| Traduzione inglese da Yom Hashoah Holocaust Memorial Service,... |
GEHAT HOB IKH A HEYM | ONCE I HAD A HOME |
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Gehat hob ikh a heym, a shtikl roym. | Once I had a home to comfort me |
A bisl virtshaft vi bay oreme layt. | And made a living as a poor man should, |
Vi tsugebundn vortslen tsu a boym | My roots were tightly wound around a tree, |
Hob Ikh zikh mit mayn bisl oremkayt. | In poverty I lived there as best I could. |
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Gekumen zaynen zey mit has un toyt, | They came with malice, hatred and with death |
Mayn orem shtikl heym vos ikh farmog. | And took the humble house that once was mine, |
Vos Ikh mit mi hob yorn lang geboyt, | The years I spent to build it, in one breath |
Farnikhtet hobn zey dos in eyn tog. | To rubble smashed it in a moment's time. |
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Gehat hob ikh a heym, a shtibl un a kikh, | Once I had a place to eat, a house, |
Un shtil gelebt azoy zikh yorn lang, | So quietly I lived there for many a year, |
Gehat fil gute fraynd, khaveyrim arum zikh, | And there I had good friends all about, |
A shtibl ful mit lider un gezang. | A house that overflowed with song and cheer. |
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Gekumen zaynen zey, vi kumen volt a pest, | And then they came along like a pestilence, |
Aroysgeyogt fun shtot mit vayb un kind, | They chased me from my city with wife and |
Geblibn on a heym vi feygl on a nest, | child. Left me without a home, without a nest, |
Nisht visndik far vos, far velkhe zind. | Not knowing why or what I had defiled. |
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Gehat hob Ikh a heym, itst hob Ikh zi nisht mer. | Once I had a home, but I no longer do, |
A shpil geven far zey mayn untergang – | My ruin was their ultimate design, |
Ikh zukh itst a naye heym, nor shver, oy zeyer shver, | I'm looking for another home but it's hard to know, |
Un kh'veys nisht vu – un kh'veys nisht af vi lang. | Where to go or for how long a time. |