"Hava Nagila" (Hebrew: הבה נגילה) (lit. Let us rejoice) is a Hebrew folk song that has become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs.
History
The melody was taken from a
Ukrainian folk song from
Bukovina. 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.
Lyrics
{|
! align="left" | Transliteration
! align="left" | Hebrew text
! align="left" | English translation
|-
|Hava nagila
|הבה נגילה
|Let's rejoice
|-
|Hava nagila
|הבה נגילה
|Let's rejoice
|-
|Hava nagila v'nismeḥa
|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
|-
|Hava neranenah v'nismeḥa
|הבה נרננה ונשמחה
|Let's sing and be happy
|-
|
|(
repeat stanza once)
|
|-
|Uru, uru aḥim!
|!עורו, עורו אחים
|Awake, awake, brothers!
|-
|Uru aḥim b'lev sameaḥ
|עורו אחים בלב שמח
|Awake brothers with a happy heart
|-
|
|(
repeat line four times)
|
|-
|Uru aḥim, uru aḥim!
|!עורו אחים, עורו אחים
|Awake, brothers, awake, brothers!
|-
|B'lev sameaḥ
|בלב שמח
|With a happy heart
|}
Note: The 'ḥ' can be pronounced as a strong exhaling sound (as in Classical Hebrew) or a guttural ch as in Bach.
Performers
Singer
Harry Belafonte was 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 Fields
Finnish power metal band
Sonata Arctica 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 Sherman performed a humorous version entitled "Harvey and Sheila" on his album My Son, the Celebrity.
At a sold-out show in
Tel Aviv,
Israel on June 16, 2009, American
progressive metal band
Dream Theater performed a cover of "Hava Nagila".
The beginning of Anthrax-song I'm the Man contains parts of "Hava Nagila".
Punk Rock supergroup and cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes performed two covers of this song on their 2004 live album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah.
See also
Hora (dance)
Hasapiko
References
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?
Category:Israeli songs
Category:Hebrew-language songs
Category:Jewish folk songs
Category:Ukrainian folk songs
Category:World music song stubs