Ver ken di libe fun a heyliker mame farshteyn? Fabulous Yiddish tango from "Bandit Gentleman"
UPDATED to include a link to the Olga Mieleszczuk I just found on youtube: Heyliker mame.
And here is my singalong video (with the transliterated Yiddish text and translation):
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLjVzxHtuINDRR-dQt_khPqS8UVMrsosi0O-x95LyrVNTIJOKHoebXoQTBNJ76WC8bV2gZmt-X1Mg-09vVN7s8riPWrLGLJ2vbOZmdS1nFQPNtW9uUgD0iwvFkGML5Nnl2-aaCbxPwNo/s320/di-libe-fun-a-heylike.jpg)
![yiddish song di libe fun a heylike mame](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAMKsTW-P4knjJO-DD780afZmFjPGjKxDRbZaz2M5EIDfUFE7PuDG-hQF97UAQwLgz4cC51Sjfs1axesZRsYEph6F2DznNl1ppgprAmwTLzTve1wg88-HnKP3ZW-FJAsFHeRO_G-TkHZM/s320/libe-fun-a-heyliker-mame.jpg)
In Itzik Zhelonek's collection he references this song as being from BenZion Witler's show "Bandit Gentleman" - I couldn't find the recording by Benzion Witler until I wrote to Karsten Troyke, who has recorded the song as "Ver ken di libe," and he kindly pointed me to the Witler 78 - it's hiding on Youtube under the name Der ken di libeh.
Since I hadn't been able to find that version, I had already transcribed the song from a Herman Fenigstein recording found at europeana.eu - and here's our version of the song and the sheet music with translation, transcription, chords, etc:
Here's our Yiddish music video with captions from a 2013 concert:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPD2If4J14LxBt_mgnFe6HPF7-1JTNM_8r98qUu_RjM_Ergndyh5mi8w_5mFOMrSSk5thAwo8AifHEGRGuUBdl6QVkVXxv1S13HKPXEZAOjNKNGtPf17MmtI1L-KbG5Xt97fRWkzt-fZY/s320/temp-button.jpg)
Troyke's version is faster and has the authentic rhythm from the Witler recording. Ours is more like the slower Fenigstein version. It's a great song either way. Note bene, the song has also been found under these transliterations: Ver ken du liebe and Wer, ken du liebe.
Lyrics and translation after the jump:
» » Read the rest of the article » » » »
Labels: mother, nostalgia, songs for sale, tango