YANKELE

Yiddish - YANKELE
יאנקעלע
(LULLABY)

Go to sleep already,
My beautiful Yankele,
Close your little dark eyes
A little boy who already has all his teeth
Still needs his mother to sing him a lullaby?!

A little boy who already has all his teeth
And with luck, he'll go to Cheder soon,
He will learn Torah, and Talmud,
Should cry when his mother rocks him to sleep?!

A little who will learn Talmud,
(How delighted your father is
when he listens to you!)
A little boy who is growing up to be a scholar
Doesn't let his mother rest at night?!

A little boy, who is growing up to be a scholar
And a capable businessman as well,
A little boy, such a clever young groom,
Should like as wet as in a river?!

So go to sleep, my clever young groom,
Meanwhile, you are in your cot
and still with me.

It will cost your mother much hard work
and many tears
Till you become a man.


German and transliterated Yiddish words


Note:
Mordekhay Gebirtig (1877-1942)
Special thanks to the Virtual Klezmer website

LYRICS
Mordekhay Gebirtig
MUSIC
Mordekhay Gebirtig

Words translated by Reene Zufi of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Contact the publisher of Hebrew Songs.com

Please note that all these translations © are courtesy of www.hebrewsongs.com
We thank our more than 400 volunteer translators from 190 cities in 42 countries.
When sharing these words please acknowledge the address www.hebrewsongs.com/?song=yankele

TOP