Voices of a People: The Story of Yiddish FolksongThe seminal work of Ruth Rubin, a pioneering collector, singer, folklorist, writer, and crusader for the vanishing legacy of the Yiddish world, Voices of a People remains the only general introduction to Yiddish folksong. A priceless collection of song texts in Yiddish and English, as well as a selection of tunes Rubin transcribed, this volume brings the Jews' ancient, itinerant culture alive through children's songs, dancing songs, and songs about love and courtship, poverty and work, crime and corruption, immigration, and the dream of a homeland. Rubin's notes and annotations weave each text into the larger story of the Jewish experience. Noted scholar Mark Slobin provides a new foreword that includes a biographical sketch of Rubin and an assessment of her contributions over a lifetime of collecting, absorbing, and disseminating Yiddish folksong. |
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Contents
Foreword by Mark Slobin | 13 |
Prologue | 17 |
At the Cradle | 29 |
The Childrens World | 44 |
Love and Courtship | 69 |
Marriage | 97 |
Customs and Beliefs | 128 |
Merriment | 159 |
Poverty Toil and Struggle | 278 |
Out of the Shadows | 310 |
To America | 342 |
To Zion | 368 |
Soviet Yiddish Folk Song | 399 |
RECRUITMENT work COLLECTIVE FARMS SONGS | 423 |
FolksongA Universal Language | 462 |
Appendix I | 485 |
Dancing Songs | 182 |
Historical and Topical | 199 |
Chasidic Melody and Songs | 230 |
Of Literary Origin | 250 |
Map of the Pale of Settlement | 523 |
533 | |
549 | |
Common terms and phrases
aleyn arayn arbet avek aych azoy badchen ballad became bembe bride Cahan Ch'ob chant Chasidic Chasidim cheder child cumulative song Czarist dance songs dayn dear drink Eastern European father German geven geyn geyt ghetto girl Haskalah Hebrew hobn holy hostu Ibid Jewish Jewish community Jews kayn klezmorim kumen land lebn libe Lomir Lord love songs lullaby marriage Maskilim mayn kind melodies mentshn Misnagdim mother nemen nemt nisht oyfn Pale Palestine poem poets pogroms popular prayers rebe Refrain religious rhyme riddle song Rubin Russian S'iz Sabbath secular shabes sheyn Shlof Sholem Aleichem shoyn sing singer stanzas sung Talmudic Text Torah toyt tsum tsvey tune undz undzer veln velt vern Vilna Vilna ghetto Warsaw wedding whiskey Yiddish folk song yidn yokum bembe young zayn zenen zich Zion zolst Zunser