Tumbalalaika

Tumbalalaika (Yiddish: טום־באַלאַלײַקע) is a Russian Jewish folk and love song in the Yiddish language. Tum (טום‎) is the Yiddish word for noise and a balalaika (באַלאַלײַקע‎) is a stringed musical instrument of Russian origin.

Lyrics

Cultural references and covers
  • The song Over and Over by Nana Mouskouri uses this melody.
  • The song, "Tumbalalaika (The Riddle)" by Natalia Zukerman[1] is a poetic adaptation of this to English, with the chorus remaining in Yiddish.
  • Benny Hill adapted the melody for one of his own compositions, Anna Marie, which he performed on his first special for Thames Television on November 19, 1969.
  • The film Khrustalyov, My Car! shows a young Jewish boy singing the song in Russian.
  • The song is used in the film Swing by Tony Gatlif.
  • The song is used in the play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner and the film based on this play. It is sung by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg to Roy Cohn, dying of AIDS.[2]
  • The song is used in the film Prendimi l'anima/The Soul Keeper (2002) by Roberto Faenza.[3]
  • The metal version of the song[4] is included in the first Metal Yiddish album AlefBase by Gevolt, released in March 2011
  • A pastiche of the song is also used in the play The Hamlet of Stepney Green: A Sad Comedy with Some Songs by Bernard Kops.
  • It's included in the album Homenatge a Xesco Boix, a tribute to Xesco Boix. The latter used to play in his concerts, to the children. Also included in Cançons catalanes de Folk in 1976 (Terra nostra.4)

References
  1. "Tumbalalaika (The Riddle) performed by Winterbloom". Ourstage. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  2. "The Secret of Angels". The New York Times. March 27, 1994. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  3. "YouTube film with Tumbalalaika in the movie Prendimi l'anima (2002) by Roberto Faenza". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  4. "Tum Balalayke". Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2021-11-24 – via soundcloud.com.
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