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II

Work 271 of 440

Page 326. 'Dayne brokhes' section II concludes: 'Zoln oygn zayn farshlosn' (let eyes be closed) — 'undzer freyd iz say vi say geboyrn' (our joy is born anyway). Joy on 'rekhavesdike toln' (spacious valleys), among 'gold fun korn' (gold of grain). The wind plays on 'Ruslands shlyakhn' (Russia's roads), lulling 'a farhulyete beryoze' (a reveling birch tree). Roads are 'oysgeblaykhte fidlen' (bleached fiddles). 'Ru' (rest) wished for axles, shingles, spinners. The speaker's loins girded 'mitn likht un libshaft fun dayn nomen' (with the light and love of your name). 'Lid vegn mayne dray brider' (Song About My Three Brothers): addressed to 'kinder fun mayn roytn tatn' (children of my red father) — 'royt' here suggests both working-class/revolutionary and the red-haired. Brothers are 'lange dare' (long and thin), from 'land dem vaytn, zatn' (distant, sated land) — Soviet Belarus. They ride 'in sovetishe shinelen' (in Soviet overcoats). Their trades: 'kleyder-farber' (clothes dyer), 'brukn-heker' (cobblestone cutter), 'garber' (tanner) or 'beygl-beker' (bagel baker) — traditional Jewish crafts.

Yiddish Original

II

זאָלן אויגן זײַן פֿאַרשלאָסן. זאָלן.

אונדזער פֿרייד איז סײַ ווי סײַ געבאָרן.

אונדזער פֿרייד — אויף רחבותדיקע טאָלן,

אונדזער פֿרייד — צווישן גאָלד פֿון קאָרן.

אונדזער פֿרייד, די ברעמען צו פֿאַרמאַכן,

שפּילט פֿאַר זיך אַליין אַזאַ מין ניגון,

וואָס עס שפּילט דער ווינט אויף רוסלאַנדס שליאַכן

אַ פֿאַרהוליעטע בעריאָזע צו פֿאַרוויגן.

רוסלאַנדס שליאַכן — אויסגעבלייכטע פֿידלען —

פֿיסלעך קינדישע — צו אײַך זיך טוליען:

רו פֿאַר העק, פֿאַר רעדער און פֿאַר רידלען,

ביז די פֿיסלעך וועלן ווידער אויפֿשטיין הוליען.

רו פֿאַר דעכעלעך פֿון נעבעכדיקן שינדל,

רו צו פֿענצטערלעך גענידערטע צום בריקל,

רו צו שפּינערין, וואָס האָט דאָס פֿלינקע שפּינדל

אָפּגעלאָזט אינמיטן פֿון געוויקל.

מײַן געזאַנג צו אַלעמען צו ווענדן —

דורכצורײַסן זיך דורך ווענט פֿון תּהומען.

ווײַל איך האָב אַרומגעגאַרטלט מײַנע לענדן

מיטן ליכט און ליבשאַפֿט פֿון דײַן נאָמען.

ליד וועגן מײַנע דרײַ ברידער

קינדער פֿון מײַן רויטן טאַטן,

מײַנע לאַנגע דאַרע ברידער,

פֿונעם לאַנד דעם ווײַטן, זאַטן —

שיק איך זיי אַ גרוס דורך לידער.

אָט נאָר וואָס געזען זיי נעכטן

בײַ די היימישדיקע שוועלן

אויפֿן רײַטפֿערד, אויף גערעכטן

אין סאָוועטישע שינעלן.

ערשטער איז אַ קליידער־פֿאַרבער,

צווייטער איז אַ ברוקן־העקער,

דריטער איז אַמאָל אַ גאַרבער

און אַמאָל אַ בייגל־בעקער.

Transliteration

II

Zoln oygn zayn farshlosn. Zoln.

Undzer freyd iz say vi say geboyrn.

Undzer freyd — oyf rekhavesdike toln,

undzer freyd — tsvishn gold fun korn.

Undzer freyd, di bremen tsu farmakhn,

shpilt far zikh aleyn aza min nigun,

vos es shpilt der vint oyf Ruslands shlyakhn

a farhulyete beryoze tsu farvign.

Ruslands shlyakhn — oysgeblaykhte fidlen —

fislekh kindishe — tsu aykh zikh tulyen:

ru far hek, far reder un far ridlen,

biz di fislekh veln vider oyfshteyn hulyen.

Ru far dekhelekh fun nebekhdikn shindl,

ru tsu fensterlekh geniderte tsum brikl,

ru tsu shpinerin, vos hot dos flinke shpindl

opgelozt inmitn fun gevikl.

Mayn gezang tsu alemen tsu vendn —

durkhtsuraysn zikh durkh vent fun tehomen.

Vayl ikh hob arumgegartlt mayne lendn

mitn likht un libshaft fun dayn nomen.

Lid vegn mayne dray brider

Kinder fun mayn roytn tatn,

mayne lange dare brider,

funem land dem vaytn, zatn —

shik ikh zey a grus durkh lider.

Ot nor vos gezen zey nekhtn

bay di heymishdike shveln

oyfn raytferd, oyf gerekht

in sovetishe shinelen.

Ershter iz a kleyder-farber,

tseyter iz a brukn-heker,

driter iz amol a garber

un amol a beygl-beker.

English Translation

II

Let eyes be closed. Let them.

Our joy is born anyway.

Our joy — on spacious valleys,

our joy — among the gold of grain.

Our joy, closing the eyelids,

plays for itself such a melody,

that the wind plays on Russia's roads

to lull a reveling birch tree.

Russia's roads — bleached-out fiddles —

little childish feet — nestle to you:

rest for axles, for wheels and for rudders,

until the little feet will rise again to revel.

Rest for little roofs of pitiful shingle,

rest to little windows lowered to the bridge,

rest to the spinner, who left the quick spindle

in the middle of winding.

My song to address to everyone —

to tear through walls of abysses.

For I have girded my loins

with the light and love of your name.

Song About My Three Brothers

Children of my red father,

my long thin brothers,

from the land so distant, sated —

I send them a greeting through songs.

Just now saw them yesterday

at the homey thresholds

on the riding horse, on the righteous one

in Soviet overcoats.

The first is a clothes-dyer,

the second is a cobblestone-cutter,

the third is sometimes a tanner

and sometimes a bagel-baker.

TRANSLATOR’S NOTE

Page 326. 'Dayne brokhes' section II concludes: 'Zoln oygn zayn farshlosn' (let eyes be closed) — 'undzer freyd iz say vi say geboyrn' (our joy is born anyway). Joy on 'rekhavesdike toln' (spacious valleys), among 'gold fun korn' (gold of grain). The wind plays on 'Ruslands shlyakhn' (Russia's roads), lulling 'a farhulyete beryoze' (a reveling birch tree). Roads are 'oysgeblaykhte fidlen' (bleached fiddles). 'Ru' (rest) wished for axles, shingles, spinners. The speaker's loins girded 'mitn likht un libshaft fun dayn nomen' (with the light and love of your name). 'Lid vegn mayne dray brider' (Song About My Three Brothers): addressed to 'kinder fun mayn roytn tatn' (children of my red father) — 'royt' here suggests both working-class/revolutionary and the red-haired. Brothers are 'lange dare' (long and thin), from 'land dem vaytn, zatn' (distant, sated land) — Soviet Belarus. They ride 'in sovetishe shinelen' (in Soviet overcoats). Their trades: 'kleyder-farber' (clothes dyer), 'brukn-heker' (cobblestone cutter), 'garber' (tanner) or 'beygl-beker' (bagel baker) — traditional Jewish crafts.

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