Re: Dreydal song

[Cantor Neil & Katie Schwartz <schwartz...>]

In article <DKFtBD(dot)4C6 (at) news2(dot)new-york(dot)net>, abonita (at) 
bc(dot)cybernex(dot)net (Anita
Bonita) wrote:

> jballie (at) primenet(dot)com (john balliew) wrote:
> 
> >I'm looking for the lyrics to "The little Dreydal Song"
> >Thanks in advance!
> 
> John:
> 
> Do you mean the Yiddish song "Ikh Bin A Kleyner Dreydl," which is
> usually sung in English as "I Had A Little Dreydl"?
> 
> The Yiddish lyrics are:
> 
> Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl                                        
> Gemakht bin ikh fun blay
> To lomir ale shpiln
> In dreydl eyns tsvey dray
> 
> Oy, dreydl, dreydl, dreydl
> Oy, drey zikh, dreydl, drey
> To lomir ale shpiln
> In dreydl eyns un tsvey
> 
> Un ikh hob lib tsu tantsn
> Zikh dreyen in a rod
> To lomir ale tantsn
> A dreydl-karahod
> 
> Oy, dreydl, dreydl, dreydl
> Oy, drey zikh, dreydl, drey
> To lomir ale shpiln
> In dreydl eyns un tsvey
> 
> ---------------------------------------------
> In English, there are several variations...but it's interesting to
> note that the English dreydl is made out of clay, but the Yiddish one
> is composed of lead. And the Yiddish one dances as well as spins!
> 
> Anita Bonita

Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year.  There are a few books of Jewish music where the above
Yiddish song may be found.  Unfortunately, most of them are out of print. 
Here goes:

Yontefdike Teg                       ed. Chana Mlotek & Malke Gottlieb
 Song Book for the Jewish Holidays   Board of Jewish Education (NY)      1972
pp. 32 & 33    composer given as Michl Gelbart & lyricist as Ben Aaron
 Book may have been republished (finally) by the Workman's Circle - I hope so.

Lomir Kinder Zingen            (anyone know the editor?)
 Let's Sing a Yiddish Song     Kinderbuch Publications       1970
pg. 67      no authorship given - interesting, since other composers are given

Anthology of Yiddish Folksongs    ed. Vinkovetzky, Kovner, Leichter           
 Vol. 2  (of 4)                   Magnes Press of Hebrew Univ. (Jer.)   
1984             
pg. 202     Composer given as M. Gelbart, but no lyricist

While this song is not in this next book, other Yiddish holiday songs are:
Doros Zingen               ed. Samuel Bugatch
 Songs of Our People       Farband Book Pub., NY      1961

Two of the more easily available English sources for this song are:

Holidays in Song     ed. Velevel Pasternal      Tara Pub.   1985     pg. 54

More of the Songs We Sing     ed. Harry Coopersmith
                              United Synagogue        1971     pp.46-7

In both of these, the composer is listed as S. E. Goldfarb; however, there
is no trace of this song in Goldfarb's own book:

The Jewish Songster (Part I)     ed. Israel & Samuel Goldfarb     1925

Usually the Yiddish version of a song comes first, then the English.  In
the case of this song, there may be some question as to which came first
if Samuel Goldfarb really wrote the English version.  I am not sure of
Michl Gelbart's dates, and the book in which I need to look it up is at my
synagogue office.  However, the Goldfarb brothers did their work in the
early 20th century, so the song is probably close to a hundred years old. 
Perhaps the reason that this song is not in the Goldfarb "Jewish Songster"
is simply that they only contributed the English verse, despite
Coopersmith's giving them credit for the whole song.
                                                               Cantor Neil
Schwartz