אמעריקע | America (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee), a patriotic hymn by Samuel Francis Smith (1832) with Yiddish translation by Berl Lapin (1950)

Contributor(s):

Berl Lapin (translation), Samuel Francis Smith and Aharon N. Varady (editing/transcription)

Shared on:

25 May 2020 under the Public Domain (17 U.S. Code §105 - Subject matter of copyright: United States Government works)

Categories:

National Arbor Day (last Friday of April), Independence Day (July 4th)

Tags:

57th century A.M., Yiddish translation, Yiddish songs, American Jewry of the United States, Patriotic hymns, doikayt, hereness, 19th century C.E., United States, זמירות zemirot

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Translation (Yiddish)	Source (English)
מײן לאנד, מײן ליבע דו, מײן פרײהײט־לאנד, נעם צו מײן לױב־געזאנג! דאָ פאָטערס קבר שטײט, דאָ פּילגרים־שטאָלץ, צעשפּרײט, שטראָם, לאנד, פון בערגער־קײט, מיט פרײהײט־קלאנג!	My country, ’tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims’ pride, From ev’ry mountainside Let freedom ring!
דו ליבע הײמלאנד מײן, דו לאנד פון פרײהײט־שײן, ליב נאָמען דו. דײן בארג־װאלד, פעלדז — מיר נאָגט, כ׳האָב ליב דײן קװאל, װאָס שטראָמט, דײן פרײער האָריזאָנט, גיט הארץ מײנס רו.	My native country, thee, Land of the noble free, Thy name I love; I love thy rocks and rills, Thy woods and templed hills; My heart with rapture thrills, Like that above.
זאָל שװעבן קלאנג אין רױם, זאָל זינגען יעדער בױם דאָס פרײ געזאנג; זאָל װאך זײן מענטשנס צונג, גאנץ לאנד אין אײן צעזונג, ברעך, פעלדז, דײן שטילקײט־רונג, און קלינג מיט קלאנג.	Let music swell the breeze, And ring from all the trees Sweet freedom’s song; Let mortal tongues awake; Let all that breathe partake; Let rocks their silence break, The sound prolong.
פון מײנע אָבוֹת, — גאָט. דו האר פון פרײ־געבאָט, מײן לױב נעם צו! זאָל שײנען אונדזער לאנד מיט פרײהײט נאָכאנאנד, באשיץ אונדז מיט דײן האנט — באשעפער דו!	Our fathers’ God to Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee we sing. Long may our land be bright, With freedom’s holy light, Protect us by Thy might, Great God our King!

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

. Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication . 1.0 . Universal .

“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.

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".

Aharon N. Varady (editing/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.)

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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