Jane Peppler — Lebn zol Franz Josef un Wilhelm

Mir yidn megn tantsn geyn mir hobn a nekome Der Daytsh bagrobt yetst Nikolai tif in der adome Franz Josef shlogt im oykh dos veyst fun aykh a yeder Nikolayke hot kremps in boykh, er krigt yetst heyse beder Oy vi dos iz fayn shrayt yeder groys un kleyn Lebn zol Franz Josef un mit dem Daytsh Wilhelm Zey kokhn yetst a rosl fun dem katsap dem khelm Freyt aykh, yidn, vinsht zey mazl brokhe A kapore Nikolayke mit zayn mishpokhe Gevolt hot Nikolayke gor Galitsiye eynshlingen Yetst traybt men im tsum shvartsn yor er loyft, er vert tsespringen Aroys fun Varshe aroys fun Brisk azoy loyft er keseyder Koym blaybt er shteyn krigt er in pisk der Daytsh shlept im in kheyder Oy vi dos iz fayn, shrayt yidn groys un kleyn! Shtoltsirt hot yorn der katsap mit zayne soldatn Nor lebn zol a daytsher kop, er shlogt zey fun ale zaytn Franz Yoysef git oykh [gute] klep er ken oykh gut derlangen Er shist mit bulbes gantse tep kazakn nemt er gefangen Oy vi dos iz fayn, shrayt yidn groys un kleyn American Jews really, really hated Nicholas II and so threw in with the Germans and Austrians. Some Jewish men went back to Europe to fight against Nikolay’s army. One of the insults in the song: katsap dem khelm. Katsap is a derogatory word for Russian, and Chelm is famous as the birthplace of the world’s finest idiots. “We, Jews, can go dancing, we’ve gotten revenge. The German is burying Nicholas now, deep in the earth. Franz Josef is beating him too, everybody knows. Little Nicholas has cramps in his belly, he’s in hot water. Oh, this is fine! Shout, Jews, big and small...“ “American Jews in general loathed Nicholas II so much that they threw in with the other side - the Germans and text,sung to the melody o “Lebn zol Kolumbus,“goes on for four verses but I only sang half of it“ Copyright © Jane Peppler Original with lyrics by Jane Peppler & Skylar Productins : Copyright © Skylar Productins “Jane Peppler is a one of a kind personality in the landscape of Yiddish song. Rather than revisit the repertoire already crisscrossed in every direction --the two or three dozen “standards“ -she has undertaken the extraordinary adventure of an archeologist-paleontologist of the forgotten heritage of Yiddish popular song in the interwar era, particularly in the Yiddish cabaret flourishing in Poland of the time before its being swallowed up forever. RYPT is proud to count her among its its columnists henceforth.“ //Jane Peppler est une personnalité tout-à-fait à part dans le paysage de la chanson yiddish. Plutôt que parcourir à nouveau le répertoire déjà sillonné en tous sens des deux ou trois douzaines de « standards », elle s’est lancée dans une extraordinaire aventure d’archéologue-paléontologiste du patrimoine perdu de la chanson yiddish populaire d’entre les deux guerres. En particulier du cabaret yiddish florissant dans la Pologne d’alors, avant d’être englouti à jamais. RYPT est fier de la compter désormais parmi ses chroniqueurs. From the station “Radio Yiddish pour tous,“for which I prepare a weekly podcast. Yiddish Ragtime: Jane Peppler graduated from Yale University with a degree in Russian language and literature. A violinist in the Yale School of Music orchestra and the Yale Symphony orchestra she also played in the Locrian String Quartet after graduation. A long-time music director of the Cantor Corps at Judea Reform Congregation in Durham, NC, she also directed the Triangle Jewish Chorale in that city for fourteen years. Her work as director of the Solstice Assembly was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Let Memory Keep Us All: The Solstice Assembly Songbook (available on Amazon) features arrangements, mostly by Peppler, of the early music of the British Isles. Peppler is a passionate researcher who derives pleasure in finding obscure and lost music. For three years she investigated Itzik Zhelonek who bought and sold books and records in a Warsaw flea market in the years between the two world wars. He also printed tiny books of lyrics of the most loved Yiddish theater songs of his day. Beloved by cosmopolitan Yiddish-speaking Jews before the Holocaust, only a few survived in the post-Holocaust world. These droll, sly, sweet, and poignant songs are now part of her book: Yiddish Songs from Warsaw 1939-1934. The RSA is proud and pleased to be able to share Jane Peppler’s three CDs featuring these once-lost songs from Zhelonek’s collection. The multi-talented Peppler is not only a dedicated scholar, she is also an accomplished performer, business woman (has her own record label), and artist (beautiful record covers are her work). She studies Yiddish with Professor Sheva Zucker and has translated three novels by Jacob Dineson, articles and songs.