The Ruth Rubin Legacy
Archive of Yiddish Folksongs

Oy, hert zikh ayn, mayne libe mentshn

Playlists:

Title

Oy, hert zikh ayn, mayne libe mentshn

Date

1955

Description

[Note in typewritten tape log in box:] Betler lid. [No record for Tape 21 or Tape 22 in typewritten black hardbound catalog.]

"Ethnomusicologist Ruth Rubin collected and translated this street singer’s tune in 1955 from Yankl Zipper, who had immigrated to Montreal and remembered it in Lithuanian Yiddish dialect from pre-WWII Europe. As noted by collection editors Chana Mlotek & Mark Slobin, a very similar supplicant melody is a central motif in the widely famous 1936 film Yidl mitn fidl [Yidl with the Fiddle], starring American-born Yiddish actress Molly Picon and made on location in Poland. It seems quite likely that the mendicant movie theme inspired a real-life busker’s song." (From Eve Sicular)

Rights

YIVO owns the compilation of content that is posted on this website, which consists of text, images, and/or audio, and video. However, YIVO does not necessarily own each component of the compilation. Some content is in the public domain and some content is protected by third party rights. It is the user's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in YIVO websites.

The materials on this web site may be used for personal, research and educational purposes only. Publication (including posting on the Internet and online exhibitions) or any other use without prior authorization is prohibited. Please visit https://www.yivo.org/Rights-Reproductions for more information about use of materials from this website.

YIVO has employed due diligence in seeking to identify copyright holders of the materials in this compilation. We invite any copyright owners who are not properly identified to contact us at yivomail@yivo.cjh.org.

Citation

“Oy, hert zikh ayn, mayne libe mentshn,” YIVO Online Exhibitions, accessed December 21, 2024, https://ruthrubin.yivo.org/items/show/4876.
Submit a transcription, translation or additional information on the song or the performer