What Joy is Yours original block print cover art + download
Poster/Print + Digital Album
Get the download of What Joy is Yours EP, plus an original block print of the cover art, hand carved and printed by Hannah on 8x10" archival printing paper. The art itself is 6x6". Comes with sturdy cardboard backing in a protective cello sleeve.
Includes unlimited streaming of What Joy is Yours
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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about
“Roumania Roumania” by Aaron Lebedeff (1941)
“Lebn zol Kolombus” by Louis Gilrod (1918)
“Di Grine Kuzine” by J. Leiserowitz (1922)
“Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes (1935)
lyrics
Ekh! Rumenye, Rumenye, Rumenye...
Geven a mol a land a zise, a sheyne.
Ekh! Rumenye, Rumenye, Rumenye...
Geven a mol a land a zise, a fayne.
Dort tsu voynen iz a fargenign;
Vos dos harts glust dort kenstu krign:
A mamaligele, a pastramele, a karnatsele,
Un a glezele vayn!
Ay, in Rumenye iz dokh gut
Fun keyn dayges veyst men nit
Vayn trinkt men iberal-
M’farbayst mit kashtaval.
Hay, digadi dam...
Oy, gevald, ikh ver meshige!
Ikh lib nor brinze, mamalige;
(Ikh) tants un frey zikh biz der steyle
Ven ikh es a patlazhele
Zets, ay yidl di tam…
Ay, s’iz a mekhaye, beser ken nit zayn!
Ay, a fargenign iz nor Romeynish vayn.
Ekh! Amerike, Amerike, Amerike...
Geven a mol a land a zise, a sheyne.
Ekh! Amerike, Amerike, Amerike...
Geven a mol a land a zise, a fayne.
A shtetl iz amerike
A mekhaye, khlebn;
Es rut oyf ir di shkhinele,
Mir zoln azoy lebn
Mir zoln azoy lebn-
Un a glezele vayn!
Milkhomes, mentshin-blut
Darfn mir oyf tsores,
A gubernator darf men nit,
A keyser oyf kapores
Hay digadi dam...
Es iz tsu mir gekumen a kuzine
Sheyn vi gold iz zi geven, di grine,
Di bekelekh vi royte pomerantsn
Fiselekh vos betn zikh tsum tantsn.
Zets, ay yidl di tam…
Ay, s’iz a mekhaye, beser ken nit zayn!
Ay, a fargenign iz nor Californish vayn.
So this is the part where your
Green Cousin is fresh off the boat
She's cute! Her cheeks are rosey,
she's ready to dance...she's expecting
streets paved with gold. But soon
she's not doing so hot...she's starving
paycheck to paycheck, 'cuz what has she found?
But settler colonialism & capitalism!
Zets, ay yidl di tam… Zim-bam! ta tittle di tam…
Ay, s’iz a mekhaye, beser ken nit zayn!
Ay, a fargenign iz nor Californish vayn.
O, America, America, America...
America never was America
O, America, America, America...
Who said this was the “homeland of the free”?
The millions on relief today?
Millions shot down when we strike?
Millions with nothing-for our pay?
The dream that’s almost dead today.
Hay digadi dam...
O, let America, America, America be America
The land that never yet has been
O, let America, America, America be America
A land where everyone is free.
supported by 10 fans who also own “Rumenye iz Amerike”
A critical album for the year of the Apocalypse, 2020, ranging from the highs and lows that one can experience only in times of extreme turmoil and angst. Favorite track is "Israel Nothing," though it shares the honor with "Israel Something." aaroncsimon
Proceeds from this excellent new darkambient/neofolk comp from LEFT/FOLK goes to benefit American Near East Refugee Aid. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 10, 2024
Beautifully played and full of moving vocal performances, the Bay Area singer/songwriter's latest is a stellar work of art. Bandcamp Album of the Day Feb 3, 2023
supported by 10 fans who also own “Rumenye iz Amerike”
One of my favourite musical discoveries in a while. These musicians are seriously talented. I can’t help imagining that there would have been a whole significant subculture of Yiddish psych rock like this in a different, kinder universe. For now, this is a window into that world that might have been. And I love every second of it. Audrey