Lekha Dodi (Hebrew: לכה דודי; also transliterated as Lecha Dodi, L'chah Dodi, Lekah Dodi, Lechah Dodi; Ashkenazic pronunciation: Lecho Dodi, Biblical: Lekhah Dhodhiy) is a Hebrew-language Jewish liturgical song recited Friday at dusk, usually at sundown, in synagogue to welcome Shabbat prior to the Maariv (evening services). It is part of the Kabbalat Shabbat ("acceptance of Sabbath").
Lekhah Dodi means "come my beloved," and is a request of a mysterious "beloved" that could mean either God or one's friend(s) to join together in welcoming Shabbat that is referred to as the "bride": likrat kallah ("to greet the [Shabbat] bride"). During the singing of the last verse, the entire congregation rises and turns to the open door, to greet "Queen Shabbat" as she arrives.
It was composed in the 16th century Ottoman Empire city of Edirne by Rabbi Shlomo Halevi Alkabetz, a Safed Kabbalist. As was common at the time, the song is also an acrostic, with the first letter of the first eight stanzas spelling the author's name. The author draws from the rabbinic interpretation of Song of Songs in which the maiden is a metaphor for the Jewish people and the lover (dod) is a metaphor for God, and from Nevi'im, which uses the same metaphor. The poem shows Israel asking God to bring upon that great Shabbat of Messianic deliverance. It is one of the latest of the Hebrew poems regularly accepted into the liturgy, both in the southern use, which the author followed, and in the more distant northern rite.
In tomorrow I see no promise
and yesterday was like today
Woke up, got up, near eleven o'clock
butt naked except I was wearing my socks
and that's cool, 'cause most the time this floor is cold
stand up and stretch look around this mess
my place has been a cage since she left me
make my way to the kitchen, start the coffee
then dip to the bathroom, begin the triple-s
and wash the previous evening off me
now out the shower, get dry, shove a q-tip in my ear
well, what do we have here?
it appears as if a piece of me has got motivation
ain't nothin' wrong with a little morning masturbation
fresh, dressed like fifty cents
clean and awake now I'm ready to commence
spark up the caffeine and nicotine binge
and that's pretty much the pattern of how the day begins
and I write for an hour, maybe half hour more
then put on my shoes and grab my key for the door
put my headphones on for this world I ignore
trek down the street towards the record store
"hey, bro - how you doing, anything new today?"
"nah man, how you been? it's the same old same again"
well, then I'll be gone, friend, I'll see you around
then I'm out, destination uptown
in the summertime the women wear a lot of skin
and if I sit in one spot I can take 'em all in
sometimes I even talk, to see if I can make one grin
if not, yo, it's cool I ain't gonna take it personally
from Anne Landers, to Ani DiFranco to Orphan Annie
I love all women, but most of them just can't stand me
I don't know, maybe it's my hair or my clothes
"...or maybe she noticed that you was diggin in you're nose..."
either way it's okay, I wasn't tryin' to get laid
I just wanted to say "I hope you have a great day"
and then she stopped with a smile that began to blush
"here, take my number, call me up, I'll come over and make you lunch"
I got up and headed down towards the book store
to check the titles, that my man Michael's got me lookin' for
my visit was short, 'cause I just couldn't feel
that cat behind the counter actin' like I'm here to steal
so I dipped back out into a cloud of tattoos
pierced body parts and colorful hairdos
and I questioned, did Babylon resemble this?
are we getting any closer to the end of the list?
a sensuous kiss, placed on apoco-lips
we teach them how to make a fist, but not to resist
and I'm wondering how'd we find this position
but people are people and I still love 'em, especially the women
onwards to the coffee shop, maybe Muddies for a refill and some
sociological studies
see the junkies, while they co-exist with the sobers
all the bugging of eyeballs, the shrugging of shoulders
and that's when I saw her, sippin' on water
I wanna kiss her mom just for having this daughter
excuse me miss, I don't mean to come across strong
but I've been waitin' a while and you've been taking too long
and she smiled and I began to blush
she asked if I'd like to go to the bathroom and make some love
and I got visions of us, and the mirror getting steamed
and that's the very moment I woke up from the dream
Woke up, got up, near eleven o'clock
butt naked except I was wearing my socks
and that's cool, 'cause most the time this floor is cold
stand up and stretch and look for my soul
In tomorrow I see no promise
and yesterday was like today
In tomorrow I see no promise
and yesterday was like today
In tomorrow I see no promise
and yesterday was like today
In tomorrow I see no promise