The Small Succah – A Yiddish folksong
By: Eli Birnbaum
A Yiddish folksong in Yiddish and in English. Take your guitar and sing!
A sukkaleh, quite small,
Wooden planks for each wall;
Lovingly I stood them upright.
I laid thatch as a ceiling
And now, filled with deep feeling,
I sit in my sukkaleh at night.
A chill wind attacks,
Blowing through the cracks;
The candles, they flicker and yearn.
It’s so strange a thing
That as the Kiddush I sing,
The flames, calmed, now quietly burn.
In comes my daughter,
Bearing hot food and water;
Worry on her face like a pall.
She just stands there shaking
And, her voice nearly breaking,
Says “Tattenyu, the sukkah’s going to fall!”
Dear daughter, don’t fret;
It hasn’t fallen yet.
The sukkah will be fine, understand.
There have been many such fears,
For nigh two thousand years;
Yet the sukkahleh continues to stand.
The Small Succah – A Yiddish folksong
(Am)A succah, a (E7)small (Am)one
From boards (E7)so cheap(Am)
(C)I have made myself a (C)Succah(E7) (Am)I’ve cove(G)red the roof(Am)
(Am)with a li(Dm)ttle Sch(Am)ach,
(Am)sitting in the S(E7)uccah by night(Am)
(Yiddish)
(Am)A sukkele a kl(E7)ein(Am)eh
Fun braitelech gem(E7)ein(Am)eh,
(C)Hub ich mir (Dm)a Sukelle Ge(C)mac(E7)ht,
(Am)Tzudeck dem d(G)ach (Am)
Mit a bissel(Dm)e Schach,(Am)
Zitz ich mir(E7) a Sukkele (Am)banacht
A vind a kaltin,
bluz duch die shpaltin,
un die lichtelich
zei leshin zich fill,
Es is mir a chiddush
vie ich machen Kiddush,
un die lichtelich zei brennen
gantz shtill.
Tzum ershten gericht
mit ah blassem gezicht,
breinkt mir mayn tochteral arain
Zie schtell zich avek
Un zaukt mit shreck,
Tatele, Die sukele falt bald ayn.
Zay nisht kein naar
Hub nisht kein tzar,
zul dir die sukkele nit tun baang,
Es is shoin dar
bald tzvei toisant yaar,
un die Sukkeleh zie shtait nuch gantz
lang.