My Yidishe Mama

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My Yidishe Mama is a song written by Jack Yellin, made famous by Sophie Tucker and later the Barry Sisters. Sophie Tucker began singing "My Yiddishe Mama" in 1925, after the death of her own mother.^[1]

The song, in English and Yiddish, plays on stereotypes of the Jewish mother; sadder in the original Yiddish than in the English translation, the mother also implicity symbolizes a sense of nostalgia for the "old world", as well as guilt for having left it behind in assimilating into American society. ^[1]

There are several versions of the song, under different names:

• "The Jewish Mother (A Yiddishe Mamme)": by classical violinist Itzhak Perlman.
• "My Yiddishe Momme": pop version by Connie Francis, jazz/bossa nova piano version by the Irving Fields Trio.
• "A Yiddishe Mama (A Jewish Mama)": klezmer version by the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band.

There was also a Spanish version made in the early 1970's called "My Querida Mama" (My beloved Mama), it was sung by legendary singer Nino Bravo.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} The Jewish Mother, Slate, June 13, 2007