Dona Dona Dona
LT Silverman
Need history of song Dona Dona. I have it some place hidden in my library, but
can't find the book.
Did search throughout www can't get any info--even from Yiddish Music Site.
Thanks in advance.
LT Silverman
ltsi...@borg.com
Harold Groot
On 20 Mar 98 18:56:53 GMT, LT Silverman <ltsi...@borg.com> wrote:
>Need history of song Dona Dona. I have it some place hidden in my library, but
>can't find the book.
>
> Did search throughout www can't get any info--even from Yiddish Music Site.
Did you try it with double Ns? I have it both as "Dona Dona" and as
"Donna Donna".
Yiddish words by Aaron Zeitlin, music by Sholom Secunda.
The best known translation into english is by Aurthur Kevess and Teddi
Schwartz, though there have been other versions.
Written in Yiddish for the musical ESTERKE in 1940. Banned in South
Korea as "leftist" and "violence-producing", according to RISE UP
SINGING.
cbw
In article <35147ded...@news.sjm.infi.net>, Harold Groot
<que...@sjm.infi.net> writes
The words start
On a wagon bound for market/ there's a calf with a mournful eye/ High
above him there's a swallow/ Winging swiftly through the sky
--
Diane
K4HPIL
......"how the winds aarrre laauging, tey laugh with aall their rmighht, they
laugh and Laaug te wole day throughhh anad haalf the summerrs nighht...Donna."
"Stop complaining saaaid thhe farmerr whho told you a calf to be,
Whhy don't yaou hhave wings to fly withh like the swallow so proud aand
free..Donnaa"
"Calbeas are easily bound and slaughhtered never knowing thhhe reason wy But
whoever treasuures freedom like thhhe swallo must learn to Fly...Donna"
Sorry about all the typos! hhope this elped!
I have it as :
"Music and English text: Sholom Secuda"
-
kevin
k4h...@aol.com
Gldancer
>..."how the winds aarrre laauging, tey laugh with aall their rmighht, they
>laugh and Laaug te wole day throughhh anad haalf the summerrs
>nighht...Donna."
It is actually Dona - pronounced dough-nah. Spelling it Donna becomes don-nah -
like the girl's name.
Gloria "Only the iguanas knows for sure"
Greg Steele
Geez, I only remember the version by Chad and Jeremy, and never thought
of it as "leftist" :-)
Michael O'Leary
I have a CD of Jiddish songs that says the words to the song (they give the title as
"Dos Kelbl") were written by Jtschak Katsenelson (1886-1944). A blurb on the CD jacket
says (pardon my rusty German translation skills):
Jtschak Katsenelson was an author and taught in Jewish schools in Lodz. He wrote
poems, theater pieces and songs. After the outbreak of the war, he lived in Warsaw and
experienced the hell of its ghettos. In 1942 his wife and 11 and 14 year old sons were
"resettled" and put to death. Jtschak Katsenelson wrote the song about the little calf
while thinking about their deportation from the Warsaw ghetto to the Auschwitz
concentration camp. Like his family, he was also "resettled" and died in April1944 in
Auschwitz.
The CD lists the music as "of unknown source". Who is Aaron Zeitlin? The 1940 date (of
ESTERKE) is earlier than the one I have. I wonder how two stories of the origin of
this song have arisen.
Mike O'Leary
mol...@primus.com
Greg Steele wrote:
> cbw wrote:
> >
> > In article <35147ded...@news.sjm.infi.net>, Harold Groot
> > <que...@sjm.infi.net> writes
> > >On 20 Mar 98 18:56:53 GMT, LT Silverman <ltsi...@borg.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >>Need history of song Dona Dona. I have it some place hidden in my library, but
> > >>can't find the book.
> > >>
> > >> Did search throughout www can't get any info--even from Yiddish Music Site.
> > >
Neil Berkowitz
I remember learning the song from the Joan Baez Songbook in the mid
1960s, and I believe it gave brief background information.
Unfortunately the book (my copy at least) is as long gone as the the 60s
are, so I can't offer any publication info.
Greg Steele wrote:
>
> cbw wrote:
> >
> > In article <35147ded...@news.sjm.infi.net>, Harold Groot
> > <que...@sjm.infi.net> writes
> > >On 20 Mar 98 18:56:53 GMT, LT Silverman <ltsi...@borg.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >>Need history of song Dona Dona. I have it some place hidden in my library, but
> > >>can't find the book.
> > >>
> > >> Did search throughout www can't get any info--even from Yiddish Music Site.
> > >
> > >
> > >Did you try it with double Ns? I have it both as "Dona Dona" and as
> > >"Donna Donna".
> > >
> > >Yiddish words by Aaron Zeitlin, music by Sholom Secunda.
> > >The best known translation into english is by Aurthur Kevess and Teddi
> > >Schwartz, though there have been other versions.
> > >
> > >Written in Yiddish for the musical ESTERKE in 1940. Banned in South
> > >Korea as "leftist" and "violence-producing", according to RISE UP
> > >SINGING.
> > Is this the one that's in the Joan Baez Songbook?
> > The words start
> > On a wagon bound for market/ there's a calf with a mournful eye/ High
> > above him there's a swallow/ Winging swiftly through the sky
> > --
> > Diane
>
> Geez, I only remember the version by Chad and Jeremy, and never thought
> of it as "leftist" :-)
--
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><
Neil Berkowitz
neil...@ix.netcom.com
http://www.netcom.com/~neilmber/
Scott E. Smith
Various people wrote:
>
> > > >>Need history of song Dona Dona. I have it some place hidden in my library, but
> > > >>can't find the book.
> I remember learning the song from the Joan Baez Songbook in the mid
> 1960s, and I believe it gave brief background information.
> Unfortunately the book (my copy at least) is as long gone as the the 60s
> are, so I can't offer any publication info.
> > > >Yiddish words by Aaron Zeitlin, music by Sholom Secunda.
> > > >The best known translation into english is by Aurthur Kevess and Teddi
> > > >Schwartz, though there have been other versions.
> >
> > Geez, I only remember the version by Chad and Jeremy, and never thought
> > of it as "leftist" :-)
Not wishing to complicate the matter, but just FYI, Donovan did the song on
his "Hear Me Now" album with the title listed as "Donna Donna" (though he
clearly sings is with a long "o", more like Dona). The only writer's credit
given is S. Segunda; Belwin Mills is listed as the publisher.
Scott
rex
sung by Joan Baez, and Chad Mitchell, and Chad & Jeremy, the song mentions
freedom, perhaps the last 2 verses make it "leftist" for some.
From Mudcat Cafe, the words are:
DONA DONA
(Original Yiddish words by Aaron Zeitlin and Shalom Secunda;
English translation by Arthur Kevess and Teddi Schwartz)
On a wagon bound for market
There's a calf with a mournful eye.
High above him there's a swallow
Winging swiftly through the sky.
How the winds are laughing
They laugh with all their might
Laugh and laugh the whole day through
And half the summer's night.
Dona dona dona dona
Dona dona dona down
Dona dona dona dona
Dona dona dona down
"Stop complaining," said the farmer,
"Who told you a calf to be"
Why don't you have wings to fly away
Like the swallow so proud and free?"
Calves are easily bound and slaughtered
Never knowing the reason why.
But whoever treasures freedom,
Like the swallow must learn to fly
JesiAna
I have always wondered what the "Dona" means...anyone wish to educate me?
I understand the "leftist" connotations of the song, and the concentration camp
connection. Certainly, the Jewish people have a history of going "like calves
to the slaughter" until the modern era (with a few exceptions), at least. The
history of no violent resistance is repeated over and over, and the last verse
I think of as a condemnation of those who stand idly by and allow themselves to
be led blindly, like cattle, not just to slaughter, but to slavery, to
ignorance, to a life of apparent comfort, even, that is in intellectual
darkness.
I have always loved this song.
Jesiana
Lee Gold
JesiAna wrote:
> . Certainly, the Jewish people have a history of going "like calves
> to the slaughter" until the modern era (with a few exceptions), at least. The
> history of no violent resistance is repeated over and over, and the last verse
> I think of as a condemnation of those who stand idly by and allow themselves to
> be led blindly, like cattle, not just to slaughter, but to slavery, to
> ignorance, to a life of apparent comfort, even, that is in intellectual
> darkness.
>
> I have always loved this song.
I like its melody and bouncy rhythm, but very much dislike the message
which seems to be Blame the Victim.
By the way, there's a Yiddish folksong which bears on this discussion.
Its title is "Arois Iz In Vilna A Nyer Bafehl" ("A New Order Is Issued
In Vilna", nowadays we'd say Vilnius), and it's about an event
that occurred in April of 1943. Here's a translation:
A new order was issued in Vilna
To bring all Jews from the villages.
So they brought all -- young and old,
Even the sick in their beds.
The closed the gates of the camp
And then they began to sort them.
Jews of Ushmen were to remain in Vilna.
Jews of Sul were to be taken to Kovno.
They led from the camp
Young and fresh victims.
Confined them all alike
In the same sealed cars.
The train pulled along slowly,
Whistled and sounded the siren.
At station Pogar, it stopped.
They started to unhitch the cars.
When the Jews saw they had been deceived,
Were being led to the horrible slaughter,
They broke down the doors of the cars,
Together to attempt their escape.
They flung themselves upon the Gestapo
And tore their clothes to shreds.
Left lying beside the Jews
Were some Germans bitten to death.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The book I found this song in notes that actually some Jews used some sticks
and pieces of iron they managed to break off the train cars. Others, unarmed,
used their fists. And a few did indeed bite through the jugular veins of a few
guards. A few succeeded in escaping but most were mowed down by machine-
gunners. This incident is only one of many, mostly overlooked, that shows
Jews didn't always go like calves to the slaughter.
--Lee Gold
Michael O'Leary
I had heard that Dona is a Jiddish form of the Hebrew word for God, "Adonai".
JesiAna wrote:
> I have always wondered what the "Dona" means...anyone wish to educate me?
>
> I understand the "leftist" connotations of the song, and the concentration camp
> connection. Certainly, the Jewish people have a history of going "like calves
> to the slaughter" until the modern era (with a few exceptions), at least. The
> history of no violent resistance is repeated over and over, and the last verse
> I think of as a condemnation of those who stand idly by and allow themselves to
> be led blindly, like cattle, not just to slaughter, but to slavery, to
> ignorance, to a life of apparent comfort, even, that is in intellectual
> darkness.
>
> I have always loved this song.
>
> Jesiana
JesiAna
Thank you for this, it is an outstanding testament to the fact that no, the
Jews didn't always go down without a fight.
Jesiana
Steallight
>Certainly, the Jewish people have a history of going "like calves
>to the slaughter" until the modern era (with a few exceptions),
>Jesiana
Rather say that violence has not always been the final means of resistance for
the population. But our resistance, armed or unarmed is the stuff of legends
and the driving moral force for every ethical code that came out of the middle
eastern deserts!
Yes, we have died, been exhiled, vilified, forcibly converted; but we have
documented everything that has occurred to us and those around us. And we have
and continue to survive!
Happily dancing in the Phil Zone and scattering Garcia Ashes!
http://members.aol.com/steallight/index/
Healthcare: The bottom line is patients not profits!
Steal...@aol.com is Stev Lenon MT(ASCP) should you care to know.
Abby Sale
On Thu, 16 Apr 1998 16:40:12 -0700, Lee Gold <lee...@mediaone.net> wrote:
>guards. A few succeeded in escaping but most were mowed down by machine-
>gunners. This incident is only one of many, mostly overlooked, that shows
>Jews didn't always go like calves to the slaughter.
>
There's considerable history & mythology on this issue. Yes, the
non-violent ethic is strong but not passivism. Further, there are those
who insist that the whole concept of non-resistant Jews is a myth. That
in fact Jews historically have been as resistant/militant/violent as any
other group & more so than most in certain historical eras.
This group cites statistics such that there were more Jews in WW II
resistance, as a percentage, than any other ethnic group (even French or
Greek). Remarkable feats are cited (as above) on unarmed desperate &
sometimes successful revolt - Treblinka, Warsaw & Sobibor revolts.
Percentages are cited of Jews in the military world-wide and medieval
regiments of Jewish mercenaries - considered vital to be hired to ensure
any European warlord's success.
The passive position - that Jews do not & should not offer violent
resistance - is generally held, though & forcefully posited by Jewish
mainstream. The usual "reason" is a mystical requirement to assist the
messianic age coming as well as a continuing Biblical sanction for
resisting Israel's enemies against Prophetical advice.
I wouldn't know. But I'd guess that Jews have about the same likelihood
of behaving like blind sheep or like far-sighted heroes as most any other
group. It would be hard to convince me to lie down with my family & be
killed because some arbitrary Biblical interpretation requires it. But I
could be a coward - willing to be fooled into thinking "it will go better
with me if I don't resist." Especially if I couldn't buy a gun anywhere.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---
I am Abby Sale - abby...@orlinter.com (That's in Orlando)
Pepsinogen
>"Dona" means...anyone wish to educate me?
>
>I understand the "leftist" connotations of the song, and the concentration
>camp
>calves
>to the slaughter" until the modern era (with a few exceptions), at least.
>The
>history of no violent resistance is repeated over and over, and the last
>verse
>I think of as a condemnation of those who stand idly by and allow themselves
>to
>be led blindly, like cattle, not just to slaughter, but to slavery, to
>ignorance, to a life of apparent comfort, even, that is in intellectual
>darkness.
>
>I have always loved this song.
>
>Jesiana
I'm not sure of the translation, but if it helps in a historical search, I
believe the song was written in the Terezinstadt concentration camp (now called
"Terezin" in Czech). Or possibly by a survivor, I forget which.
I was with a jewish group this summer in Prague and we gathered in a
square at one point and sang several prayers and songs which came out of that
camp. at the end, an old man who seemed on the verge of crying approached the
group leader and told him, too quietly for us to hear, that he had come to the
square after hearing the songs about a block away. It turns out he had been in
Terezinstadt. Makes you think.
Lawrence
Brett Weiss
>Certainly, the Jewish people have a history of going "like calves
>to the slaughter" until the modern era (with a few exceptions), at least.
Oh really? In ancient history, there were Masada and the Maccabeean revolt
against Rome, just to mention two.
--
Brett
JesiAna wrote in message
<199804162150...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
>I have always wondered what the "Dona" means...anyone wish to educate me?