Saturday, April 10, 2010

Partisans

Tomorrow is the day of commemoration of the Holocaust. Here's Shir Hapartisanim, the Song of the Partisans. It was written in the Vilna Ghetto in 1943, in Yiddish; the You-Tube film has it in Hebrew and in Yiddish. The music is, of course, Russian. Unmistakably so.
Hebrew Words

English translation
Never say you are going on your final road,
Although leadened skies block out blue days,
Our longed-for hour will yet come
Our step will beat out - we are here!

From a land of green palm trees to the white land of snow
We arrive with our pain, with our woe,
Wherever a spurt of our blood fell,
On that spot shall spurt forth our courage and our spirit.

The morning sun will brighten our day
And yesterday will disappear with our foe.
But if the sun delays to rise at dawn,
Then let this song be a password for generations to come.

This song is written with our blood, not with lead,
It is not a song of a free bird flying overhead.
Amid crumbling walls, a people sang this song,
With grenades in their hands.

So, never say the road now ends for you,
Although skies of lead block out days of blue.
Our longed-for hour will yet come -
Our step will beat out - we are here!

5 comments:

Yitzchak Goodman said...

The Partisan Song in Yiddish:

http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/data.show.php?di=record&da=recordings&ke=12

Anonymous said...

thank you Yitzchak for that link, thank you very much

Silke

Anonymous said...

Yaacov,
I have enjoyed ALL the songs so far. You are so right in saying that they are part and parcel of being an Israeli:

החוויה--- הישראלית --------
-to me at least.

GEOFFIC

Anonymous said...

Thank you Yaacov,

That song pierces my heart and my soul.

Gail

Anonymous said...

There is an excellent documentary "Partisans of Vilna" featuring Abba Kovner from 1986, as well as a CD of the same name, with songs of the partisans. There is also the 2008 movie, "Defiance" - a historical drama about Jewish partisans.

Nycerbarb