Hava Nagila
Encyclopedia
"Hava Nagila" (lit. Let us rejoice) is a Hebrew
folk song that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish wedding
s and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
folk dance-song from Bukovina
(a variant of Hora). It uses the Phrygian dominant scale
, common in music of Romania and Western Ukraine. The commonly used text was probably composed by Abraham Zevi (Zvi) Idelsohn
in 1918 to celebrate the British
victory in Palestine
during World War I
as well as the Balfour Declaration.
Note: The "" can be pronounced as a voiceless pharyngeal fricative
[ħ] (as in Classical Hebrew) or a voiceless uvular fricative [χ], as "ch
" as in Bach
.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
folk song that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish wedding
Jewish wedding
A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish law and traditions.While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ketuba signed by two witnesses, a wedding canopy , a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a...
s and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
History
The melody was taken from an UkrainianUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
folk dance-song from Bukovina
Bukovina
Bukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains.-Name:The name Bukovina came into official use in 1775 with the region's annexation from the Principality of Moldavia to the possessions of the Habsburg Monarchy, which became...
(a variant of Hora). It uses the Phrygian dominant scale
Phrygian dominant scale
In music, the altered Phrygian scale or Freygish scale , featuring an unusual key signature and a distinctive augmented second interval, is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale, the fifth being the dominant...
, common in music of Romania and Western Ukraine. The commonly used text was probably composed by Abraham Zevi (Zvi) Idelsohn
Abraham Zevi Idelsohn
Abraham Zevi Idelsohn was a prominent Jewish ethnologist and musicologist, who conducted several comprehensive studies of Jewish music around the world....
in 1918 to celebrate the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
victory in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as well as the Balfour Declaration.
Lyrics
| Transliteration | Hebrew text | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Hava nagila | הבה נגילה | Let's rejoice |
| Hava nagila | הבה נגילה | Let's rejoice |
| הבה נגילה ונשמחה | Let's rejoice and be happy | |
| (repeat stanza once) | ||
| Hava neranenah | הבה נרננה | Let's sing |
| Hava neranenah | הבה נרננה | Let's sing |
| הבה נרננה ונשמחה | Let's sing and be happy | |
| (repeat stanza once) | ||
| !עורו, עורו אחים | Awake, awake, brothers! | |
| עורו אחים בלב שמח | Awake brothers with a happy heart | |
| (repeat line four times) | ||
| !עורו אחים, עורו אחים | Awake, brothers, awake, brothers! | |
| בלב שמח | With a happy heart |
Note: The "" can be pronounced as a voiceless pharyngeal fricative
Voiceless pharyngeal fricative
The voiceless pharyngeal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is h-bar .-Features:Features of the voiceless pharyngeal fricative:...
[ħ] (as in Classical Hebrew) or a voiceless uvular fricative [χ], as "ch
Ch (digraph)
Ch is a digraph in the Roman alphabet and Uyghur. It is treated as a letter of its own in Chamorro, Czech, Slovak, Polish, Igbo, Quechua, Guarani, Welsh, Cornish, Breton and Belarusian Łacinka alphabets. In Vietnamese, it also used to be considered a letter for collation purposes but this is no...
" as in Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
.
Performers
- Singer Harry BelafonteHarry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
is known for his version of the song, which was recorded for his album Belafonte at Carnegie Hall in 1959. He rarely gave a concert without singing it. He has stated that his two songs which "stand out" are "The Banana Boat Song" and "Hava Nagila". Belafonte explained: "Life is not worthwhile without it. Most Jews in America learned that song from me." - Irving FieldsIrving FieldsIrving Fields is an American pianist and lounge music artist who was born in New York City, New York. Some of his most noteworthy compositions include "Miami Beach Rhumba", "Managua, Nicaragua" and "Chantez, Chantez," covered by Dinah Shore in the 1940s.Fields' most famous album is Bagels &...
- Rika ZaraïRika ZaraïRika Zaraï , is an Israeli singer and writer, who performed in Hebrew, English, then in French, Italian, Spanish and German. She celebrated her 50 years of her career in 2008. She has a daughter named Yael, born in 1959.She became famous in 1969 with Casatchok and Alors je chante...
- Ben Folds FiveBen Folds FiveBen Folds Five is an alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds , Robert Sledge , and Darren Jessee . The group achieved mainstream success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes...
- Chubby CheckerChubby CheckerChubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
- Connie FrancisConnie FrancisConnie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
- Dick DaleDick DaleDick Dale is an American surf rock guitarist, known as The King of the Surf Guitar. He experimented with reverberation and made use of custom made Fender amplifiers, including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier.-Early life:Dale was born in South Boston, Massachusetts and lived in nearby...
and the Del Tones (surf-rock) - Glenn CampbellGlenn CampbellGlen Campbell may refer to:People:* Glen Campbell , American musician -- country, active in US* Glenn Ross Campbell , American musician -- rock, active in UK* Glenn Campbell , Scottish journalist...
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
- Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
- RaphaelRaphael (singer)For the French singer Raphael see Raphaël HarocheMiguel Rafael Martos Sánchez , often simply referred to as Raphael, is a worldwide acclaimed Spanish singer and television, film and theatre actor...
- Bert KaempfertBert KaempfertBert Kaempfert was a German orchestra leader and songwriter. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records, and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, such as "Strangers in the Night" and "Spanish Eyes".-Biography:He was born in Hamburg, Germany - where he received his lifelong...
and his orchestra - NOFXNOFXNOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
- LMFAOLMFAO (group)LMFAO is an American electro pop duo consisting of rappers, producers, dancers, and DJs Redfoo and SkyBlu . The group formed in 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Redfoo is SkyBlu's uncle. Redfoo is also the son of music mogul Berry Gordy, SkyBlu a grandson...
- André RieuAndré RieuAndré Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu is a Dutch violinist, conductor, and composer best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.- Early life and studies :...
- PentaPenta-Places:* Penta , an Italian hamlet of Fisciano * Penta di Casinca, a French municipality of Corsica* Penta, Chhattisgarh, a town in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, India* Penta , a small river in Lithuania-Entertainment:...
- Abraham Inc.
- Haddash
- DalidaDalidaDalida , born with Italian name of Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti, was a world-famous singer and actress born in Egypt with Italian origins but naturalised French with the name Yolanda Gigliotti. She spent her early years in Egypt amongst the Italian Egyptian community, but she lived most of her adult...
- FinnishFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
power metalPower metalPower metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
band Sonata ArcticaSonata ArcticaSonata Arctica are a Finnish power metal band from the town of Kemi, originally assembled in 1995. Their later works contain several elements typical of progressive metal.....
usually ends its shows performing a humorous song, usually referred to as "The Vodka Song," played on the tune of "Hava Nagila". - American comedian and song parodist Allan ShermanAllan ShermanAllan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
performed a humorous version entitled "Harvey and Sheila" on his album My Son, the CelebrityMy Son, the CelebrityMy Son, the Celebrity is a musical comedy album by Allan Sherman, released in the United States by Warner Bros. in January 1963.The album was the second of three straight albums by Sherman to reach #1 on the Billboard album charts. It reached #1 on Billboard's Top 150 Best Selling LPs chart for...
. - At a sold-out show in Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
on June 16, 2009, American progressive metalProgressive metalProgressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band Dream TheaterDream TheaterDream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of their studies to further concentrate on the band that would...
performed a cover of "Hava Nagila". - The beginning of AnthraxAnthrax (band)Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
-song I'm the Man contains parts of "Hava Nagila". - Punk Rock supergroup and cover band Me First and the Gimme GimmesMe First and the Gimme GimmesMe First and the Gimme Gimmes is a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in 1995. The Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band. The band is named after a children's book of the same name by Gerald G. Jampolsky and Diane V. Cirincione...
performed two covers of this song on their 2004 live album Ruin Jonny's Bar MitzvahRuin Jonny's Bar MitzvahRuin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah is a live album by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, released on October 19, 2004 on Fat Wreck Chords.It was recorded live at an actual bar mitzvah party, and its runtime lasts their entire performance, including a break in which little can be heard other than the sounds of...
. - Alternative rock band moe.Moe.moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....
, perform a variation of "Hava Nagila" in their song "Long Island Girls Rule" of which the original studio recording appears on their 1992, independently released album, Fatboy (re-released on Fatboy Records in 1999). - The punk band Adrenalin O.D.Adrenalin O.D.Adrenalin O.D. was a popular hardcore punk band from New Jersey that existed from 1981 to 1990. They are best known for playing extremely fast music accompanied by humorous lyrics.-History:...
released an instrumental surf rock cover version entitled "Surfin' Jew" on their 1986 album HumungousFungousAmongus. - The Chopsticks (a Hong Kong female duo, made up of Sandra LangSandra LangSandra Lang is a former Taishan Cantopop singer, active in the 1970s. - Career :During the late 1960s Sandra Lang's career began under the HK English pop group named The Chopsticks. The group did not last long, as Lang soon went solo for TVB....
(仙杜拉) & Amina (亞美娜)), covered this song as a medley with "Exodus" in their 1971 LP All Of A Sudden. - Polish singer Justyna SteczkowskaJustyna SteczkowskaJustyna Steczkowska is a Polish singer, song-writer, and actress.She comes from a big musical family, and played violin in a family band before becoming a solo singer. She has a vocal range of 4 octaves....
- on her album Alkimja - 'Hava Nagila - Piękna jest chwila' - In 1959, The Barry SistersThe Barry Sisters (United States)Clara and Minnie Barry were popular American Jazz and Klesmer entertainers of the 1940s to the early 1970s.-Early years:Born in the Bronx, New York, they were first known as The Bagelman Sisters. They made a name for themselves as Yiddish jazz singers. When their act became more popular, they...
recorded a version of the song with English lyrics, which appears in the 2010 film Casino Jack. - The Spanish duo Azúcar MorenoAzúcar MorenoAzúcar Moreno was a famous Spanish music duo who have sold more than 3 million albums and singles since 1985 domestically, and became famous in Europe, the United States and Latin America in the 1990s, with approximately 10 million albums sold worldwide.-Biography:Composed by sisters Antonia and...
, on their 1996 album Esclava De Tu Piel included a radically reworked flamenco/rock/dance cover of the song, sung entirely in Hebrew.
External links
- Hava Nagila's Long, Strange Trip
- Hora Music, How do you sing and dance Hava Nagila Lyrics and steps.
- Who wrote Havah Nagilah?
- Hava Nagila
- Discogs search for other remakes of Hava Nagila
- Historical research includes first recording of Hava Nagila
- Romani version of Hava Nagila (Aven, rromalen)
- Hava Nagilah, What Is It?