DER YIDDISH-VINKL November 5, 2004
Ruth Rubin’s book “Jewish Folk Songs,” published about a half-century ago, remains one of the treasure troves of Yiddishkeit in America. The multitalented Rubin was a performer, a recording artist and a translator of Yiddish folk songs into English. What follows is one of her masterpieces, titled “Sheyn Bin Ikh, Sheyn.”
Sheyn Bin Ikh, Sheyn
Sheyn bin ikh, sheyn, sheyn iz oykh mayn nomen
Redt men mir shidukhim mit groyse rabonim.
Rabonishe toyre iz dokh zeyer groys
Bin ikh bay mayn mamen a likhtike royz.
A sheyn meydele bin ikh
Bloye zekelekh trog ikh,
Gelt in di tashn;
Bir in di flashn.
Vayn in di krigelekh
Kinder in di vigelekh.
Shrayen vi di tsigelekh
Meh, meh, meh.
I’m So Pretty
I am so pretty, pretty’s what they call me
Mother’s looking for a rabbi she wants me to marry.
Wisdom of the Torah is better far than money
Mother’s very proud of me, her sweet, rosy honey.
Pretty, pretty, that am I
I wear socks, blue like the sky.
Wine in the brown jugs
Beer in the green mugs.
Money’s pretty hard to keep
In the cradles, babies weep.
Like the little woolly sheep
Meh, meh, meh.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
