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Szymon Ohm

Aleksander Kulisiewicz
Language: Polish


Aleksander Kulisiewicz

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[1942]
Testo / Lyrics: Leszek N. (cognome sconosciuto / surname unknown)
Musica / Music: Canzone popolare Yiddish / Yiddish folk melody

helldepths


Aleksander Kulisiewicz: Songs From The Depths Of Hell
Folkways Records Album N° FSS 37700 (1979)
PDF Booklet Available
Annotated by Peter Wortsman

La copertina dell'album, ispirata a questa canzone, è di Gertrude Degenhardt, moglie di Franz-Josef Degenhardt.
The album cover, inspired by this song, is by Gertrude Degenhardt, Franz-Josef Degenhardt's wife.


kulisw


Aleksander Kulisiewicz (1918-1982) was a law student in German-occupied Poland when, in October 1939, he was denounced for anti-fascist writings, arrested by the Gestapo, and sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, near Berlin. An amateur singer and songwriter, Kulisiewicz composed 54 songs during nearly six years of imprisonment at Sachsenhausen. After liberation he remembered his songs, as well as those learned from fellow prisoners, dictating hundreds of pages of text to his attending nurse at a Polish infirmary.


Polish – Music: Yiddish folk melody
Words: Leszek N. (surname unknown)

Near the end of 1939, Leszek N. (surname unknown), the son of a rich Warsaw manufacturer, who before the war hated Jews, fell in love with a Jewish girl named Rachel, from Warsaw's poorest district, Nalewki. When in 1940 all Jews were rounded up and herded into the ghetto, the young Pole, without his father's knowledge, obtained false Aryan identity papers for Rachel and her family. As the result of treachery, he was denounced and sent to the concentration camp, Sachsenhausen. Leszek had a deep, rich baritone voice. He often sang for friends a song based upon the Yiddish folksong, “Simon Ohm”, which he had learned before captivity. In April 1943, when word spread about the tragic Warsaw ghetto uprising, Leszek in despair wrote the second stanza to the song. In March 1945, he and a small group of fellow prisoners were forced to dig out unexploded Allied bombs that had been dropped on Berlin's Lichterfeld district. He was killed when one of the bombs exploded.
Na Nalewkach mieszkał Szymon Ohm
Stary, siwy – handel trzymał on
Co dzień w synagodze wielbił Jahwe srodze
A trefnego nie jadł wcale on
Co dzień w synagodze wielbił Jahwe srodze
A trefnego nie jadł wcale on

A raz się zlitował dobry Bóg
Zesłał mu córeczkę w jego próg
Na imie Rachele o tak cudnym ciele
Ze się ubiegało chlopców stu
I spiewali

Rachele, ty moje bombele,
Wybieraj z nas jednego póki czas!
Bo usta twe jak mak
Dla chlopców mają smak
I na Nalewkach wyśpiewuja
Oj-laj, laj, laj,
Laj laj, laj laj
Oj-laj, laj, laj,
Laj laj...laj...

Aż pewnego razu nastał czas
Na Nalewkach wojna, wojna - wrzask!
Trwoga – rajwach – trwoga!
Getto, glod, pożoga!
Rachele umiera, słodki ptak
Joj...mecyje

Rachele, ty moje bombele,
Bombele moje!
Przepióreczko ma
Twe usta tak jak mak
I milcza, milcza -- ach!

Contributed by CCG/AWS Staff - 2009/1/13 - 22:47




Language: English

English Version from the Album Booklet
Versione inglese dal libretto dell'album
SHIMON OHM

In Nalewki lived one Shimon Ohm
Old and grey, he ran a small shop of his own
Every day in synagogue this humble man
Gave praise to God

Of forbidden food he tasted none
Every day in synagogue this humble man
Gave praise to God
Of forbidden food he tasted none

One day God showed pity on old Shimon Ohm
Gave to him a daughter, blessing on his home
And her name was Rachele, pale beauty Rachele
All the boys the pined for her alone
And singing

Rachele, oh you my heart's delight
Pick one of us as long as there is time
Your lips so poppy red
Their taste desire fed
And in Nalewki the boys keep singing
Oy-lay, lay, lay
Lay lay, lay lay
Oy-lay, lay lay...lay lay...lay

Then one day time turned its face around
In Nalewki war shrieked -- oh the sound!
Terror, howling, terror!
Ghetto, hunger, fire!
Rachele, she died, my fallen dove, my beloved!

Rachele, oh you my heart's delight
My sweet beloved
Broken winged dove
Your lips still poppy red
Their taste that is now dead
And no more singing -- ach!

Contributed by Riccardo Venturi - 2009/1/14 - 16:49




Language: Italian

Versione italiana di Riccardo Venturi
(Dalla versione inglese)
14 gennaio 2009
SHIMON OHM

A Nalewki viveva un certo Shimon Ohm,
vecchio e canuto, aveva un suo negozietto.
Ogni giorno, quell'ometto andava in sinagoga
a lodare il Signore

Il cibo proibito neanche lo assaggiava,
Ogni giorno quell'ometto andava in sinagoga
a lodare il Signore,
il cibo proibito neanche lo assaggiava.

Un giorno, Dio ebbe pietà del vecchio Shimon Ohm,
gli diede una figlia, benedizione per la sua casa
e il suo nome era Rachele, la pallida e bella Rachele
e tutti i giovanotti si struggevano solo per lei
e cantavano

Rachele, delizia del mio cuore,
Scegli uno di noi finché c'è tempo
Le tue labbra sono rosse come il papavero
Il loro sapore nutre il desiderio
E a Nalewki i giovanotti continuavano a cantare
Oy-lay, lay, lay
Lay lay, lay lay
Oy-lay, lay lay...lay lay...lay

Poi, un giorno, il tempo si voltò da un'altra parte
e a Nalewki la guerra urlava, oh che suono!
Terrore, grida, terrore!
Ghetto, fuoco, fame!
E Rachele morì, la mia colomba morta, il mio amore!

Rachele, delizia del mio cuore,
Mio dolce amore,
Colomba dalle ali spezzate
Le tue labbra sono ancora rosse come il papavero
Ma il loro sapore ora non c'è più, è morto,
E nessuno, ahimé, canta più.

2009/1/15 - 00:58




Language: French

Version française – Simon Ohm – Marco Valdo M.I. – 2009
à partir de la version italienne de Riccardo Venturi.
Chanson polonaise - Szymon Ohm - Aleksander Kulisiewicz

À la fin de 1939, Leszek N. (nom inconnu), le fils d'un riche fabricant varsovien, qui avant la guerre détestait les Juifs, tombe amoureux d'une jeune fille juive prénommée Rachel, du quartier le plus pauvre de Varsovie, Nalewki. Quand en 1940, tous les Juifs furent regroupés et confinés dans le ghetto, le jeune Polonais, à l'insu de son père, obtînt de faux papiers d'identité aryens pour Rachel et sa famille. Le résultat de cette fraude fut qu'il fut dénoncé et envoyé au camp de concentration de Sachsenhausen. Leszek avait une voix de baryton profonde et riche. Il chantait souvent pour ses amis une chanson basée sur une chanson populaire Yiddish « Simon Ohm », qu'il avait apprise avant sa captivité. En avril 1943, la rumeur se répandit à propos du soulèvement tragique de Varsovie, Leszek de désespoir écrivit une deuxième version de la chanson. En mars 1945, lui et un petit groupe de prisonniers furent forcés de désamorcer des bombes alliées, lancées sur le quartier de Berlin, Lichterfeld, qui n'avaient pas explosé. Il fut tué quand la bombe a explosé.
SIMON OHM

A Nalewki vivait un certain Simon Ohm
Vieux et chauve, il tenait boutique
Chaque jour, ce petit homme allait à la synagogue
Louer le Seigneur.

La nourriture interdite, il n'y goûtait même pas
Chaque jour, ce petit homme allait à la synagogue
Louer le Seigneur.
La nourriture interdite, il n'y goûtait même pas

Un jour, Dieu eut pitité du vieux Simon Ohm
Il lui donna une fille, bénédiction de sa maison
Et son nom était Rachel, la pâle et belle Rachel
Et tous les gars se consumaient pour elle
Et chantaient

Rachel, délice de mon coeur,
Choisis un de nous tant qu'il est temps
Tes lèvres sont rouges comme le coquelicot
Leur saveur nourrit notre désir
Et à Nalewki les gars continuaient à chanter
Ohli, ohli, ohla
Ohlalala
Ohli, ohli, ohla... Ohlalala

Puis un jour, le temps tourna
Et à Nalewki, la guerre hurlait, oh quel son !
Terreur, cris, terreur !
Ghetto, feu, faim !
Et Rachel mourut, ma colombe morte, mon amour !

Rachel, délice de mon coeur,
Mon doux amour,
Colombe aux ailes brisées,
Tes lèvres sont encore rouges comme le coquelicot
Mais leur saveur n'est plus, elle est morte
Et personne, hélas, ne chante plus.

Contributed by Marco Valdo M.I. - 2009/1/15 - 13:07




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