I am looking for the Dradel (dradiel) song in Hebrew. I believe it is
an American song, but I have heard it in Hebrew and would like to see
the original Hebrew for a project. Thanks.

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 01 Mar 2006 20:20 PST

Arjibuh,

Please let me know via clarification if this is the correct dreidel song.

Listen to the Dreidel Song here:
http://encarta.msn.com/media_461543878_761575563_-1_1/Dreidel_Song.html

Here are the lyrics
http://www.songsforteaching.com/chanukah/sivivon.htm

Download the dreidel song here.
http://teachingseed.net/ginsburgh/sveevon.wma

Here is the dreidel song written in Hebrew.
http://www.netjudaica.com.br/novaNetJudaica/images/Chaguim/Chanuca/musSevivon.jpg

Thanks, Bobbie7

---

Clarification of Question by arjibuh-ga on 03 Mar 2006 11:15 PST

Thanks for looking Bobby. That song is technically -a- dreidel song,
as it has the Hebrew word for it, Sevivon. But it is not the popular
dreidel song sung in America, Im sorry I was not clear enough. Here
are the lyrics in English. Thanks for your Help!

(I suspect you dont speak Hebrew, but as you can see there are
substantially more lyrics. Thanks again)

I have a little dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play

CHORUS

Oh dreidel dreidel dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play
It has a lovely body
With legs so short and thin
And when it is so tired
It drops and then I win!

CHORUS

My dreidel's always playful
It loves to dance and spin
A happy game of dreidel
Come play now, let's begin!

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 03 Mar 2006 13:43 PST

I asked someone who was brought up in Israel about the song. He says
your dreidel song appears to be an American song and he never heard it
Hebrew.

Where did you hear this song in Hebrew?

Or did you hear it in Yiddish?

---

Clarification of Question by arjibuh-ga on 03 Mar 2006 14:29 PST

I heard it on the radio. It may certainly have been in Yiddish, as it
is originally an American song. Is that another question or do you
think you can find it? Thanks for pursuing this.

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 03 Mar 2006 14:36 PST

Hi,

It's the same question. 

I'll see if I can find the song in Yiddish.

Bobbie7

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 03 Mar 2006 14:38 PST

Are you looking for the lyrics in Yiddish or are you looking for a
recording of the song in Yiddish?

Do you remember when and on what radio station you heard the song?

---

Clarification of Question by arjibuh-ga on 03 Mar 2006 14:52 PST

Unfortunatly I dont know what station it was exactly (it was on my
alarm clock, I since changed it) But I do know it was around
Christmas, so Im sure it is a Hunnukah song, as is Sevivon.

I would like the lyrics, so that I can read the Yiddish to study it.

---

Clarification of Question by arjibuh-ga on 03 Mar 2006 15:00 PST

Also, if you can find the song recording in Yiddish, that would be
great too, but it is not the most omportant thing. Thanks allot

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 03 Mar 2006 15:04 PST

I found part of the lyrics in German. 
( Yiddish and German are very similar.)


I have a little dreidel,
I made it out of clay.
And when it's dry and ready,
With dreidel I shall play.

Oh Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel,
I made you out of clay,
Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel,
With dreidel I shall play.

German 

Ich hab' nen kleinen Dreidel,
der ist aus Ton gemacht,
und wenn er trocken und fertig ist,
dann spiele ich mit ihm.

Oh Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel,
hab' dich aus Ton gemacht.
Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel,
und nun spiel' ich mit dir.

http://www.kenny.de/songs/xmas/t_xmas15.htm


Do these lyrics sound familiar?

---

Clarification of Question by arjibuh-ga on 03 Mar 2006 16:09 PST

Yes they do sound familiar. Perhaps it may have been German, but it
sounded more Hebrew to me. If it is the case that you only find it in
German, that will still be interesting in the least. Thanks for you
great detective work.

Hi!

Below you will find the lyrics of the song.


I have a little dreydl
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreydl I shall play.

Oh, dreydl, dreydl, dreydl
I made it out of clay
Oh, dreydl, dreydl, dreydl
Now dreydl we shall play.

Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl,
Gemakht bin ikh fun blay,
To, kumtzhe ale shpeeln
In dreydl, eyns, tsvey, dray.

Oy, dreydl, dreydl, dreydl,
Oy drey zikh dreydl, drey,
To lomeer ale shpeeln
In dreydl eyns un tsvey.

See page 5
http://www.sholem.org/docs/CelebrateHanuka.pdf


 Lyrics

 Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl 
 Gemakht bin ikh fun blay 
 To lomir ale shpiln 
 In dreydl eyns tsvey dra

 Oy, dreydl, dreydl, dreydl 
 Oy, drey zikh, dreydl, drey 
 To lomir ale shpiln 
 In dreydl eyns un tsvey 
 
 Un ikh hob lib tsu tantsn 
 Zikh dreyen in a rod 
 To lomir ale tantsn 
 A dreydl-karahod 
 
 Oy, dreydl, dreydl, dreydl 
 Oy, drey zikh, dreydl, drey 
 To lomir ale shpiln 
 In dreydl eyns un tsvey 

Ikh Bin A Kleyner Dreydl (I had a little dreydl)    
Composer:  Michl Gelbart 
Lyrics:  Ben Arn (pseudonym for Gelbart) 
Language:  Yiddish 
Categories/Themes: Hannukkah  

http://zemerl.com/cgi-bin//show.pl?title=Ikh+Bin+A+Kleyner+Dreydl+%28I+had+a+little+dreydl%29

Ikh Bin A Kleyner Dreydl (I had a little dreydl) 
http://zemerl.com/cgi-bin//print.pl?title=Ikh+Bin+A+Kleyner+Dreydl+%28I+had+a+little+dreydl%29


--------------------------------------


Here is a recording of the song.

Download here:
http://campuscgi.princeton.edu/~klez/zemerl/clips/dreydl.wav


--------------------------------------


The following post might interest you.

"I am looking to find out who originally wrote the music to the song
known in Yiddish as "Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl" and in English as "I Have
a Little Dreydl" and when they were written.  The melody of the two
songs is the same but the composers are listed as Michl Gelbart for the
Yiddish version and Samuel Goldfarb for the English.  As far as I know,
neither highly esteemed composer would have any reason to claim or
plagarize another's work, yet there they are, same tune, different
composers named.  It doesn't appear to have been an editor's error
either, as Gelbart himself put the song in collections with his name,
and Goldfarb's granddaughter relates the family story that he wrote it
as a young man living in Brooklyn Heights, working at the Kane Street
Synagogue and the Bureau of Jewish Education of New York.

My guess is that it was written in Yiddish first.  The lyrics in the
Yiddish say, "Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl, gemakht bin ikh fun blay",
whereas in English the dreydl is made of clay, which I have never seen
in my life, as opposed to in the Yiddish, lead, which they most
certainly were made of.  Also, Goldfarb's granddaughter claims that the
"traditional" Birkhat Hamazon [quotes and spelling hers] melody was
written by him, which I don't believe to be the case.

The 1926 edition of Goldfarb's The Jewish Songster does not have the
song in question, and one would think it would be included, if it had
been written at that time.  Another source indicates there is an
Argentinian recording of the Yiddish song from 1920, which I have not
seen or heard.  From various informants, I have not been able to place
either song before the early to mid 1940s."
http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele/vol11/vol11026.txt


-----------------------------------

First line: Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl, gemakht bin ikh fun blay,

First line (Yiddish):??? ??? ?? ?????? ?????, ??????? ??? ??? ???? ????, 

If you can't see the first line written in Yiddish, just go the following link:
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/freedman/lookupkeyword?hr=&what=Play


On album: B-004(c) (Let's Sing A Yiddish Song... Masha Benya &
Children Chorus -- ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ??????? ??????)
Vocal Benya, Masha -- ?????, ?????? 
Piano Gottlieb, Malke -- ???????, ????? 
Arranger Gelbart, Mikhl -- ????????, ???? 
First line: Ikh bin a kleyner dreydl, gemakht bin ikh fun blay,
First line (Yiddish):??? ??? ?? ?????? ?????, ??????? ??? ??? ???? ????, 
Track comment: Narrated by Yosl Mlotek
Language: Yiddish

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/freedman/lookupkeyword?hr=&what=Play




I hope the information provided is helpful!

Best regards, 
Bobbie7


(Thank you Myoarin for your help)

---

Clarification of Answer by bobbie7-ga on 03 Mar 2006 18:30 PST

The song is also available here:

http://www.rhapsody.com/album?albumId=228627&artistId=13587

And here:

http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/catalog/servlet/ArtistServlet;jsessionid=DgqXltT7lhCx5e10b49gTrI2rs99fUMW2X9AmY2RD2eMW0djSCxd!-420536486?id=21988

There are many recordings of this "favorite" Chanukah song in Yiddish
(easily found).  The first line of the ones I saw was:  "Ikh bin ein
kleyner Dreydl,"
("I am a little top").
I searched with:  dreydl song yiddish

(Dreydl) Four-sided, top-like toy with the Hebrew letters nun, gimel,
hay, and shin on the sides used to play a traditional Chanukah game.
www.ibiblio.org/yiddish/Vort/index-e.html

Hi, I am the person whose research is referenced above.  If you still
need the correct and complete lyrics in Yiddish, let me know.  I have
recorded the song as part of a Chanukah medley on my CD, Vessel of
Song: The Music of Mikhl Gelbart, clips of which can be heard at:
http://www.cdbaby.com/lcahan2

I will be happy to talk to you about this subject.