Di Goldene Pave - Folksongs
[See lectures: The Golden Peacock / Jewish Weddings]
Here are three versions of the folksong:
1. From the Ginzburg and Marek collection;
2. From the Beregovsky collection;
3. "Zay zhe mir gezunt" - a version sung by Lifshe Schaechter-Widman and transcribed on "The Yiddish Song of the Week"
1. Folksong, from Jewish Folksongs in Russia, by Ginzburg and Marek, 1901
| Iz gefloygn di goldene pave | The golden peacock flew |
| iber ale yamen (2) | over all the seas, |
| Lozt-zhe gerisn, gilderne foygl | May the golden bird greet |
| mayn libe, hartsige mamen. | my dearly beloved mother. |
| Gefloygn, gefloygn di gilderne foygl | The golden bird flew and flew |
| Iber ale taykhn (2) | over all the rivers, |
| Lozt-zhe gerisn, libe foygl, | May the golden bird greet |
| Mayn libn, hartsign tatn. | my dearly beloved father. |
| Iz gefloygn di goldene pave | The golden bird flew |
| iber ale felder (2) | over all the fields, |
| Hot zi farlorn dem goldernem feder | She lost the golden feather |
| in di fremde lender. | in foreign lands. |
| S'iz nit azoy der golderner feder | It's not so much the golden feather |
| vi di pave aleyn (2) | as the peacock itself, |
| S'iz nit azoy der fremder zun | It's not so much the unknown son |
| vi di tokhter aleyn. | as the daughter herself. |
| Vi es iz biter, mayn lib muter, | How bitter it is, my beloved mother, |
| a feygele on a nest, | to be a bird without a nest, |
| Azoy iz biter, mayn lib muter, | That's how bitter it is, my dear mother, |
| bay a shver un shviger oyf kest. | to board with a bad mother-in-law. |
| Vi iz biter, mayn lib muter, | How bitter it is, my beloved mother, |
| a vaser on a fish (2) | to be water without a fish, |
| Azoy iz biter, mayn libe muter, | That's how bitter it is, my dear mother, |
| az m'zitst bay a fremdn tish. | to sit at a strange table. |
| Vi iz biter, mayn lib muter, | How bitter it is, my beloved mother, |
| a fish on a fan (2) | to be a fish without a pan, |
| Azoy iz biter, mayn lib muter, | That's how bitter it is, my dear mother, |
| az m'krigt a shlekhtn man. | when one gets a bad man. |
| Vi iz biter, mayn lib muter, | How bitter it is, my beloved mother, |
| a feygele on a zamd (2) | to be a bird without a shore [sand] |
| Azoy iz biter, mayn lib muter, | That's how bitter it is, my dear mother, |
| az m'vert farvogelt in a fremde land. | to be a wanderer in a strange land. |
2. Folksong, from Jewish Folksongs, by Moshe Beregovsky
| Di mame hot zikh opgegebn un hot mikh avekgegebn | Mother gave me up and gave me away |
| Far tsvey un fertsik mayl, mayl, | Forty-two miles away, |
| Un hot mir ongezogt un ongezogt | And she told me |
| Az ikh zol shoyn ba ir keynmol nit zayn, zayn. | that I can't ever visit her. |
| Bin ikh nit gevezn a yor un tsvey, a yor un tsvey, | I didn't for a year and two, a year and two |
| Iz dokh mir gevorn zeyer vey, zeyer vey, | I began to feel very, very bad, |
| Hob ikh zikh gemakht gring vi a feygele, gring vi a feygele, | I made myself light as a bird, light as a bird |
| Un bin tsu ir gefloygn. | And flew to her. |
| Gefloygn, gefloygn, der goldener foygl, der goldener foygl | The golden bird flew, flew |
| Ibern gedikhtn vald, vald | Over dense forests |
| Un hot dort farloyrn dem goldenem feder, dem goldenem feder | And lost there a golden feather |
| In a fremdn land, land. | In a foreign land. |
| Tut mir nit azoy bank der goldener feder, der goldener feder | I don't feel so badly about the golden feather |
| Vi di pave aleyn, vi di pave aleyn | As for the peacock, |
| Zint ikh bin avek fun mayne tate-mame, mayne tate-mame | Since I have been away from my parents |
| Zits ikh un yomer, un veyn un veyn. | I sit and weep, wail and wail. |
| Ba mayn mamen gilderne fingerlekh af di finger, af di finger | At my mother's I had golden rings on my fingers |
| gilderne fingerlekh af di finger | golden rings on my fingers |
| Ba mayn shviger, geshtorbn fun hunger, geshtorbn fun hunger | At my mother-in-law's, I starve of hunger |
| geshtorbn fun hunger. | Starve from hunger. |
