דאָנאַ, דאָנאַ | Dona, Dona — a song by Aaron Zeitlin for the Yiddish play Esterke (1940), with Ladino and Aramaic translations by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=61544

Date: 2025-04-23

Last Updated: 2025-04-23

Categories: 🇮🇱 Yom haShoah (27 Nisan), Hateful Intolerance, Prejudice, and Bigotry, Pogroms & Genocide, Slavery & Captivity, Terror

Tags: anti-predatory, Aramaic translation, Ladino Translation, predation, predatory gaze, predatory nature, Yiddish songs, צער באלי חיים tsa'ar baalei ḥayyim

Excerpt: Originally written by Aaron Zeitlin for the Yiddish play "Esterke" in 1940, 'Dona Dona' is a popular song the world over, having been adapted to many languages — often not preserving the original, deeply Jewish context. The gist of the original lyrics, which never state their metaphor outright, is: a calf is bound to a wagon being dragged to the slaughterhouse. It looks up and sees a swallow flying around. The farmer shouts at it, saying "it's your own fault for being a calf and not a bird!" The implication being: the people telling the Jews it's our own fault we're persecuted are the ones driving the wagon. Gentiles will murder Jews, the song implies to us, and then say Jews are to blame because of how murderable our Jewish face is, so maybe we should get a less murderable and more goyish face. But the whole time they’re the one with the knife. Here included is the original Yiddish text (in the Ukrainish theatre dialect), as well as new translations into Ladino and Aramaic. . . .

Content:

Originally written by Aaron Zeitlin for the Yiddish play “Esterke” in 1940, ‘Dona Dona’ is a popular song the world over, having been adapted to many languages — often not preserving the original, deeply Jewish context. (Joan Baez’s English and Nama Hendel’s Hebrew versions do an admirable job of translating the original Yiddish. Meanwhile, Claude François’s French version, Tuấn Dũng’s Vietnamese version, and this version from a 1990s lesbian shojo anime take Shalom Secunda’s melody and completely toss out the original text.)

The gist of the original lyrics, which never state their metaphor outright, is: a calf is bound to a wagon being dragged to the slaughterhouse. It looks up and sees a swallow flying around. The farmer shouts at it, saying “it’s your own fault for being a calf and not a bird!” The implication being: the people telling the Jews it’s our own fault we’re persecuted are the ones driving the wagon. Gentiles will murder Jews, the song implies to us, and then say Jews are to blame because of how murderable our Jewish face is, so maybe we should get a less murderable and more goyish face. But the whole time they’re the one with the knife.

Anyway, here included is the original Yiddish text, as well as new translations into Ladino and Aramaic.

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Source (Yiddish)	Translation (English)	Translation (Ladino)	Translation (Aramaic)
אױפֿן פֿורל ליגט דאָס קעלבל, ליגט געבונדן מיט אַ שטריק, הױך אין הימל פֿליט דאָס שװעלבל, פֿרײט זיך, דרײט זיך, הין און קריק.	On a little wagon lies the li’l calf, lies bound with a rope. High in heaven flies the li’l swalllow, Rejoicing, darting hither and thither.	און ביזירו און אטאדﬞו יינדו אין אונה אראבה אי אינסימה דיל קאמינו און פאשﬞאריקו סי בולה.	עַל עֲגַלְתָּא מִתְּנַח עִיגְלָא בְּחַבְלִין תְּלָתָא מְקַטַּר וּלְעֵלָא טָיֵיס שַׁפְנִינָא דְּעַל עֲגַלְתָּא מְנַטַּר
כאָר׃ לאַכט דער װינט אין קאָרן, לאַכט און לאַכט און לאַכט, לאַכט ער אָפּ אַ טאָג אַ גאַנצן מיט אַ האַלבער נאַכט. דאָנאַ, דאָנאַ, דאָנאַ…	Chorus: The wind laughs in the grain, laughs and laughs and laughs. He laughs it up a whole day with half the night. Dona dona dona…	קורו׃ לוס בﬞיינטוס סטאן ריינדו קום אמארגורה ריין סטאבﬞאן ריינדו איל דייה אינטירו אי נוגﬞי טאמביין. דונה דונא…	פזמנא׃ חוּכָא בְּחַקְלַיָּא רוּחַיָּא מְחַיְכִין בְּכוּלֵּי יוֹמָא עַד־פַּלְגוּת לֵילְוָתָא חֲשׁוּכִין דּוֹנָא דּוֹנָא…
שרײַט דאָס קעלבל, זאָגט דער פּױער, װער־זשע הײסט דיך זײַן אַ קאַלב? װאָלסט געקענט דאָך זײַן אַ פֿױגל, װאָלסט געקענט דאָך זײַן אַ שװאַלב. כאָר׃ לאַכט דער װינט…	The li’l calf screams, the farmer says: Who, pray, ordered you to be a calf? You could have been a birdie, you could have been a swallow! Chorus: The wind laughs…	אי לי דישﬞו איל פﬞילחיסקו: קין טי איזו קומו אסי, אי דיקי נו קומו פאשﬞארו? סטה איה אי נו אקי! קורו׃ לוס בﬞיינטוס…	שְׁתּוֹק, בַּר תּוֹר! – נָזִיף אִיכָּרָא – וְאַמַּאי אַתְּ וְלָד תּוֹרָן? וְאִי בַּעֵית אִתְיְּלִיד לְצִפַּרְתָּא עִילִּיתָא עַל־בְּעִירָן! פזמנא׃ חוּכָא בְּחַקְלַיָּא…
בידנע קעלבער טוט מען בינדן און מען שלעפּט זײ און מען שעכט, װער ס׳האָט פֿליגל, פֿליט אַרױפֿצו, איז בײַ קײנעם ניט קיין קנעכט. כאָר׃ לאַכט דער װינט…	Poor calves are bound, and dragged about, and slaughtered. Who has wing, flies up, is no one’s, not anyone’s slave. Chorus: The wind laughs…	לוס ביזירוס איבﬞאן קאמינאנדו אל קוגﬞייו דיל שﬞחיטהדור לוס קי טינגאן אלאס אנגﬞאס פﬞוייראן סין דינגון טימור. קורו׃ לוס בﬞיינטוס…	יוֹם יוֹם עִיגְלִין מִתְקַּטְרִין וּלְאִיתְכַּסָּאָה מִדַּבְּרִין אַדְּהָכִי עוֹפָן דִּשְׁמַיָּא טָיְסִין כִּבְנֵי חוֹרִין פזמנא׃ חוּכָא בְּחַקְלַיָּא…

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These are the original Yiddish lyrics to the song “Dona Dona” by Aaron Zeitlin written for the play Esterka (1940) as found in the original lyrics sheet. English, Ladino, and Aramaic translations by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer. Find the PDF for direct translations and romanized transliterations of the Yiddish (in the Ukrainish theatre dialect), Ladino, and Aramaic.

Source(s)

Donah Dona by Aaron Zeitlin for Esterke (1940)

 

Contributor: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (translation)
  Bio: From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also authors his own original works and transcribes Hebrew and Aramaic text, adding niqqud and t'amim as needed.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.
  Website: https://igmjewishcreativeworks.com
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/isaac-gantwerk-mayer-translation
• 
  Name: Aaron Zeitlin
  Bio: Aaron Zeitlin (3 June 1898 – 28 September 1973), born in Uvarovichi, Russia (now Belarus), was a Jewish American educator and writer. He authored several books on Yiddish literature, poetry and parapsychology. He spent his formative years in Gomel and Vilna. In 1920, he and his brother Elchanan traveled to Palestine, and in 1921 they returned to Eastern Europe, settling in Warsaw. Zeitlin's literary abilities were apparent already in his youth when he contributed some articles to the Odessa-based children's journal Perachim and Hashachar. His first publication was a fictional piece that appeared in the journal Di yidishe velt (די ייִדישע װעלט "The Jewish World"), in 1914. His first published books of Yiddish poetry were Metatron (1922) and Shotns oyfn shney (Shadows on Snow; 1923). In the 1920s to 1930s, he published short stories, as well as many philosophical and journalistic essays, and pieces of literary and cultural criticism. In 1939, Zeitlin accepted an invitation from Maurice Schwartz, the director of the Yiddish Art Theatre, to come to New York to work on the company's production of his play Esterke. Prevented from returning home by the beginning of the World War Ⅱ, Zeitlin settled in New York permanently. His play Chelmer Chachomim (the "Wise Men of Chelm") had already opened to critical acclaim at the Yiddish Theatre in New York prior to his arrival, and he slowly became a fixture of the Yiddish scene. For a time, he was also Professor of Hebrew literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, in New York.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Zeitlin
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aaron-zeitlin

Featured Image:

Title: Prague 1946, central slaughterhouse in Holesovice. Farmer brings his calf aboard a farm wagon to be slaughtered
Caption: Prague 1946, central slaughterhouse in Holesovice. Farmer brings his calf aboard a farm wagon to be slaughtered