What's your favorite Country Yossi song?

amother

↑ Amethyst ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 9:35 pm

amother OP wrote:

Everyone considered him the nebach of the shteebl
He'd never done a single thing to prove that they were wrong
His real name was Moishy
But folks just called him nebach
But something always told me
They were reading moishy wrong.

(Haven't heard this in over 25 years so I may have messed up the words. )

Yes, you got it. Song is called Nebech of the Shteibel

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 9:51 pm

I don't know what this is called but the chorus is:

Men darf vissen ven tzi koifen
Vissen ven tzi loifen
Vissen ven tzi dryin geech (sp?)
Un ven tzi handlen fein
Besser redt nisht vus m'darf nisht
Un gei nisht vi m'tur nisht
Yuh s'git tzi furin
Besser iz tzi bleiben in der heim...

Eta.
This song was about someone who met an old man on a bus and he imparted wisdom to him.
To translate for those non yiddish speakers...
You have to know when to buy
And know when to run
You have to know when to turn
And when to deal (I'm not sure about this)
Better don't talk unnecessarily
And don't go where you shouldn't
Yes, it's good to travel
But even better to stay home

amother

↑ OP ↓

Mon, Oct 07 2024, 10:30 pm

amother Amethyst wrote:

Yes, you got it. Song is called Nebech of the Shteibel

So I started singing this in my head and I remembered more words. Such memories. I used to sing his as a teenager more than 30 years ago.

He was only 5(9?) Years old, when his father died in Europe
I looked after Moishy, cuz he was my brother's son
I still recall the final words
My brother said to moishy
He said, "Son my life is over, but yours has just begun.

And he said, "Promise me son
Not to do the things I've done
I've run away from trouble all life long
Now I know I was wrong, klal Yisroel must be strong,
So son these are my final words to you
Sometime you gotta fight when you're a jew

But moishy was a gentle soul,
He never won the fighten
He loved to sit in shul and learn
He had a golden(?) Heart
And then one early mornin'
When he came into the shteebel
He saw 3 shkatzim there
And they were tearin the place apart

Moishy's hands were tremblin'
As he watched them from the shadows
Tearing up the sefarim
And writing on the wall
And then he heard six million voices
crying in the darkness
He recognized his father voice
High above them all
And he said....
Promise me son...

I don't remember any more than this. But this was fun!

Ihatepotatoes ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 12:12 am

amother Poinsettia wrote:

We really love many of them

The Shabbos g*y one gets us laughing every time.

Probably not politically correct today.

I sing “ get up hisorreiri wake up like a lion “ all the time to my kids when getting them up in the morning

It's not that old, maybe 10 years or so. It wasn't politically correct then either!

Country Yossi does not get credit for how good of a "normal" composer he is. "Who Knows One", Eileh Borechev", Shmelkie’s Nigun....I love "Poseiach" on his final album, "Little Kinderlach" "Make Believe" and "Good Morning Kllal Yisroel"

From his funny songs, I like "My yetzer hara says".

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 12:47 am

Supermom#1 wrote:

So many good ones were mentioned. How 'bout Al Toimar....shema lo sipaneh...
DOn't say don't say when I'll have the time cuz maybe just maybe........
beautiful and poignant words

This was the first one I mentioned- Tick Tock.
My favorite of all!

Eta.
Lyrics.
Tick tock, tick tock
Time is passing by
Yesterday we said Hello
And soon we'll say goodbye
Don't say, don't say when I have the time
Cuz maybe, just maybe
you'll never have the time.

So hug your mommy tell her that you care
Tell her that you love her
For always being there
And hug your father, look him in the eye
Tell him that you love him
It just might make him cry

Chorus
AL tomar, AL tomar, lechsheponeh
Shema shema, lo sipaneh
Don't say don't say
When u have the time
Cuz maybe, just maybe,
You'll never have the time

So hug your bubi, kiss her on the cheek
Tell her that you love her, although she's old and weak
And hug your zeidy when he cries Racheim na
Al tashlicheini lehios zikna

amother

Babyblue ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 12:52 am

Love Tick Tock also, makes me cry every time...

Also love

When Eli was a baby...

Moishe Shmeel (the funny one, who ties to your tzitzis to your chair, who's making rebbi lose his hair...who me? Yeh, you!)

Zundel

On a warm summer evening, on a ride to Monticello, I sat next to a Rabbi, we were both too tired to speak...

Oh, Rebbe

Oh My Yerushalayim

And so many more.

I could listen to Country Yossi songs all day

amother

Cerulean ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 1:52 am

amother OP wrote:

Those two lines are actually
Vissen ven tzi dre'in git
In ven tzi handlen fein

Know when to twist things well
And when to deal in a straightforward manner

amother

Firebrick

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 12:51 pm

Ihatepotatoes wrote:

Shmelkie's Niggun was composed by Rabbi Shmuel Brazil. Fun fact - he and Country Yossi were roommates in Yeshiva Sh'or Yoshuv!

farm

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 5:09 pm

amother OP wrote:

I love the original song Country Yossi covered. It’s about playing poker but really life lessons (like the Yiddish version)

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 5:55 pm

farm wrote:

I love the original song Country Yossi covered. It’s about playing poker but really life lessons (like the Yiddish version)

Alot of the covers are very similar to the originals.
I remember many years ago, when I was a teen, we had workers in the house ans they had the radio on.
The song was playing was the original of the "nebach of the shteeble song." I remember feeling shocked hearing the same song with slightly different words.

The words were:
Everyone considered him the coward of the county
He'd never stood one single time to prove the county wrong
His mama named him Tommy, but folks just called him Yellow
But something always told me, they were reading Tommy wrong
He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison
I looked after Tommy, 'cause he was my brother's son
I still recall the final words my brother said to Tommy
"Son, my life is over, but yours has just begun"

LOL

amother

Lawngreen ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 6:23 pm

It's funny that everyones saying they don't like "and then he potched me"
That song was not supposed to be entertaining it's supposed to be educational.
Bringing awareness about abuse weather it's by the teacher or the father. Also probably a personal song since those days hitting was normal And a lot of singers have songs like that Lipa's song "ich hub gechapt"
Which is literally his explanation why he left yeshiva as soon as he could.
It was probably therapeutic for them to sing these songs. In a few years the harms of child social workers.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 6:46 pm

amother Lawngreen wrote:

I think it was probably supposed to be both entertaining and educational.
But it's just to explicit and graphic for my taste.
I don't even want my little kids to know that this was normal back in the day.

amother

↑ Lawngreen

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 6:58 pm

amother OP wrote:

Not the littles. But my older ones yes we're supposed learn from the mistakes of the past so as not to repeat them.
And yes one day someone will write about being evaluated as a child under constant scrutiny unable to be a kid without a school therapist deciding that what you did was not appropriate. And In twenty years there will be a thread here saying today that would never fly

amother

↑ Amethyst ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 7:03 pm

amother Cerulean wrote:

Those two lines are actually
Vissen ven tzi dre'in git
In ven tzi handlen fein

Know when to twist things well
And when to deal in a straightforward manner

I don't speak Yiddish and for nearly 30 years I have been bothered by what in the world these words are and what they mean.

You would do be doing me a favor. If you would give me the original and the translation. Then I can listen to it on Spotify and actually understand it!