This is “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee)” (1832), the patriotic hymn by Samuel Francis Smith (1808-1895) in its Yiddish translation by Berl Lapin (1889-1952). The transcription here was made from the text published in Der fuler ḳrug lider-zamlung (1950), p. 259. The song can be found in the supplements section of some 20th century prayerbooks, such as the Sabbath Prayer Book of the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation (1945) and Rabbi Jacob Bosniak’s Prayers of Israel vol.1 for weekdays (1937). –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

My Country! Tis of Thee (Samuel Francis Smith) 1832

“אמעריקע | America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee), a patriotic hymn by Samuel Francis Smith (1832) with Yiddish translation by Berl Lapin (1950)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)

Berl Lapin (translation)

Berl Lapin (1889–1952) was a Yiddish poet and translator. Born in Grodno, he lived in Argentina 1905–09 and 1913–17 and in the U.S. 1909–13, before settling in New York in 1917. His first lyric collection Umetige Vegn ("Sad Ways," 1910) was completed in Vilna, where he had come under he influence of Chaim Zhitlowsky (as whose personal secretary he served) and the literary group Di Yunge. His excellence as a stylist is reflected in his translations of Shakespeare's Sonnets, Russian lyrics, and American poems, and his collected poems Der Fuler Krug ("The Full Pitcher," 1950).

Samuel Francis Smith

Samuel Francis Smith (October 21, 1808 – November 16, 1895) was an American Baptist minister, journalist, and author. He is best known for having written the lyrics to "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" (sung to the tune of "God Save The Queen", which he entitled "America".

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17

Works of related interest:

 

אַמעריקע די פּרעכטיקע | America the Beautiful, a patriotic hymn by Katharine Lee Bates (1895) with Yiddish translation by Berl Lapin (1950)

די שטערן־שטרײפיקע פאָן | The Star-Spangled Banner, by Francis Scott Key (1814), Yiddish translation by Berl Lapin (1950)

גאָט בענטש אַמעריקע | God Bless America, for Armistice Day by Irving Berlin (1918/1938) with Yiddish translation

Father of Nations! Judge Divine! – a hymn on “Our Country” by Penina Moïse (Ḳ.Ḳ. Beth Elohim 1856)

תפלה בעד שלום המדינה | Prayer for the Welfare of the Government and Country of the United States of America, by Avraham Hyman Charlap (1912)

מײן אַמעריקא (אונזער נײע הימנע) | My America (Our New Hymn) by Morris Rosenfeld (1917)

💬 The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America (1776) | די דעקלאראציע פון אומאָפּהענגיקײט (Yiddish translation 1954) | הצהרת העצמאות של ארצות־הברית (Hebrew translation 1945)

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