition!
Ikh for aheym (I'm Going Home) - a rousing Zionist anthem of the 1930s
A vig-lid (S'loyfn s'yogn shvartse volkns) by Dovid Nomberg
Ikh bin oyf dir nisht in kas - Leo Fuchs sings Oskar Strok's Golubye glaza in Yiddish
The Lambeth Walk, Yiddish version, as heard in the Stonehill Collection
Lola Folman's "Der Kashtenboym" shows up, reimagined, at the Stonehill Jewish Song Collection
Vokh-tyokh-tyokh or Woch-Tioch-Tioch!: Either way, it's a great hook
Yudel mit zayn fiedel, sung by Shlomo Lindenfeld, was adapted from Fishel Zinger's version and predates Tuvim's "Stara piosenka"
In which Yente the red-headed girl gets the last word (Yente di royte)
Dem milshteyns faygn: my Yiddish words to an old and beautiful folksong, Stets in trauer
A mentsh ken makhn a mol a toes. Nu iz vos? "A person can obviously screw up from time to time!" Ludwig Satz lives a confusing life.
Morris Rund Penny Songs - another yiddish theater song reclamation project
Eylu voeylu tsoyakim bokh: a drinking song for judges, rabbis, and thieves (among others)
Lena from Palesteena (not a Yiddish song)
Shtek arayn (Shtekt arayn) - A Yiddish theater song which is not as dirty as one initially might think
A mentsh zol men zayn (Mit gelt tor men nit shtoltsirn) The Yiddish Bonfire of the Vanities (as the Masters of the Universe have their comeuppance)
Tsimblen, tsimblen - a lost Zhelonek song found (kind of) and a Yiddish wedding song of an entirely unexpected kind
Vos du vilst, dos vil ikh ikh (What you want, that's what I want too) - Yiddish theater song
Di opgenarte velt (The Deluded World) - Yiddish theater song by Sh. Prizament as sung by Hershl Badkhn
In hundert yor arum: in which some Jews make very inaccurate predictions of the future
Leo Fuchs sings "Trouble" from the movie "Ikh vil zayn a border bay mayn vayb"
How to write your own Yiddish song? Here you go, Yiddish doggerel DIY tools of the trade
If Eliakum Tsunzer used a Yiddish rhyming dictionary you can too!
Yiddisha Charleston: sheet music as requested (Der yidisher charleston; Yiddishe Charleston)
In Gortn - as sung by Vera Rosanka, "Di yidishe shikse"
Khantshe in Amerike
Du bist mayn zun (You are my sun) - Yiddish theater song by Jacob Jacobs and Sholom Secunda
A shod dayne trern (Your tears are wasted)
Mr Malekh HaMoves, ikh bin 'bizy' - Mr Angel of Death, I'm busy!
Ikh vel shoyn mer nit ganvenen (I won't do any more stealing) - a Yiddish underworld song
Beser iz tsu blaybn a moyd (A yor nokh mayn khasene) - it's better to stay an unmarried woman...
Dos kind ligt in vigele (The child lies in the cradle) A lament af yidish.
Vu zaynen mayne zibn gute yor? Where are MY seven good years? Nellie Casman's hit from 'The Little Cantor'
A mamenyu - Tadeusz Faliszewski sings in Yiddish...
Af Bri, a 'Humorous' Yiddish theater song in the style of the shul
Leybke fort keyn Amerike - a song about a typical jerk of his time (Leybke goes to America)
Oysgeshpilt! (Played Out)
Nerven, nerven! MY NERVES ARE KILLING ME. Angst in the pre-war Yiddish community.
Di velt hot zikh ibergekert (The world turned upside down Yiddish style)
Mendele - a Yiddish theater song recommending emigration to Israel
Az der rebbe vil - a naughty song by Ludwig Satz. Just imagine all the things our rebbe can do!
A volekhl - a song about a Wallachian dance, Yiddish folksong as printed by Itzik Zielonek
How to record a lot of songs for not much money - cheap home recording studio
A kale bazingen as performed by Pesach Burstein.
A shayle baym rebn (A question for the rebbe)
Got fun Avrom (God of Abraham) - prayer for the end of the Sabbath
Epes fun gornisht (Something from Nothing) aka "Hob ikh mir a mantl" - a song about making do with what you've got.
Vilne, Vilne - a song of old Vilna.
Zets, Yoyne! (Hit him, Yoyne) aka "Yoyne zets." A rare Yiddish theater song in which a beaten up Jew fights back.
Nisim, nisim (Miracles, miracles) - cynicism wherever you turn.
Zi hot es! (She's Got It!) by Pesach Burste
Dos fleshele (Chort voz'mi) a.k.a. Dos lid fun a shiker (Song of a Drunkard) - Yiddish Russian folksong
Di Arbuzn (The watermelons): now a Yiddish folksong video on youtube with En" target="_blank">glish subtitles
Lebedik Freylekh: a klezmer tune which actually has words. Here's the melody and the lyrics.
More on "S'iz geven a mol a pastekhl" (There once was a shepherd)
Iz geven a mol a pastukhl (There once was a shepherd) - Yiddish folk song as sung by Mordechai Hershman
Bobenyu (Zol Nokh Zayn Shabes) by Sholom Secunda: mp3 and sheet music
"In Odess" - the title cut from the Mappamundi / Jane Peppler / Randy Kloko cd IN ODESS.
Di meydlekh fun amol (The Girls of Yesterday) - an obnoxious song once made famous by Pesach Burstein
Ola Lilith part two: she comes to America and makes a hit with the song "Varshe"
Ola Lilith in Joseph Rumshinsky's "Dos meydl fun Varshe" (The girl from Warsaw)
Vaser (to the tune of Wanda, a tango by Jerzy Peterburski) - parody tango about the day the water was shut off in Warsaw
Kadish (A din-toyre mit Got) - the Berditchever rebbe confronts God
Zog es mir nokh a mol (Say it to me again): the whole song
Oy vey mamele (s'iz geven a dramele) = Uh, oh, Mom, there's been a little drama ... Yiddish sex ed warning from long ago
Dos ganevl (Der yold iz mikh mekane) - an underworld hit from when Yiddish gangsters were very fashionable.
Der Kashtenboym (The Chestnut Tree) - a Yiddish song by Lola Folman
Shlof mayn kind mayn tsutsik: weary father rocks the baby while his wife is out dancing the Charleston.
Di eybike mame (The Eternal Mother) - animated video of the Yiddish theater song with English subtitles
Shabes nokhn kugl (Shabbos nochn kigel)
Harey at, a Zhelonek song, is found under the name "Ikh ganve in der nakht"
Vayl a yid iz nisht keyn goy (Because a Jew is not a Christian) - strange (still lost) Yiddish theater song
Dos yidishe lid (The Jewish song)
Mashke (Whiskey) - a Chasid explains how booze makes it possible to navigate your way through life
Der lamden Reb Sender
Meyerke mayn zun - a famous Yiddish folk song
Ikh dank dir, Got, az ikh hob es nisht (I thank you God, that I don't have it)
Spetsialitetn (Specialties, Areas of Expertise): a Yiddish theater song from Poland which is still lost
Lost Yiddish theatre song: Yontif in der vokhn (A midweek holiday)
A sakh melokhes, veynik brokhes (A lot of jobs, not much luck with any of them) Aaron Lebedeff's complaint
Tsirele, Mirele, in which a swain woos his sweetheart with parsnips and vashmala
Meydlekh, di sheyne meydlekh (Girls, the pretty girls) from Sam Goldberg and Betty Koenig
Soni Boi (aka Zindele Mayns), was Sonny Boy
On a heym (without a home) - Benzion Witler from "Yanko Tsigayner" (now with bass and fiddle!)
Mr Malakh Hamooves, ikh bin busy - so says Nellie Casman
Fleyshike yidn, milkhike yidn un pareve yidn - by Max Kotlowitz
Shpil mir nokh amol mayn fidl
More about the U.S. Copyright Office and copyrighted yiddish songs, and Zirele Mirele
Mayn yidishe mame
Vot ken yu makh? S'iz Amerike! Aaron Lebedeff's great hit.
Reyzele, folk song actually composed by Mordkhe Gebirtig
Margaritkelekh (sheet music with translation and lyrics)
Di mezinke oysgegebn (sheet music available)
Bublitshki / Beygelekh
Belz mayn shtetele Belz - sheet music lyrics and translation
Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, was written in the nineteenth century
Der Rebbe Elimelech - probably the best known song in Itzik Zhelonek's collection
Der filozof (Kum aher du filosof) - who's the chump?
Der alter Menashe: he won't get off his bench and go borrow some money to make Shabes.
Researching Yiddish song copyrights at the US Copyright office
Dos talesl (the tallis)
Dos Yidishe Fidele (Nem dos...)
Mayn meydele (My Girl) - Herman Fenigstein - wonderful Yiddish tango love song
Di Milkh-ku -- aka Cabbage Head aka You Drunken Fool (a Yiddish Child Ballad)
The first Zhelonek cd is out. "In Odess: Yiddish Songs from Warsaw Volume 1" and, "Goodbye New York"
Itsik Feld / Izaak Feld sang "A mistake!" (or "A mistee" or "Amistejk" or "Amistejk")
Nokhemke mayn zun (Nokhumke mayn zun): Yiddish folksong, parody of Meyerke mayn zun.
Moniek Przepiórko: one of three Polish-language songs in the Zhelonek collection
Rivkele / Rywkele (the Yiddish version of the famous Zygmunt Bialostocki Polish tango Rebeka)
Samet un Zayd (Velvet and Silk) - Yiddish song about a girl with incorrect values...
A yiddishe troike (Di yidishe troyke): Yiddish song by Sh. Frug
Teyku - Yiddish folk song (or not)
Oy Oy di libe (iz a prakht) - Adolf King Yiddish Theater Song:
Lost Yiddish song: Di manikurzshistke sung by Lola Folman
Lost Polish Yiddish cabaret song: "Gey, makh, es makht zikh nisht"
Hamavdil (A gute vokh): mp3, sheet music, transcription, translation
Der Vaser Treger (The Water Carrier) a Yiddish Theater Song by Moshe Broderson
Yosl, Yosl - Nellie Casman's famous Yiddish theater song
A dudele: The first Zhelonek song I've recorded.