'sz brent briderleh 'sz brent
Oj undzer orim stetl nebeh brent
Bejze vintn mit jirgozn
Rajszn brehn un ceblozn
Starker noh di wilde flamen
Alc alum sojn brent
Un ir stejt un kukt azoj zih
Mit farlejgte hend
Un ir stejt un kukt azoj zih
Vi undzer stetl brent
'sz brent briderleh 'sz brent
Di hilf iz nor in ajh alejn gevend
Obj dosz stetl iz ajh tajer
Nemt di kejlim lest dosz fajer
Lest mit ajer ajgn blut
Bavejzt az ir dosz kent
Stejt nist brider ot azoj zih
Mit farleijgte hend
Stejt nist brider lest dosz fajer
Undzer stetl brent
It's burning, brothers, it's burning!
Oy, our poor shtetl is burning!
Raging winds are fanning the wild flames
And furiously tearing,
Destroying and scattering everything
All around, all is burning
And you stand and look just so,
You, with folded hands...
And you stand and look just so,
While our shtetl burns
Our town is burning and only you can save it!
Extinguish the fire with your very blood, if you must!
Don't just stand there, brothers, with folded hands
Don't just stand there, put out the fire!
Our shtetl is burning!
The song was written in 1938 by Mordechai Gebirtig following a pogrom in the small village (shtetl) of Przytyk in Poland in 1936. Although there's sadness in the tune, the words offer hope and defiance, and it became the anthem of the Kracow resistance during n*** occupation. In 1942, Gebirtig was shot and killed by n*** soldiers in the Kracow ghetto.
Its sung by a young Hungarian folk singer, Agi Szaloki, who captures both the heartbreak and the hope - Oi Va Voi do seem to find so many beautiful voices.
Oj undzer orim stetl nebeh brent
Bejze vintn mit jirgozn
Rajszn brehn un ceblozn
Starker noh di wilde flamen
Alc alum sojn brent
Un ir stejt un kukt azoj zih
Mit farlejgte hend
Un ir stejt un kukt azoj zih
Vi undzer stetl brent
'sz brent briderleh 'sz brent
Di hilf iz nor in ajh alejn gevend
Obj dosz stetl iz ajh tajer
Nemt di kejlim lest dosz fajer
Lest mit ajer ajgn blut
Bavejzt az ir dosz kent
Stejt nist brider ot azoj zih
Mit farleijgte hend
Stejt nist brider lest dosz fajer
Undzer stetl brent
It's burning, brothers, it's burning!
Oy, our poor shtetl is burning!
Raging winds are fanning the wild flames
And furiously tearing,
Destroying and scattering everything
All around, all is burning
And you stand and look just so,
You, with folded hands...
And you stand and look just so,
While our shtetl burns
Our town is burning and only you can save it!
Extinguish the fire with your very blood, if you must!
Don't just stand there, brothers, with folded hands
Don't just stand there, put out the fire!
Our shtetl is burning!
The song was written in 1938 by Mordechai Gebirtig following a pogrom in the small village (shtetl) of Przytyk in Poland in 1936. Although there's sadness in the tune, the words offer hope and defiance, and it became the anthem of the Kracow resistance during n*** occupation. In 1942, Gebirtig was shot and killed by n*** soldiers in the Kracow ghetto.
Its sung by a young Hungarian folk singer, Agi Szaloki, who captures both the heartbreak and the hope - Oi Va Voi do seem to find so many beautiful voices.