Donna Donna
"Donna Donna" (דאַנאַ דאַנאַ "Dana Dana", also known as דאָס קעלבל "Dos Kelbl" — The Calf) is a Yiddish theater song about a calf being led to slaughter.
History
"Dana Dana" was written for the Aaron Zeitlin stage production Esterke (1940–41) with music composed by Sholom Secunda. The lyrics, score, parts, and associated material are available online in the Yiddish Theater Digital Archives. The lyric sheet is in typewritten Yiddish and handwritten Yiddish lyrics also appear in the piano score. The text underlay in the score and parts is otherwise romanized in a phonetic transcription that appears oriented toward stage German. The YIVO standardized transliteration system was not then in widespread use, and many Yiddish transliterations looked like German, to which the Yiddish language is closely related.
Podcasts:
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by Joan Baez
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by Chad & Jeremy
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by Donovan Leitch
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by Claude Francois
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by Donovan
Donna Donna
by: Joan BaezOn a wagon bound for market
There's a calf with a mournful eye
High above him there's a swallow
Winging swiftly through the sky
How the winds are laughing
They laugh with all their might
Laugh and laugh the whole day through
And half the summer's night
Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna
Donna, Donna, Donna, Don
Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna
Donna, Donna, Donna, Don
"Stop complaining", said the farmer
Who told you a calf to be?
Why don't you have wings to fly with
Like the swallow so proud and free?
How the winds are laughing
They laugh with all their might
Laugh and laugh the whole day through
And half the summer's night
Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna
Donna, Donna, Donna, Don
Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna
Donna, Donna, Donna, Don
Calves are easily bound and slaughtered
Never knowing the reason why
But whoever treasures freedom
Like the swallow has learned to fly
How the winds are laughing
They laugh with all their might
Laugh and laugh the whole day through
And half the summer's night
Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna
Donna, Donna, Donna, Don
Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna
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