Тумбалалайка (вариант) - a Jewish song from the catalog of Walter J. Kin.
Encyclopedia of Jewish Song
Tumbalalaika, the old Yiddish riddle of love
Tumbalalaika is a beloved Yiddish folk song from Eastern Europe, a courtship riddle set to music. A young man cannot sleep, thinking whom to marry, and asks a maiden three riddles: what can grow without rain, what can burn for years without going out, what can weep without tears. She answers him: a stone can grow without rain, love can burn for years, and a heart can weep without tears. The title itself is a play on the balalaika and the Yiddish word tum, the strum of the strings.
Olga Anikina keeps the courtship and the riddles, and gives the ending a warm, wry turn. Love, the girl says, is what warms us in the bitter cold. And yet, she adds, that does not mean she will become his wife. The old song keeps its tenderness and gains a smile.
Why bring it into English
Tumbalalaika has crossed every border already through its melody. Carrying its words into Russian and English lets a new listener understand the riddle and the answer, and hear why generations kept singing it. Jewish Songs for All exists to give songs like this one their meaning back for everyone.
The words, line by line
Russian (Olga Anikina)English, line by line
Парень над думкой бьётся опятьA young man wrestles with a thought again
Как бы жениться не прогадатьHow to marry and not choose wrong
Много на свете девушек встретилHe has met many girls in the world
Где ж моё счастье вот бы понятьWhere is my happiness, if only I could tell
Тумбалалайка (вариант) - a Jewish song from the catalog of Walter J. Kin.
At a glance
Тумбалалайка (вариант) - a Jewish song from the catalog of Walter J. Kin.
History
Tumbalalaika (variant)
Тумбалалайка (вариант) - a Jewish song from the catalog of Walter J. Kin.
Tumbalalaika, the old Yiddish riddle of love
Tumbalalaika is a beloved Yiddish folk song from Eastern Europe, a courtship riddle set to music.
A young man cannot sleep, thinking whom to marry, and asks a maiden three riddles: what can grow without rain, what can burn for years without going out, what can weep without tears.
History
She answers him: a stone can grow without rain, love can burn for years, and a heart can weep without tears. The title itself is a play on the balalaika and the Yiddish word tum, the strum of the strings.
Olga Anikina keeps the courtship and the riddles, and gives the ending a warm, wry turn. Love, the girl says, is what warms us in the bitter cold. And yet, she adds, that does not mean she will become his wife. The old song keeps its tenderness and gains a smile.
Why bring it into English
Tumbalalaika has crossed every border already through its melody. Carrying its words into Russian and English lets a new listener understand the riddle and the answer, and hear why generations kept singing it.
Jewish Songs for All exists to give songs like this one their meaning back for everyone.
History
The words, line by line
Russian lyrics by Olga Anikina. The English is a literal, line by line rendering for meaning, prepared for review, not a singing version.
Credits & rights
Free to sing, free to teach
These songs are free for synagogues, JCCs, museums, schools, yeshivas and families. For everyone else, free to start, and a modest fee later, so the songs travel and take root.
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