Poem: Joseph Rolknik
meydl, meydl, hob mikh holt.
ikh vel dir epes gebn;
nit keyn perl, un nit keyn gold,—
nor mayn gantsn lebn.
yorn hob ikh shoyn nit fil—
s’iz keyn sod far beydn—
nem dos letste, meydl. tsu
far a bisele freydn.
Tracks
Liner Notes
Pinchas Jassinowsky’s Meydl, meydl, a poem by Joseph Rolnik (1879–1955) is a miniature song in which an elderly man (or perhaps a terminally ill man: “I don’t have many years left”) pleads with a young woman (lit., young girl: meydl) to return his love—and presumably to marry him. He has no material wealth to give her in return—only his life. “Take the last years,” he implores her, “for a bit of joy” that, we might assume, he hopes they would both have.
By: Neil W. Levin
Lyrics
Poem: Joseph Rolknik
Sung in Yiddish
My Girl, my girl, love me!
I will give you something;
Not pearls, nor gold,
But my whole life.
I don't have many years left–
That's no secret to either of us–
But take the last ones, my girl,
For a bit of joy.
Credits
Composer: Pinchas JassinowskyLength: 02:04
Genre: Art Song
Performers: Raphael Frieder, Baritone; John Musto, Piano
Date Recorded: 12/01/2001
Venue: Lefrak Concert Hall/Colden Center for the Arts (D), Flushing, New York
Engineer: Lazarus, Tom
Assistant Engineer: Frost, David
Project Manager: Schwendener, Paul
Additional Credits: Translation: Eliyahu Mishulovin
