Re: Te ve Orez

[Ryna Kedar - Mekatleget for music lib. <ryna_k...>]

On Sat, 3 May 2003, Steve Weintraub wrote:

> I recall once hearing that the title of the children's dance song Te
ve'Orez  was a sort of Israeli chalutzim joke, to the effect that there were as 
many mosquitos in (then) Palestine as there was tea and rice in China.  Can 
anyone verify this? And, are there any lyrics to the song?
>
> Thanks,
> Steve

Dear Steve,

The first verse is:
Te ve-orez yesh be-Sin, ba-arets ha nidachat,
Uv-artsenu yesh chamsin ve-chol minei kadachat.

In the G-d-forsaken land of China there is tea and rice
and in our land we have heat waves and all kinds of malaria. (your
mosquitos!)

If you need the rest of the words, let me know. The words and melody are
"ammami", folk-lore.

Ryna Kedar
Head, Acquisitions & Cataloging Division
The Felicja Blumental Music Center & Library
Tel-Aviv, Israel

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