Sing along
Lyrics
Yesterday inside our town I heard a little song
Sparrows dancing on the branch and pigeons came along
They were sitting on the roofs and singing in the sun
Mama cooks a noodle soup and kneidlach in a bun
Dreidel spins so fast around the holiday is grand
Look at all the rosy cheeks across our happy land
Chiribim chiribom
Chiribim bom bom bom bom bo bom
Chiribim chiribom
Chiribim bom bom bom bom
Once there lived a holy rabbi praying every day
He could bargain with the skies or so he used to say
Walking out into the lane to show us what he can
Down it poured upon his head with no umbrella in his hand
Every neighbor stayed so dry and stood there safe and sound
But our rabbi got so wet the wettest guy around
Chiribim chiribom
Chiribim bom bom bom bom bo bom
Chiribim chiribom
Chiribim bom bom bom bom
There is a town called Helem where the fools are holding hands
Dancing through the day and night the happiest of bands
Laughing at themselves they sing that everything is fine
While the rest of us just sit and always cry and whine
Who is foolish who is smart I leave it up to you
Tell me brothers what is false and tell me what is true
Chiribim chiribom
Chiribim bom bom bom bom bo bom
Chiribim chiribom
Chiribim bom bom bom bom
Chiribim chiribom
Chiribim
Bom
Behind the song
The song’s story
More than a catchy refrain
Tshiribim belongs to the playful side of Yiddish song: a nonsense refrain surrounds glimpses of food, festivals, foolishness and rabbinic humor. The syllables invite everyone to join in, even before they understand the verses.
Mlotek Collection
A song with many lives
The Mlotek Collection documents different printed texts and a Warsaw-ghetto parody. Those are witnesses to a song being reshaped by its singers, not evidence of one unchanging original. A secure first author or composition date has not been established here.
Mlotek Collection
Olga's words, a new audience
Our recording takes its English text through Olga Anikina's Russian adaptation. Walter J. Kin adapted her words, arranged and produced the recording, keeping the invitation to sing while giving the old song a new English voice.
Our recording & notes
About this recording
This recording continues a traditional Yiddish song through two literary stages: Olga Anikina’s Russian adaptation, followed by Walter J. Kin’s singable English adaptation of her text.
The verses move from birds and a family kitchen to a rabbi caught in his own rainstorm, then to the happy fools of Helem. The final question leaves listeners to decide who is really wise.
Why we consider this song Jewish or Jewish-themed
For us, its Jewish identity is explicit in the Yiddish source, the rabbi, dreidel, kneidlach and the comic world associated with Chelm, called Helem in this lyric.
We also value its questioning humor. The song lets a joyful refrain carry an argument about wisdom and foolishness without demanding a solemn answer. English is a new way into that inherited world.
Credits & source
- Original Yiddish song
- Traditional; composer and lyricist unknown in the release credits
- Russian adaptation
- Olga Anikina
- English adaptation, arrangement and production
- Walter J. Kin (RIGLI), based on Anikina’s Russian
- Performance
- Riglis Band
From our YouTube description
