Yiddishlands: A Memoir

Masha Roskies Sings: Liner Notes [includes Acknowledgements]

The original reel-to-reel recordings, made in August 1973, are housed at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York. A complete copy was donated to the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., where they were digitized. 1. “Der rebe Elimeylekh” (The Rebbe Elimeylekh). Moyshe Nadir 00:36 Chapter1,“TheRebbeElimeylekh.”Masharecordedonlypartofthesong. 2. “Kh’vil nit zayn keyn rebe” (Save me from becoming a Rebbe). 01:52 Chapter 7, “Malvina’s Roses.” The song ends with a delicious parody of lernen, Jewish textual study. Presumably, this was the part that gave Malvina the most trouble and required Masha’s tutoring. 3. “In a shtetele nit vayt fun danen” (In a little shtetl not far from here). 01:14 Chapter 8, “The Watercarrier.” Sung in Yiddish with a Polish chorus, the meaning of which was never explained. 4. “Song of Mashleyb.” 01:40 Chapter 11, “The Black Canopy.” Composed by Masha’s circle of friends, in particular one “Dr. Alk.” 223 Masha Roskies Sings liner notes Children, alas, Masha the bride has decided to abandon us. But let’s sing and be merry, for Masha the Queen is off to the King. Yes, Leybele will live it up, when Masha cooks him a song in a broth. A song is her life, Mashke means: Spirits. So let her sing us a lekhayim. Song is her life, her very essence. So let’s all drink a toast! 5. “Loz dayne zorgn” (Cast your cares away). Moyshe Broderzon. 01:19 Chapter 12, “May Day.” 6. “Keyft, keyft kinderlekh nartsizn” (Children, buy my daffodils). 00:33 Chapter 12, “May Day.” 7.“Kum Leybke tantsn” (Come Leybke, dance with me). Mordecai Gebirtig. 03:42 Chapter 13, “The Wooden Box.” Masha performs a middle stanza that does not appear in any edition or recording of Gebirtig’s songs. 8. “Di zhiduvkes” (The Jew-girls). Set to a popular Polish melody. 01:00 Chapter 18, “Cape Cod.” 9. “Di shenste lidgezangen” (The loveliest songs). Avrom Reisen/Felix Mendelssohn. 01:42 Chapter 18, “Cape Cod.” 10. “Pei, moya devochka” (Drink, my girl). Aleksandr Vertinsky/Leyb Stotsky . 02:14 Chapter 18, “Cape Cod.” The CD ends, as does the memoir, with Masha singing in Russian, her mother tongue. Liner Notes 224 This book could not have been written but for the help of the following people :MonikaAdamczyk-Garbowska,BonnyFetterman,JoelRosenberg,Hillel Schwartz, Michael Swirsky, Hana Wirth-Nesher, and Shoshana Zonderman . My thanks to Danny O’Brien for composing and scanning the images and to Mazebright Music of New Jersey for producing the CD. 225 Acknowledgments ...