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Dreidel

A wooden spinning top becomes the narrator of a new English Hanukkah song.

At a glance

Original language
English
Music and words
Walter J. Kin
Performance
Riglis Band

Story

Walter J. Kin is credited with music, lyrics and production; Riglis Band performs the recording. The author-published words are dated 2026. Dreidel is a familiar name for the holiday toy, but a shared title does not establish that this recording is a translation or performance of an older song about it. The source identifies Kin's own music and text.

The opening gives the toy a voice. It introduces itself as a wooden spinning top and asks someone to set it turning. This makes the listener necessary to the scene: the character needs a participant before the action can begin. The lyric then lets the movement spread from the toy to the people and the room around it.

Versions

The refrain joins spinning to the brightness of a Hanukkah house. Later the lyric names the letters nun, gimel, hey and shin. These are concrete features of the top described in this song, not a complete explanation of every regional form of the game. The song chooses recognition and movement over a detailed set of rules.

Listen to the changes between the toy speaking about itself, the group following its steps, and the calls to clap or spin. Those shifts turn a small object into a shared celebration. The comparison with the turning Earth is a poetic enlargement of the same motion.

This English version can be compared with other dreidel songs as a new response to a common subject, but they should not automatically be labeled its original. The Russian article explains the new song; it does not claim a verified Russian performance of this particular composition.

Words

(Hey) (Are you ready) (Let us spin) Oh look at me a happy little spinning top (Hey) I dance around so quickly and I never stop
I am a wooden dreidel brand new through and through Just spin me all around I'll give a twist for you (Go)
(Spin) Dreidel dreidel dreidel love to whirl and spin (Whirl) The house is bright and glowing let the fun begin

Words

And every night is brighter a warm and cheerful glow For everyone who watches my letters as I go
(Yeah) Oh dreidel dreidel dreidel house is spinning round (Ho) We're following your footsteps dancing on the ground
Bring joy to all the children sliding on the floor And like the Earth be spinning forever more and more
(Spin) Dreidel dreidel dreidel love to whirl and spin (Whirl) The house is bright and glowing let the fun begin

Words

And every night is brighter a warm and cheerful glow For everyone who watches my letters as I go
(Clap your hands) Nun Gimmel Hey and Shin (Spin it) Watch it turn around and see who's gonna win (Hooray)
Hanukkah is shining beautiful and bright Let us all be dancing deep into the night (Are you ready) (Let us go)

Words

(Spin) Dreidel dreidel dreidel love to whirl and spin (Whirl) The house is bright and glowing let the fun begin
And every night is brighter a warm and cheerful glow For everyone who watches my letters as I go
(Happy Hanukkah) Spin spin spin all through the day (Woo) Holiday is here to stay Happy Hanukkah (Yeah)

Credits & resources

Download MP3 ↓TextLyricsPrintable lyric sheet (PDF) for your singers.
Download PDF ↓

Yours to sing, teach, and share

You may use, perform, teach, record, and share Dreidel and the files on this page for non-commercial purposes: schools, synagogues, JCCs, choirs, camps, museums, families, and individuals. Keep the attribution to RIGLI / JewishSong.org, and please do not charge money for the performance or resell the files.

The music, arrangement, and recording of Dreidel are original works created for RIGLI. Produced by Walter J. Kin (RIGLI), Member of the Dramatists Guild of America. Distributed by RIGLI / Rigli Publishing as part of the JewishSong.org project.