It has been sung by performers including André Zweig, Chava Alberstein, Esther Ofarim, Theodore Bikel, Karsten Troyke, Sumi Jo, Claude François, and Hélène Rollès together with Dorothée. It became especially popular after being recorded by Joan Baez in 1960, Donovan in 1965 and Patty Duke in 1968.ĭana Dana has been translated into and recorded in many other languages including German, French, Japanese, Hebrew, and Russian. The lyrics were translated again in the mid-1950s by Arthur Kevess and Teddi Schwartz, and the song became well known with their text. Secunda translated Dana Dana into English (changing the vocalization of dana to dona), but this version failed to gain popularity. Secunda wrote "ha ha ha" for the choral score with the broken chords. There are some difference between the original and the melody that are well known. Secunda wrote "molto rit." (gradually very slowly) for the ending of the first verse. Then "he" sings the melody, and "she" sometimes sings "Dana", other times sings "Ah" with a high voice or technical passage. Although singing the third part of "Dana Dana" (="Dana Dana Dana Dana.") the man sometimes sings lower than the melody using disjunct motions. First, a woman (Secunda wrote "she") sings four bars and then the man (Secunda wrote "he") sings the next four. The song gained popularity in Japan for its appearance in the anime.
![dona dona yiddish dona dona yiddish](https://cdn-0.enacademic.com/pictures/enwiki/68/Doña_Paz_at_Tacloban.jpg)
Its distinct title is derived from the Yiddish folk song Dona Dona, which is about a calf being led to slaughter. He wrote "piu mosso" (more rapidly) for the refrain and some passages that emphasize the winds. Dohna Dohna: Let's Do Bad Things Together ( ), stylized as 'doHna:doHna,' is a RPG/Management game developed by Alicesoft released on November 27, 2020. The melody of the introduction was also used at the end of the song. He wrote for the choral score "andantino" (some slowly) and "sempre staccato" (play staccato always). The Yiddish text was written with roman alphabet. Secunda wrote "Dana-" for the orchestral score and "Dana Dana" for the vocal scores. The original is 2/4, in G minor for a duo of a man and a woman, choral with the orchestral accompaniment. The orchestra plays the Dana Dana melody at several points in Esterke. The text underlay in the score and parts is otherwise romanized in a phonetic transcription oriented toward stage German. The lyric sheet is in typewritten Yiddish and handwritten Yiddish lyrics also appear in the piano score. The lyrics, score, parts, and associated material are available online in the Yiddish Theater Digital Archives. The song's title is a variant on Adonai, a Jewish name for God.ĭana Dana was written for the Aaron Zeitlin stage production Esterke (1940–41) with music composed by Sholom Secunda. I know it's just nonsense words/onomatopoeia but this has been bugging me! Bonus points for information about how it would be pronounced in different Yiddish accents.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. That last link also has cursive Yiddish at the bottom of the page but I'm no good at reading that yet & couldn't find the refrain.
![dona dona yiddish dona dona yiddish](https://p5.storage.canalblog.com/58/41/234673/20294736.jpg)
They also provide a romanization as "dana dana" in the score, but this is pre-YIVO standardized transliteration. In the original typeset lyric sheet (the image is upside down), Secunda & Zeitlin write דאנא דאנא without any niqqud, which I didn't think was a thing in Yiddish.
#DONA DONA YIDDISH FULL#
Here's where things get confusing: Wikipedia says that the Yiddish name is (2) at the top of the page, but further down where they write out the full lyrics they use (1). Most Yiddish recordings I can find pronounce it like option (1), or even דאָנײַ, and most English versions pronounce it that way as well (even though they spell it "Donna donna", which I would phonetically pronounce closer to (2)).
![dona dona yiddish dona dona yiddish](https://topmusicsheet.com/uploads/dona/dona-dona-easy-piano-arrangement-of-yiddish-song_page-2.jpg)
Looking for some help with an investigation around the song "Dona dona", aka "Dos kelbl", concerning the pronunciation of the refrain. Dona Dona (Original Yiddish words by Aaron Zeitlin and Shalom Secunda English translation by Arthur Kevess and Teddi Schwartz) On a wagon bound for market. Tl dr is א ever used without niqqud in Yiddish, and if so, how is it pronounced? (edit: specifically, is it ever used in the middle of a word as a vowel, rather than silent at the beginning)