[HANASHIR:5725] Re: Eili Eili and Dona Dona

[Judah Cohen <jcohen...>]

Just to add to Noah's note:  from what I recall, Dona Dona was written in 
1941 (by Sholem Secunda, the same guy who write Bei Mir Bis Du Schoen) for
the Yiddish film "Estherke."  Later, two guys named Arthur Schwartz and
Teddy Kevess adapted the lyrics into English.  Two places to check:
Secunda's biography "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen," and Zalman Mlotek's "Pearls of
Yiddish Song" (where, I think, it's actually listed under "Songs of
Happiness and Celebration" or some such category).   Notably, an Israeli
version was also released (by Naomi Shemer, I believe)--causing some to
think it was originally a Hebrew song.

Shabat Shalom.
Judah.

----------
>From: NBudin (at) aol(dot)com
>To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
>Subject: [HANASHIR:5724] Re: Eili Eili and Dona Dona
>Date: Fri, Apr 7, 2000, 4:57 PM
>

> I think Dona Dona was written for the Yiddish Theater around the turn of the
> century, but by the 1970s had acquired a sort of "urban legend" about it --
> when I was a camper we were told that it had been discovered written in blood
> on the inside of a box car during the Holocaust. Most people I knew back then
> believed it was a Holocaust song of some kind, but I think I remember reading
> somewhere that it was composed before the war around the 1920s. Don't rely on
> my memory, however. I'm sure someone on the list will come up with accurate
> info.
>
> Noah Budin
> Singer/songwriter
> Cleveland, OH
> NBudin (at) aol(dot)com
>

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