Requested by Erlene: Hava Nagila, with LaDonna Taylor on the violin.
I used to play this on the little organ we had in the living room. I could “b’lev sa ma’ach” with the best of them. I’ll bet I could still play it, even if I’ve forgotten what the words mean.
Thank you for the post. I just thought it would be something different to listen to. I don’t know a lot of the words either, but I just like to hear it once in a while.
I know the words, but I don’t know what they mean.
Such uplifting music. The recognition of the Reformation is coming up soon with its call to “Glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
“Hava Nagila” (Hebrew: הָבָה נָגִילָה, Hāvā Nāgīlā, “Let us rejoice”) is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvas, and other festivities among the Jewish community. Written in 1918, it quickly spread through the Jewish diaspora.
Thanks, Mike, I didn’t know that.
I wasn’t aware of that either.
There is a legend that Hāvā Nāgīlā is based upon an ancient prayer, and that the lyrics are much more recent, so 1918 certainly fits. Tracing the ultimate root of an ancient melody can get a bit tricky, because it’s like peeling an onion; there’s always another layer.
I’ve spent a bit of time exploring the Surf Music phenomenon, which was instrumental Rock n’ Roll which was popular in the early ‘60s. Some of the melodies, and many of the chord progressions came from Hebrew, or mideastern origin. So it’s quite possible that songs popular in the early ‘60s might have sounded familiar to people from many generations before. A friend of mine has actually recorded Hāvā Nāgīlā as a Surf Rock song, and it works.
Hāvā Nāgīlā, Hatikvah, and a number of other songs which are popular in Jewish culture impress me for their beauty and quality of composition. I have to wonder if some of these songs would have roots that go as deep as the days of King David. I don’t think there’s any way to know to a certainty, because notation, as we know it, didn’t exist back then. Songs were passed from person to person, and probably morphed, or branched over the years.