שיר הלך | Shir helekh | Wanderer’s Song (1912)
Artist: Abraham Zvi Idelsohn (1882-1938)
Lyrics: From Ha-Zamir
Tune: Foreign Melody
Scientific contributions
- Das „jüdisch-deutsche Liederbuch von 1912“ (by Dr. Gila Fam, 13. September 2022)
“Shir helekh” was published in Ha-Zamir (Odessa, 1903: pp. 37-38). In the song, a poor wanderer walks with a backpack on his shoulders and a stick in his hand, crossing fields, mountains, and valleys. As he walks, he sings, savoring his freedom. When he tires, he sits under a tree and talks to the birds, the insects – and to the trees themselves.
The text is adapted to the melody of a German song, "Als Ich an einem Sommertag " [I am on a Summer Day] or "Der Tag bricht an" [The Day is Dawning]. The German song was written by Joseph von Eichendorff (1788-1857) and composed by Heinrich Reyher (1823-1809). The Hebrew lyrics make some reference to the German text.
The melody is in a major key.
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Transliteration
