Tum balalayka
[Play, balalaika *] [See lecture: Jewish Folklore?] | |
| Shteyt a bokher un er trakht, | A young lad stands and thinks, |
| Trakht un trakht a gantse nakht, | He thinks the whole night long, |
| Vemen tsu nemen un nit farshemen? | Whom to take and not to shame? |
| Vemen tsu nemen un nit farshemen? | Whom to take and not to shame? |
| Tum balalayke ... | Tum balalayke ... |
| Meydl, meydl, ikh vil bay dir fregn: | Young lass, I wish to ask you: |
| Vos ken vaksn, vaksn on regn? | What can grow without rain? |
| Vos ken brenen un nit oyfhern? | What can burn and not be consumed? |
| Vos ken beynkn, venen on trern? | What can yearn, cry without tears? |
| Tum balalayke ... | Tum balalayke ... |
| Narishe bokher, vos darfstu fregn: | Foolish boy, why do you ask? |
| A shteyn ken vaksn, vaksn on regn, | A stone can grow without rain, |
| A lib ken brenen un nit oyfhern, | A love can burn without being consumed, |
| A harts ken beynkn, veynen on trern. | A heart can yearn, cry without tears. |
| Tum balalayke ... | Tum balalayke ... |
Alternate versions include different questions and answers. Here is a version recorded by Arkady Gendler, Bessarabian folksinger, on his disk "My Hometown Soroke":
| Vos far a milner hot nisht keyn mil? | What kind of miller has no mill? |
| Vos far a lefl hot nisht keyn shtil? | What kind of spoon has no handle? |
| Vos far a meylekh hot nisht keyn land? | What kind of king has no land? |
| Vos far a yam hot nisht keyn zam? | What kind of sea has no shore? |
| Tum balalayke ... | Tum balalayke ... |
| A geshtorbener milner hot nisht keyn mil, | A dead miller has no mill, |
| A tsebrokhener lefl hot nisht keyn shtil, | A broken spoon has no handle, |
| A meylekh fun kortn hot nisht keyn land, | A king of cards has no land, |
| A yam fun trern hot nisht keyn zam. | A sea of tears has no shore. |
| Tum balalayke ... | Tum balalayke ... |
