Hava Nagila
"Hava Nagila" (הבה נגילה) (lit. Let us rejoice) is a Hebrew folk song that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
History
The melody was taken from an Ukrainian folk dance-song from Bukovina (a variant of Hora).[1] It uses the Phrygian dominant scale, common in music of Romania and Western Ukraine. The commonly used text was probably composed by Abraham Zevi (Zvi) Idelsohn[2][3] in 1918 to celebrate the British victory in Palestine during World War I as well as the Balfour Declaration.
Lyrics
| Transliteration |
Hebrew text |
English translation |
| Hava nagila |
הבה נגילה |
Let's rejoice |
| Hava nagila |
הבה נגילה |
Let's rejoice |
| Hava nagila ve-nismeḥa |
הבה נגילה ונשמחה |
Let's rejoice and be happy |
| |
(repeat stanza once) |
|
| Hava neranenah |
הבה נרננה |
Let's sing |
| Hava neranenah |
הבה נרננה |
Let's sing |
| Hava neranenah ve-nismeḥa |
הבה נרננה ונשמחה |
Let's sing and be happy |
| |
(repeat stanza once) |
|
| Uru, uru aḥim! |
!עורו, עורו אחים |
Awake, awake, brothers! |
| Uru aḥim be-lev sameaḥ |
עורו אחים בלב שמח |
Awake brothers with a happy heart |
| |
(repeat line four times) |
|
| Uru aḥim, uru aḥim! |
!עורו אחים, עורו אחים |
Awake, brothers, awake, brothers! |
| Be-lev sameaḥ |
בלב שמח |
With a happy heart |
Note: The "ḥ" can be pronounced as a voiceless pharyngeal fricative [ħ] (as in Classical Hebrew) or a voiceless uvular fricative [χ], as "ch" as in Bach.
Performers
- Singer Harry Belafonte is known for his version of the song, which was recorded for his album Belafonte at Carnegie Hall in 1959. He rarely gave a concert without singing it. He has stated that his two songs which "stand out" are "The Banana Boat Song" and "Hava Nagila".[4] Belafonte explained: "Life is not worthwhile without it. Most Jews in America learned that song from me."[5]
- Irving Fields[4]
- Rika Zaraï
- Ben Folds Five
- Chubby Checker[4]
- Connie Francis[4]
- Dick Dale and the Del Tones (surf-rock)[4]
- Glenn Campbell[4]
- Bob Dylan[4]
- Lena Horne[4]
- Raphael[6]
- Bert Kaempfert and his orchestra
- NOFX
- LMFAO
- André Rieu
- Penta[7]
- Abraham Inc.
- Haddash[8]
- Dalida[9]
- Finnish power metal band Sonata Arctica usually ends its shows performing a humorous song, usually referred to as "The Vodka Song," played on the tune of "Hava Nagila".[10]
- American comedian and song parodist Allan Sherman performed a humorous version entitled "Harvey and Sheila" on his album My Son, the Celebrity.
- At a sold-out show in Tel Aviv, Israel on June 16, 2009, American progressive metal band Dream Theater performed a cover of "Hava Nagila".[11]
- The beginning of Anthrax-song I'm the Man contains parts of "Hava Nagila".
- Punk Rock supergroup and cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes performed two covers of this song on their 2004 live album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah.
- Alternative rock band moe., perform a variation of "Hava Nagila" in their song "Long Island Girls Rule" of which the original studio recording appears on their 1992, independently released album, Fatboy (re-released on Fatboy Records in 1999).
- The punk band Adrenalin O.D. released an instrumental surf rock cover version entitled "Surfin' Jew" on their 1986 album HumungousFungousAmongus.
- The Chopsticks (a Hong Kong female duo, made up of Sandra Lang (仙杜拉) & Amina (亞美娜)), covered this song as a medley with "Exodus" in their 1971 LP All Of A Sudden.
- Polish singer Justyna Steczkowska - on her album Alkimja - 'Hava Nagila - Piękna jest chwila'
- In 1959, The Barry Sisters recorded a version of the song with English lyrics, which appears in the 2010 film Casino Jack.
- The Spanish duo Azúcar Moreno, on their 1996 album Esclava De Tu Piel included a radically reworked flamenco/rock/dance cover of the song, sung entirely in Hebrew.
See also
References
- ^ A. Idelsohn "Jewish Music: its historical development", p.12
- ^ Yudelson, Larry. "Who wrote Havah Nagilah?". RadioHazak. Larry Yudelson. Archived from the original on 2008-07-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20080729133626/www.radiohazak.com/Havahist.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ In an appearance on BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs on 28 October 2007, Joel Joffe referred to his grandfather Abraham Zevi Idelsohn as the author of "Hava Nagila", but in the programme notes it says "Composer: Bashir Am Israelim", meaning that either this is an alias for Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, to whom Joffe was clearly referring in the programme, or (more plausibly) the programme notes contain a mis-transcription of "Shir Am Yisraeli", meaning "Israeli folksong".
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Hava Nagila, What Is It? (Part I)" at YouTube
- ^ Leland, John. Hip: The History, HarperCollins, 2004, p. 206.
- ^ [1] Raphael sings "Hava Nagila" at Youtube
- ^ [2] Neo Cheezy (2007)
- ^ [3] Restore Israel (2008)
- ^ DALIDA Hava nagila 2, at Youtube
- ^ "Hava Nagila" by Sonata Arctica in a Tokyo concert, at Youtube
- ^ Dream Theater: vídeo de música judaica no show em Israel, luew, 19/06/09
External links