Chiribim Chiribom is a beloved Yiddish sing-along built on a refrain of pure joyful nonsense. Its verses are little shtetl vignettes: a tune heard among sparrows and doves while mama cooks noodle soup; a wise rebbe who claimed a deal with heaven yet walked out with no umbrella and got soaked to the bone; and the famous town of Chelm, where the fools sing and dance and laugh at themselves, while the rest of us only moan and wonder who is really the fool.
RIGLI's Russian version keeps every wink of the humor. The refrain stays exactly what it is, a burst of happiness that needs no translation at all.
The joke and the warmth of a song like this only land when you understand the verses. Carrying Chiribim Chiribom into Russian and English lets a new listener laugh along with the shtetl, which is the whole point of Jewish Songs for All.
Russian (Olga Anikina)English, line by line
Чирибим чирибомChiribim chiribom
Чирибим бом бом бом бом бо-бомChiribim bom bom bom bom bo-bom
Чирибим чирибомChiribim chiribom
Чирибим бом бом бом-бомChiribim bom bom bom-bom
Я вчера у нас в местечке песенку услышалYesterday in our shtetl I heard a little song
Воробьи сидят по веткам голуби по крышамSparrows sit on the branches, doves on the roofs
Мама варит суп с лапшой и кнелики с пореемMama cooks noodle soup and little dumplings with leek
В праздник мир цветной волчок вертится быстрееOn the holiday the world is bright, the dreidel spins faster
Жил на свете мудрый ребе каждый день молилсяThere lived a wise rebbe who prayed every day
Он сказал нам будто с небом он договорилсяHe told us he had made a deal with heaven
Без зонта гулять пошёл вышел из калиткиHe went out for a walk with no umbrella, out the gate
Всё местечко хоть бы что а он промок до ниткиThe whole shtetl stayed dry, but he got soaked to the bone
Есть одно местечко Хелем там и днём и ночьюThere is a town called Chelm, where day and night
Дураки поют и пляшут над собой хохочутThe fools sing and dance and laugh at themselves
Ну а мы всё время ноем что ж нам делать братцыBut we are always moaning, what are we to do, brothers
Кто дурак из нас кто умный вот бы разобратьсяWho among us is the fool, who is wise, if only we could tell
Russian lyrics by Olga Anikina. The English is a literal, line by line rendering for meaning, prepared for review, not a singing version. The nonsense refrain repeats between verses.
JewishSong.org