DER YIDDISH-VINKL December 2, 2005
On the 60th yahrzeit of his death, Kazriel Broydo was featured in the columns of the Forverts devoted to Pearls of Yiddish Poetry. Broydo was the embodiment of the spirit of Vilna. He assembled and performed every song in the ghetto. His compositions spread from Vilna to virtually all the other ghettos in Eastern Europe. While he was refining one of his last poems, the Nazis seized him and threw him into the sea.
What follows are two of his songs, transliterated into the Roman alphabet by Goldie Gold and translated into English by Gus Tyler.
Geto
Geto! Dikh fargesn, vel ikh keyn mol nit!
Eykhe — iz dayn hartsike, dayn troyerike lid
Kh’ze do dayne trern, dayn umet un dayn payn
Kh’her do dayn gebet — vos vet zayn, vos vet zayn
In dayne geto-geslekh is mir eng, dos harts azoy batribt
Un khotsh kh’farshtey s’tut vey — dokh is mir azoy lib
Geto! Dikh fargesn vel ikh keyn mol nit!
Ghetto
To forget you, Ghetto I cannot, cannot
Lamentation is your sorry lot
I see your tears, your anguish and your pain
I hear your prayers for fear you’ll go insane
I feel so lonely in your crowded streets
I understand, yet I do feel the pain
Moyshe Halt Zikh
Moyshe, halt zikh, Moyshe halt zikh
Ze nit tsefal zikh, halt zikh. Moyshe, fester.
Moyshe, halt oys, glitsh zikh nit oys
Un gedenk — men darf aroys.
Vayl epes hert men, epes filt men.
Halt zikh, Moyshe.
Halt zikh, Moyshe.
Es kumt di tsayt
Es shlogt shoyn bald
Di sho di groyse
Moyshe, halt oys,
Glitsh zikh nit oys
Un gedenk — men vet aroys.
Moyshe Is Really the Jewish People
Moyshe, bear up, though the load is a ton
And don’t quit the fight till our purpose is won
Make sure no chances ever are lost
Stand firm, stand firm, no matter the cost
Keep eyes and ears in touch with life
The times will soon be ripe and rife
Yes, oh, yes, the time shall be
When Moyshe shouts, “At last I’m free.”
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