Ngoziman
(Ngoziland) | | Posted: May 02, 2012 - 13:41 | |
<bump>
for those who'd like to understand the lyrics
The song was written in 1938 by Mordechai Gebirtig following a pogrom in the small village (shtetl) of Przytyk in Poland in 1936. Although there's sadness in the tune, the words offer hope and defiance, and it became the anthem of the Kracow resistance during Nazi occupation. In 1942, Gebirtig was shot and killed by Nazi soldiers in the Kracow ghetto.
It's sung by a young Hungarian folk singer, Agi Szaloki, who captures both the heartbreak and the hope - Oi Va Voi do seem to find so many beautiful voices.
Here's the words, and for those of you who, like me, don't understand Yiddish, there's a translation too!
'sz brent briderleh 'sz brent
Oj undzer orim stetl nebeh brent
Bejze vintn mit jirgozn
Rajszn brehn un ceblozn
Starker noh di wilde flamen
Alc alum sojn brent
Un ir stejt un kukt azoj zih
Mit farlejgte hend
Un ir stejt un kukt azoj zih
Vi undzer stetl brent
'sz brent briderleh 'sz brent
Di hilf iz nor in ajh alejn gevend
Obj dosz stetl iz ajh tajer
Nemt di kejlim lest dosz fajer
Lest mit ajer ajgn blut
Bavejzt az ir dosz kent
Stejt nist brider ot azoj zih
Mit farleijgte hend
Stejt nist brider lest dosz fajer
Undzer stetl brent
It's burning, brothers, it's burning!
Oy, our poor shtetl is burning!
Raging winds are fanning the wild flames
And furiously tearing,
Destroying and scattering everything
All around, all is burning
And you stand and look just so,
You, with folded hands...
And you stand and look just so,
While our shtetl burns
Our town is burning and only you can save it!
Extinguish the fire with your very blood, if you must!
Don't just stand there, brothers, with folded hands
Don't just stand there, put out the fire!
Our shtetl is burning!
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Ivana
(Praga caput regni or somewhere else) | | Posted: Apr 21, 2011 - 01:44 | |
Do not understand a word but beautiful music and her voice, simply beautiful
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bglolly
| | Posted: Mar 20, 2011 - 13:13 | |
spacemoose wrote:
I thought it was swiss german at first.
Exactly what I thought, so I wanted to know who it was!
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spacemoose
| | Posted: Mar 15, 2011 - 06:51 | |
ce wrote:Yiddish seems to sounds very similar to different languages that I understand, but it always take me a while to realize that it's none of them. Very disorienting...  Yiddish (& AFAIK Hebrew) are among the few languages that have a similar sound as the Dutch "g" or "ch", which sounds a bit like clearing your throat, or as a harder Spanish "j' / 'x'. This makes it sound like Dutch. It sounds very similar to German (obviously). It also happens to sound very similar to some Dutch dialects which mix (old) Dutch & (old) German. Yet, I can only understand bits of Yiddish.  I thought it was swiss german at first. |
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ce
(the Netherlands) | | Posted: Feb 17, 2011 - 04:51 | |
Yiddish seems to sounds very similar to different languages that I understand, but it always take me a while to realize that it's none of them. Very disorienting... Yiddish (& AFAIK Hebrew) are among the few languages that have a similar sound as the Dutch "g" or "ch", which sounds a bit like clearing your throat, or as a harder Spanish "j' / 'x'. This makes it sound like Dutch. It sounds very similar to German (obviously). It also happens to sound very similar to some Dutch dialects which mix (old) Dutch & (old) German. Yet, I can only understand bits of Yiddish. |
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sirdroseph
(Yes) | | Posted: Feb 17, 2011 - 04:32 | |
I loves the violin.  |
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Huey
(Netherlands) | | Posted: Jan 24, 2011 - 07:46 | |
Yes, I thought this was a German dialect. Yiddish huh?? Caught my attention, but not in a good way really.. 5.
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frank-peter
(Siegen / Germany) | | Posted: Jan 11, 2011 - 15:51 | |
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jeepstir
(the dark side of hell) | | Posted: Dec 16, 2010 - 13:03 | |
matz wrote:You are right, this is Jiddish, not German.
And I thank all fellow radio listeners who don't join aweful and totally foolish racist stuff or blaming the generation born long after WW II for the cruel deeds of others. Please come and meet us, don't asume what you simply can't judge. Thanks.
Have a couple good friends in Hamburg, Germany. Awesome, wonderful people, beautiful, spectacular, and ancient country. Who among us does not, at some point in their history, have something they are not proud of? We learn whatever there is to learn from it, and move on. Only the ignorant carry the grudges and prejudices on to contaminate future generations. |
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matz
(Bamberg, Germany) | | Posted: Nov 09, 2010 - 06:39 | |
You are right, this is Jiddish, not German.
And I thank all fellow radio listeners who don't join aweful and totally foolish racist stuff or blaming the generation born long after WW II for the cruel deeds of others. Please come and meet us, don't asume what you simply can't judge. Thanks.
Fantagirah wrote:..., I did not expect to hear anything in German. I listened attentively and realised that it could only be Yiddish.... |
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fredriley
(Nottingham, UK) | | Posted: Oct 27, 2010 - 05:00 | |
Businessgypsy wrote:Well said! As a descendant of Picts, I'm still pissed at those Vikings.
You'll want to be pissed at the Gaels too, coming over from Ireland and displacing Pictish culture and language. Bleedin' Gaels, come over here, take our woad, take our language, take our lands... ;) |
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auroville
| | Posted: Sep 25, 2010 - 12:37 | |
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woodchuk
(Lunar Lagrange point L1) | | Posted: Aug 24, 2010 - 12:29 | |
Beautiful, poignant...........
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CoYoT51
(Lima, Perù - Reims, France) | | Posted: Aug 11, 2010 - 07:26 | |
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Fantagirah
(Paderborn, Germany) | | Posted: Jun 08, 2010 - 14:24 | |
I heard this song several times now. At the first time it appeared to me as if I could understand some words, but thought that this cannot be. Although Radio Paradise is very international with it's songs, I did not expect to hear anything in German. I listened attentively and realised that it could only be Yiddish.
A dramatic song, with a bitter sweet melody and a cruel background...
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ick
(S.E. La Jolla) | | Posted: Jun 08, 2010 - 13:59 | |
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Businessgypsy
(Deepest, Darkest Florida) | | Posted: Jun 03, 2010 - 20:20 | |
shutter wrote:Y'know, "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" has always been one of my favorite songs. Gotta hand it to you Picts. So far ahead of your time!
Ummagumma! |
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shutter
(You can't get here from there) | | Posted: Apr 13, 2010 - 11:56 | |
Businessgypsy wrote:Well said! As a descendant of Picts, I'm still pissed at those Vikings. Give us back our Blue! Stateside, my family picked their own cotton as sharecroppers (even in my mother's time). Well, the landowner's cotton, but we were in there somewhere. Slap that tray of guilt to the ground!
A beautiful, heartwrenching historical song. Remembrance mandatory, guilt optional.
Y'know, "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" has always been one of my favorite songs. Gotta hand it to you Picts. So far ahead of your time! |
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crockydile
(Outer Spiral Arm, Milky Way) | | Posted: Mar 31, 2010 - 16:46 | |
Businessgypsy wrote:Well said! As a descendant of Picts, I'm still pissed at those Vikings. Give us back our Blue! Stateside, my family picked their own cotton as sharecroppers (even in my mother's time). Well, the landowner's cotton, but we were in there somewhere. Slap that tray of guilt to the ground!
A beautiful, heartwrenching historical song. Remembrance mandatory, guilt optional.
As a descendant of Vikings, you're all lucky to still be alive.  |
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Businessgypsy
(Deepest, Darkest Florida) | | Posted: Mar 18, 2010 - 12:34 | |
Geecheeboy wrote:Being the great grandson of slave owners, I bear guilt. Being white and male, I bear guilt. Although I am thinking of sueing my Italian descended daughter-in-law for the Roman subjugation of the Anglo Saxon people.
Well said! As a descendant of Picts, I'm still pissed at those Vikings. Give us back our Blue! Stateside, my family picked their own cotton as sharecroppers (even in my mother's time). Well, the landowner's cotton, but we were in there somewhere. Slap that tray of guilt to the ground!
A beautiful, heartwrenching historical song. Remembrance mandatory, guilt optional. |
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Saliby_Br
(Outer space) | | Posted: Feb 09, 2010 - 08:12 | |
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ambrebalte
(Beijing) | | Posted: Feb 02, 2010 - 21:02 | |
@Ngoziman
Undzer shtetl brent - unserer Stadt brennt - Our city is burning
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camatcba
(Lumberjack Software Hack Node) | | Posted: Feb 02, 2010 - 20:29 | |
I'm totally depressed and bummed after listening to this song.  |
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von_Hayek
(Fr-Su Duesseldorf, Mo-Th Magdeburg) | | Posted: Jan 14, 2010 - 12:05 | |
mkrueck wrote:Being German and bearing guilt - this beautiful song makes me sad,
? How old are you? I also have a german passport. But that does not make me feel guilty. And yes, it is a beautiful and sad song. |
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Geecheeboy
(under a crescent moon and palmetto tree) | | Posted: Jan 14, 2010 - 12:01 | |
Being the great grandson of slave owners, I bear guilt. Being white and male, I bear guilt. Although I am thinking of sueing my Italian descended daughter-in-law for the Roman subjugation of the Anglo Saxon people.
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Giselle62
(California's Cental Coast) | | Posted: Jan 08, 2010 - 21:29 | |
mkrueck wrote:Being German and bearing guilt - this beautiful song makes me sad,
i was reading Chief Joseph's parting speech yesterday "I will fight no more forever" —-guilt. |
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ambrebalte
(Beijing) | | Posted: Jan 02, 2010 - 09:50 | |
Thank you Ngoziman
Adank Rebecca and Bill
Bravo Oi Va Voi
i don't know about godlike, but it's extraordinary
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gpvos
| | Posted: Dec 14, 2009 - 02:17 | |
Wow. Seems that Oi Va Voi are back after their previous disappointing album. Good violin playing, too.
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NoEnzLefttoSplit
| | Posted: Dec 14, 2009 - 02:14 | |
 wow. what a song. |
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gatorade
(Ocean Park, WA) | | Posted: Nov 25, 2009 - 18:45 | |
My thanks to all those who made personal comments about their families and cultures. Thanks also for the translation of the lyrics. Loved the song, now I can appreciate it all the more. Oi Va Voi always surprises me!
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