Donna Donna
Encyclopedia
Donna Donna is a Yiddish
theater song about a calf being led to slaughter. The song's title is a variant on Adonai, a Jewish
name for God
.
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 oriented toward stage German
..
The orchestra plays the Dana Dana melody at several points in Esterke. The original is 2/4, in G minor for a duo of a man and a woman, choral with the orchestral accompaniment. Secunda wrote "Dana-" for the orchestral score and "Dana Dana" for the vocal scores. The Yiddish text was written with roman alphabet. He wrote for the choral score "andantino" (somewhat slowly) and "sempre staccato" (play staccato always). The melody of the introduction was also used at the end of the song. He wrote "piu mosso" (more rapidly) for the refrain and some passages that emphasize the winds. First, a woman (Secunda wrote "she") sings four bars and then the man (Secunda wrote "he") sings the next four. They sing together from the refrain. Although singing the third part of "Dana Dana" (="Dana Dana Dana Dana...") the man sometimes sings lower than the melody using disjunct motions. The melody is refrained. Then "he" sings the melody, and "she" sometimes sings "Dana", other times sings "Ah" with a high voice or technical passage. Secunda wrote "molto rit." (suddenly much more slowly) for the ending of the first verse. There are some difference between the original and the melody that are well known. Secunda wrote "ha ha ha" for the choral score with the broken chords.
Secunda translated Dana Dana into English (changing the vocalization of dana to dona), but this version failed to gain popularity. The lyrics were translated again in the mid-1950s by Arthur Kevess and Teddi Schwartz, and the song became well known with their text. It became especially popular after being recorded by Joan Baez
in 1960, Donovan
in 1965 and Patty Duke
in 1968.
Dana Dana has been translated into and recorded in many other languages including German
, French
, Japanese
, Hebrew, Russian
and Vietnamese
. It has been sung by performers including Nechama Hendel
, André Zweig, Chava Alberstein
, Esther Ofarim, Theodore Bikel
, Karsten Troyke
, Sumi Jo, Claude François
, and Hélène Rollès
together with Dorothée
.
(דאנא! דאנא! דאנא!)
אויפן פירל ליגט דאָס קעלבל,
ליגט געבונדן מיט א שטריק,
הויך אין הימל פליט דאָס שװעלבל,
פרײט זיך, דרײט זיך הין און קריק.
לאכט דער װינט און קאָרן,
לאכט און לאכט און לאכט,
לאכט ער אָפּ א גאַנצן טאָג,
מיט אַ האלבער נאכט.
דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דאנא,
דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דא,
דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דאנא,
דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דא.
שרײַט דאָס קעלבל, יאָגט דער פּויער,
װער־זשע הײסט דיך זײן א קאלב,
װאָלסט געקענט צו זײן אַ פויגל,
װאָלסט געקענט צו זײן א שװאַלב.
לאכט דער װינט און קאָרן ......
בידנע קעלבער טוט מען בינדן,
און מען שלעפּט זײ און מען שעכט,
װער עס האָט פליגל, פליט ארויפצו,
איז בײ קײנעם ניט קײן קנעכט.
Phonetic romanization
Oyfn firil ligt dos kelbil
ligt gebindin mit a shtrik
hoich in himil flit dos shvelbil
freit sich dreit sich hin un krik.
Lacht der vint in korn
lacht un lacht un lacht
lakht er up a tug a gantsin
mit a halber nacht.
Dana, dana, dana, dana,
Dana, dana, dana, da,
Dana, dana, dana, dana,
Dana, dana, dana, da.
Shreit dos kelbl zogt der poier
ver she heist dich zain a kalb
volst gekent tzu zain a foigl
volst gekent tzu sain a shvalb.
Lacht der vint in korn ...
Bidne kelber tut men bindn
un men shlept zey un men shecht
ver s'hot fligl, flit aroiftzu
is ba keinem nit kain knecht.
Translation by Secunda
On a wagon bound and helpless
Lies a calf, who is doomed to die.
High above him flies a swallow
Soaring gaily through the sky.
The wind laughs in the cornfield
Laughs with all his might
Laughs and laughs the whole day through
And half way through the night
Dona, dona, dona, dona,
Dona, dona, dona, do,
Dona, dona, dona, dona,
Dona, dona, dona, do.
Now the calf is softly crying
"Tell me wind, why do you laugh?"
Why can’t I fly like the swallow
Why did I have to be a calf,
The wind laughs in the cornfield ...
Calves are born and soon are slaughtered
With no hope of being saved.
Only those with wing like swallow
Will not ever be enslaved.
Translation by Kevess & Schwartz
On 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.
Dona, dona, dona, dona,
Dona, dona, dona, do,
Dona, dona, dona, dona,
Dona, dona, dona, do.
"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 ...
Calves are easily bound and slaughtered
Never knowing the reason why.
But whoever treasures freedom,
Like the swallow has learned to fly.
1 This is given as it appears on the lyric sheet cited in the introductory paragraph, including apparent misprints. The following phonetic transcription appears at several points in the score.
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
theater song about a calf being led to slaughter. The song's title is a variant on Adonai, a Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
name for God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
History
Dana Dana was written for the Aaron ZeitlinAaron Zeitlin
Aaron Zeitlin , the son of the famous Jewish writer Hillel Zeitlin and Esther Kunin, authored several books on Yiddish literature, Poetry and Parapsychology.-Biography:...
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 oriented toward stage German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
..
The orchestra plays the Dana Dana melody at several points in Esterke. The original is 2/4, in G minor for a duo of a man and a woman, choral with the orchestral accompaniment. Secunda wrote "Dana-" for the orchestral score and "Dana Dana" for the vocal scores. The Yiddish text was written with roman alphabet. He wrote for the choral score "andantino" (somewhat slowly) and "sempre staccato" (play staccato always). The melody of the introduction was also used at the end of the song. He wrote "piu mosso" (more rapidly) for the refrain and some passages that emphasize the winds. First, a woman (Secunda wrote "she") sings four bars and then the man (Secunda wrote "he") sings the next four. They sing together from the refrain. Although singing the third part of "Dana Dana" (="Dana Dana Dana Dana...") the man sometimes sings lower than the melody using disjunct motions. The melody is refrained. Then "he" sings the melody, and "she" sometimes sings "Dana", other times sings "Ah" with a high voice or technical passage. Secunda wrote "molto rit." (suddenly much more slowly) for the ending of the first verse. There are some difference between the original and the melody that are well known. Secunda wrote "ha ha ha" for the choral score with the broken chords.
Secunda translated Dana Dana into English (changing the vocalization of dana to dona), but this version failed to gain popularity. The lyrics were translated again in the mid-1950s by Arthur Kevess and Teddi Schwartz, and the song became well known with their text. It became especially popular after being recorded by Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
in 1960, Donovan
Donovan
Donovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
in 1965 and Patty Duke
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
in 1968.
Dana Dana has been translated into and recorded in many other languages including German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Hebrew, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
. It has been sung by performers including Nechama Hendel
Nechama Hendel
Nechama 'Nama' Hendel was an Israeli singer.She began in the IDF Nahal music troupe, and came out of the Tsahal music scene in the 1950s, first in the duet "Ran veNama" – with Ran Eliran – then later as a solo act...
, André Zweig, Chava Alberstein
Chava Alberstein
Chava Alberstein is an Israeli singer, lyricist, composer, and musical arranger.-Biography:Chava Alberstein, born in Szczecin, Poland, moved to Israel with her family in 1950. She grew up in Kiryat Haim....
, Esther Ofarim, Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
, Karsten Troyke
Karsten Troyke
Karsten Troyke is a German singer, actor, and speaker. He is best known as an interpreter of Yiddish song.- Life :...
, Sumi Jo, Claude François
Claude François
Claude François was a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer. He wrote "Comme d'habitude," the original version of "My Way."-Early life:...
, and Hélène Rollès
Hélène Rollès
Hélène Rollès is a French actress and singer, primarily known for her major role in the TV sitcom Helen and the boys , alongside Sébastien Roch....
together with Dorothée
Dorothée
Dorothée , the stage name of Frédérique Hoschedé, is a French singer and TV presenter.- Biography :1. Her childhood :...
.
Lyrics
Original Yiddish1(דאנא! דאנא! דאנא!)
אויפן פירל ליגט דאָס קעלבל,
ליגט געבונדן מיט א שטריק,
הויך אין הימל פליט דאָס שװעלבל,
פרײט זיך, דרײט זיך הין און קריק.
לאכט דער װינט און קאָרן,
לאכט און לאכט און לאכט,
לאכט ער אָפּ א גאַנצן טאָג,
מיט אַ האלבער נאכט.
דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דאנא,
דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דא,
דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דאנא,
דאנא, דאנא, דאנא, דא.
שרײַט דאָס קעלבל, יאָגט דער פּויער,
װער־זשע הײסט דיך זײן א קאלב,
װאָלסט געקענט צו זײן אַ פויגל,
װאָלסט געקענט צו זײן א שװאַלב.
לאכט דער װינט און קאָרן ......
בידנע קעלבער טוט מען בינדן,
און מען שלעפּט זײ און מען שעכט,
װער עס האָט פליגל, פליט ארויפצו,
איז בײ קײנעם ניט קײן קנעכט.
Phonetic romanization
Oyfn firil ligt dos kelbil
ligt gebindin mit a shtrik
hoich in himil flit dos shvelbil
freit sich dreit sich hin un krik.
Lacht der vint in korn
lacht un lacht un lacht
lakht er up a tug a gantsin
mit a halber nacht.
Dana, dana, dana, dana,
Dana, dana, dana, da,
Dana, dana, dana, dana,
Dana, dana, dana, da.
Shreit dos kelbl zogt der poier
ver she heist dich zain a kalb
volst gekent tzu zain a foigl
volst gekent tzu sain a shvalb.
Lacht der vint in korn ...
Bidne kelber tut men bindn
un men shlept zey un men shecht
ver s'hot fligl, flit aroiftzu
is ba keinem nit kain knecht.
Translation by Secunda
On a wagon bound and helpless
Lies a calf, who is doomed to die.
High above him flies a swallow
Soaring gaily through the sky.
The wind laughs in the cornfield
Laughs with all his might
Laughs and laughs the whole day through
And half way through the night
Dona, dona, dona, dona,
Dona, dona, dona, do,
Dona, dona, dona, dona,
Dona, dona, dona, do.
Now the calf is softly crying
"Tell me wind, why do you laugh?"
Why can’t I fly like the swallow
Why did I have to be a calf,
The wind laughs in the cornfield ...
Calves are born and soon are slaughtered
With no hope of being saved.
Only those with wing like swallow
Will not ever be enslaved.
Translation by Kevess & Schwartz
On 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.
Dona, dona, dona, dona,
Dona, dona, dona, do,
Dona, dona, dona, dona,
Dona, dona, dona, do.
"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 ...
Calves are easily bound and slaughtered
Never knowing the reason why.
But whoever treasures freedom,
Like the swallow has learned to fly.
1 This is given as it appears on the lyric sheet cited in the introductory paragraph, including apparent misprints. The following phonetic transcription appears at several points in the score.
In popular culture
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s are heard singing the song "Donna Donna" as they are being led away supposedly to be dismantled. This is only in the original version, another song is sung in the English release. On the opening title screen the textual synopsis reveals the original song. - In an Episode of Revolutionary Girl UtenaRevolutionary Girl Utenais a manga by Chiho Saito and anime directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. The manga serial began in the June 1996 issue of Ciao and the anime was first broadcast in 1997. The anime and manga were created simultaneously, but, despite some similarities, they progressed in different directions. A movie, was...
this song is also heard. - Soe Hok GieSoe Hok GieSoe Hok Gie was a Chinese Indonesian activist who opposed the successive dictatorships of Presidents Sukarno and Suharto.- Overview :...
, an Indonesian activist quotes the English lyric in his diary. "Donna Donna" is also sung by a female character in the Indonesian movie, GieGieGie is a 2005 Indonesian film directed by Riri Riza. The film tells the story of Soe Hok Gie, a graduate from University of Indonesia who is known as an activist and nature lover. The film is based on a diary Catatan Seorang Demonstran written by Soe himself...
, an adaptation of Gie's diary. - The song has been covered several times, among others by Joan BaezJoan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, Los SpeakersLos SpeakersLos Speakers was a Colombian rock band from the 1960s.Much of their recorded material consisted of covers of popular bands of the era including the Byrds and the Beatles, as well as a couple of obscure Spanish group Los Brincos...
, DonovanDonovanDonovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, Claude FrançoisClaude FrançoisClaude François was a French pop singer, songwriter and dancer. He wrote "Comme d'habitude," the original version of "My Way."-Early life:...
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, Chava AlbersteinChava AlbersteinChava Alberstein is an Israeli singer, lyricist, composer, and musical arranger.-Biography:Chava Alberstein, born in Szczecin, Poland, moved to Israel with her family in 1950. She grew up in Kiryat Haim....
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had the look of "a calf about to be loaded onto a truck", KyonKyonis a fictional character, protagonist and narrator of the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series and the anime series The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, voiced by Tomokazu Sugita in the original version of the anime, and Crispin Freeman in the English dubbed edition. The name Kyon is actually a...
told the reader that he had to refrain from "bursting into a chorus of 'Donna DonnaDonna DonnaDonna Donna is a Yiddish theater song about a calf being led to slaughter. The song's title is a variant on Adonai, a Jewish name for God.-History:...
'..." - In Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip GirlShark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girlis a 1999 Japanese film directed by Katsuhito Ishii and starring Tadanobu Asano. It is based on a manga of the same name by Minetaro Mochizuki which was originally serialized in Mister Magazine circa 1993 under the title "Daisharin"...
, Yamada sings this song in the bathroom