Yid'l Mit'n Fid'l
https://soundcloud.com/leigh-nudelman/yidl-mitn-fidl
This is my most popular song on Soundcloud and it comes from a film of the same name, which was the last Yiddish film ever to be made in Poland before WWII. It stars Molly Picon who plays a female violin player dressed as a boy called Yid'l. Her bass-playing father Aryeh says it will be safer for her this way as they travel from town to town, playing at weddings to make end's meet. (You can watch some of the film on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz8Q_Zxj_jU)
The song is filled with bitterer gelekhte or bitter laughter. The last verse says, "Sadness and worries may they go to blazes, Laugh with the wind Yid'l and just ride on." It all reminds me of a story I've heard many times. My great-grandmother, Bobba Ruda Nudelman, traveled to South Africa from Poland with her three children, my great-uncle Isaac, my great-aunty Becky and my Zeida, Monty. As they arrived off the boat, my great-grandfather, Shmuel Meyer Nudelman, was there to greet his family. The first thing that Shmuel did was to run up to his wife, to Bobba Ruda, and to kiss her hello. They hadn't seen each other in what must have been many months, if not years. And my Zeida, little Monteleh, all of three years old, ran up to this man kissing his mother and kicked him in the shins. To him, you see, his father was a stranger.
To send your Bobba a copy of the CD (R200) of this and other Yiddish songs, email me, leigh@mydreamwardrobe.co.za.
https://soundcloud.com/leigh-nudelman/yidl-mitn-fidl
This is my most popular song on Soundcloud and it comes from a film of the same name, which was the last Yiddish film ever to be made in Poland before WWII. It stars Molly Picon who plays a female violin player dressed as a boy called Yid'l. Her bass-playing father Aryeh says it will be safer for her this way as they travel from town to town, playing at weddings to make end's meet. (You can watch some of the film on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz8Q_Zxj_jU)
The song is filled with bitterer gelekhte or bitter laughter. The last verse says, "Sadness and worries may they go to blazes, Laugh with the wind Yid'l and just ride on." It all reminds me of a story I've heard many times. My great-grandmother, Bobba Ruda Nudelman, traveled to South Africa from Poland with her three children, my great-uncle Isaac, my great-aunty Becky and my Zeida, Monty. As they arrived off the boat, my great-grandfather, Shmuel Meyer Nudelman, was there to greet his family. The first thing that Shmuel did was to run up to his wife, to Bobba Ruda, and to kiss her hello. They hadn't seen each other in what must have been many months, if not years. And my Zeida, little Monteleh, all of three years old, ran up to this man kissing his mother and kicked him in the shins. To him, you see, his father was a stranger.
To send your Bobba a copy of the CD (R200) of this and other Yiddish songs, email me, leigh@mydreamwardrobe.co.za.
The wedding of Blima and Isaac Nudelman. Bobba Ruda and Shmuel Myer are on the right. Aunty Blima's parents, on the left, were also from Poland.
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