Social:Hava Nagila

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Short description: Jewish traditional folk song in Hebrew

"Hava Nagila" (Hebrew: הָבָה נָגִילָה‎, Hāvā Nāgīlā, "Let us rejoice") is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings. Written in 1918, it quickly spread through the Jewish diaspora.

History

"Hava Nagila" is one of the first modern Jewish folk songs in the Hebrew language. It went on to become a staple of band performers at Jewish weddings and bar/bat(b'nei) mitzvah celebrations.

The melody is based on a Hassidic Nigun.[1] It was composed in 1918 to celebrate the Balfour Declaration and the British victory over the Ottomans in 1917. It was first performed in a mixed choir concert in Jerusalem.[2]

Abraham Zevi Idelsohn (1882–1938), a professor at Hebrew University, began cataloging all known Jewish music and teaching classes in musical composition; one of his students was a promising cantorial student, Moshe Nathanson, who with the rest of his class was presented by the professor with a 19th-century, slow, melodious, chant (niggun or nigun) and assigned to add rhythm and words to fashion a modern Hebrew song. There are competing claims regarding "Hava Nagila"'s composer, with both Idelsohn and Nathanson being suggested.[3][4]

The niggun has been attributed to the Sadigurer Chasidim, who lived in what is now Ukraine .[3] This version has been recreated by Daniel Gil, based on a traditional song collected by Susman Kiselgof.[5] The text was probably refined by Idelsohn.[6] Members of the community began to immigrate to Jerusalem in 1915, and Idelsohn wrote in 1932 that he had been inspired by that melody.[2]

Lyrics

Transliteration Hebrew text English translation
Hava nagila
הבה נגילה
   Let's rejoice
Hava nagila
הבה נגילה
   Let's rejoice
Hava nagila ve-nismeḥa
הבה נגילה ונשמחה
   Let's rejoice and be happy
  (repeat)    
Hava neranenah
הבה נרננה
   Let's sing
Hava neranenah
הבה נרננה
   Let's sing
Hava neranenah ve-nismeḥa
הבה נרננה ונשמחה
   Let's sing and be happy
  (repeat)    
Uru, uru aḥim!
!עורו, עורו אחים
   Awake, awake, brothers!
Uru aḥim be-lev sameaḥ
עורו אחים בלב שמח
   Awake brothers with a happy heart
  (repeat line three times)    
Uru aḥim, uru aḥim!
!עורו אחים, עורו אחים
   Awake, brothers, awake, brothers!
Be-lev sameaḥ
בלב שמח
   With a happy heart

Notable performers

  • Singer Harry Belafonte is known for his version of the song, which was recorded for his album Belafonte at Carnegie Hall in 1959.[7] He rarely gave a concert without singing it, and stated that the two "stand out" songs from his professional career were "The Banana Boat Song" and "Hava Nagila".[3][8][unreliable source?] Belafonte noted and claimed, "Life is not worthwhile without it. Most Jews in America learned that song from me."[9]
  • Laurindo Almeida[8]
  • Barry Sisters[8]
  • Nissim Black, a Jewish Orthodox rapper, recorded an adaptation titled "The Hava Song".[10]
  • Brave Combo[11]
  • Glen Campbell[8]
  • David Carroll[8]
  • Jasper Carrott (on his 1976 album, Carrott In Notts)
  • Chubby Checker[8]
  • Herman Clebanoff[8]
  • Carmela Corren – Israeli singer[12]
  • Celia Cruz[8]
  • Dick Dale and the Del Tones (surf rock)[8]
  • Dalida (1959)[8]
  • Neil Diamond, in addition to having performed Hava Nagila in his 1994 Live In America concert,[13] incorporated it into The Jazz Singer, based on Samson Raphaelson's play, in which he acted out a cantor with popular-music ambitions.
  • Dream Theater performed a cover of "Hava Nagila" in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 16 June 2009.[14]
  • Bob Dylan[8]
  • The E Street Band with guest accordionists performed it at a Bruce Springsteen concert in Sunrise, Florida, on 9 September 2009.[15]
  • Percy Faith[8]
  • Irving Fields[8]
  • Four Jacks and a Jill released a version of the song on their 1965 album, Jimmy Come Lately.[16]
  • Connie Francis[8]
  • Benny Goodman, (c. 1960s)
  • Lionel Hampton[8]
  • Lena Horne, "Now!" (US #92, 1963)[8][17]
  • Abraham Zevi Idelsohn published the Hebrew song book, Sefer Hashirim, in 1922, which includes the first publication of his arrangement of "Hava Nagila". He also produced the first commercial recording in 1922, on the Polyphon record label ("Order No. 8533."), as part of a series which recorded 39 Hebrew folk songs.[18]
  • Los Iracundos[8]
  • Kare and the Cavemen[8]
  • Bert Kaempfert[8]
  • Harold Land[8]
  • James Last[8]
  • Liel Kolet
  • Abbe Lane[8]
  • Jon Lord of Deep Purple included Hava Nagila in his solo keyboard improvisations as heard on Made in Europe (1975).[19]
  • Arthur Lyman[8]
  • Betty Madigan, "Dance Everyone Dance" (US #31, 1958)[17]
  • Shelly Manne[8]
  • Mantovani[8]
  • Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, who recorded the song live for the album Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah. They also recorded a second version on the same album to the tune of Feliz Navidad.[20]
  • Perez Prado[8]
  • Louis Prima
  • Flora Purim[8]
  • Ivan Rebroff[21]
  • Cantor Tracey Scher https://www.the-temple.org/cantortraceyscher
  • Frank Slay and his Orchestra, "Flying Circle" (US #45, 1962)[17]
  • The Spotnicks[22]
  • Pete Townshend, whose ability to play the song was instrumental to his induction in The Who.[23]
  • Richard Tucker[8]
  • Caterina Valente[8]
  • Rika Zarai[8]

Use in sports

Basketball

Maccabi Tel Aviv

After every home Maccabi Tel Aviv win, the fan group The Gate, which is the biggest Maccabi fan group, start chanting Hava Nagila.[24]

Association football

Ajax Amsterdam

Supporters of the Dutch association football club AFC Ajax, although not an official Jewish club, commonly use Jewish imagery. A central part of Ajax fans' culture, "Hava Nagila" can often be heard sung in the Stadium by the team's supporters, and at one point ringtones of "Hava Nagila" could even be downloaded from the club's official website.[25][26][27]

Tottenham Hotspur

Supporters of the England football club Tottenham Hotspur commonly refer to themselves as "Yids" and say they are strongly associated with Jewish symbolism and culture. "Hava Nagila" has been adopted as an anthem of sorts by the club, and was one of the most frequently sung songs at the team's former stadium at White Hart Lane.[28][29]

Ice Hockey

Montreal Canadiens

Hava Nagila can often be heard during game stoppages being played on the Centre Bell organ.

Other versions

George Lam recorded a Cantonese version of "Hava Nagila" titled《狂歡》("Carnival") for his 1981 album《活色生香》.

Allan Sherman recorded a parody, "Harvey and Sheila," on his album "My Son, The Celebrity," using the tune but spoofing middle-class life.

Thrash Metal band Anthrax included the melody in their 1987 single "I'm the Man".

In 1996, Dutch gabber group Party Animals released a hardstyle version of the song called "Hava Naquila".

See also

  • Hora (dance)
  • Jewish music
  • Music of Israel
  • Zum Gali Gali

References

  1. ↑ Loeffler, James. "Hava Nagila's Long, Strange Trip. The unlikely history of a Hasidic melody.". My Jewish Learning. http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/hava-nagilas-long-strange-trip. "Like many modern and popular Jewish songs, Hava Nagila began its life as a Hasidic melody in Eastern Europe." 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The secret history of Hava Nagila
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Roberta Grossman, Director/Producer; Sophie Sartain, Writer/Producer (2012). Hava Nagila (The Movie) (NTSC B&W and color, widescreen, closed-captioned). Los Angeles, CA, USA: Katahdin Productions, More Horses Productions. OCLC 859211976. Retrieved 3 September 2015. The song you thought you knew. The story you won't believe.
  4. ↑ "Film Hoists 'Hava Nagila' Up Onto A Chair, In Celebration Of Song And Dance". NPR. 28 February 2013. https://www.npr.org/2013/03/03/173160541/film-hoists-hava-nagila-up-onto-a-chair-in-celebration-of-song-and-dance. 
  5. ↑ Hava Nagila - The Original, & Unaltered Hasidic Melody
  6. ↑ Yudelson, Larry. "Who wrote Havah Nagilah?". RadioHazak. Larry Yudelson. http://www.radiohazak.com/Havahist.html. 
  7. ↑ Belafonte, Harry (1959) Belafonte at Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert (LP) RCA Victor LOC-6006
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.16 8.17 8.18 8.19 8.20 8.21 8.22 8.23 8.24 8.25 8.26 8.27 8.28 8.29 "Hava Nagila, What Is It? (Part I)" at YouTube
  9. ↑ Leland, John. (2004) Hip: The History, New York, NY, USA: HarperCollins, p. 206.
  10. ↑ Adkins, Laura E. (9 December 2020). "Orthodox rapper Nissim Black's new single, 'The Hava Song,' remakes 'Hava Nagila' just in time for Hanukkah". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/orthodox-rapper-nissim-blacks-new-single-the-hava-song-remakes-hava-nagila-just-in-time-for-hanukkah. 
  11. ↑ "Hava Nagila Twist", on The Hokey Pokey: Organized Dancing (1991)
  12. ↑ "Carmela Corren – International". Germany: Ariola – 70354 IU. 1963. https://www.discogs.com/Carmela-Corren-International/release/10217442#. 
  13. ↑ Neil Diamond Live In America 1994, at YouTube
  14. ↑ Dream Theater: vídeo de música Judaica no show em Israel, luew, 19/06/09
  15. ↑ Bruce Springsteen "Hava Nagila" live Sunrise, FL 9-09 (YouTube video). GratefulDad007. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  16. ↑ Four Jacks and a Jill, Jimmy Come Lately Retrieved 13 May 2015
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN:0-89820-089-X
  18. ↑ "Abraham Zvi Idelsohn: The Thesaraus of Jewish Music & Hava Nagila". http://www.seligman.org.il/joffe_AZIdelsohn.html. 
  19. ↑ "Set Lists 1968 to 1976". The Highway Star. http://www.thehighwaystar.com/rosas/discog/dpsetlists1.html#75. 
  20. ↑ "Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah" (in en). https://fatwreck.com/products/ruin-jonnys-bar-mitzvah. 
  21. ↑ (in en) Ivan Rebroff – The Very Best Of Ivan Rebroff (1990, CD), https://www.discogs.com/Ivan-Rebroff-The-Very-Best-Of-Ivan-Rebroff/release/6488816, retrieved 2021-02-05 
  22. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 521. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  23. ↑ Rogovoy, Seth (2019-11-12). "The Secret Jewish History of The Who". https://forward.com/culture/music/434550/whos-jewish/. 
  24. ↑ "https://twitter.com/thesportsrabbi/status/1651640453744271361/video/1" (in en). https://twitter.com/thesportsrabbi/status/1651640453744271361/video/1. 
  25. ↑ Amsterdam Journal; A Dutch Soccer Riddle: Jewish Regalia Without Jews, The New York Times, 28 March 2005.
  26. ↑ Hava Nagila! – Nieuw Israëlietisch Weekblad, 15 October 2013
  27. ↑ 'Waar komt de geuzennaam 'Joden' toch vandaan?', Het Parool, 1 February 2014.
  28. ↑ Promised Land: A Northern Love Story – Anthony Clavane, 12 February 2014
  29. ↑ The Yid Army’s chants turn anti-semitism into kitsch banter, Financial Times, 20 September 2013.

External links



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