B.u.g. Big Ugly Guy (9781101593523) (21 page)

Songs from BUG

Speaking with Chaim

 

Going down the road

In the bar mitzvah bus,

Boogie and klezmer

And fusion 'R' Us.

Making some music

And making a fuss.

Going on down the road.

 

Chorus:

Going down the road,

Going down the road.

 

Rolling and rocking

To get there on time.

Learning some Hebrew

And rhythm and rhyme.

Trying some Hebrew,

And speaking with Chaim.

Going down the road

(Chorus)

 

To Life

 

To life, to life,

I'll bring the clay to life.

Frankenstein, he made a monster,

and made a monster's wife.

He robbed the local graveyard,

which caused some local strife.

Then villagers attacked him

With pitchfork, ax, and knife.

But me I won't be troubled, 'cause

I'll bring this clay to life!

 

Golem . . . golem . . . golem . . .

 

To life, to life,

I'll bring the clay to life,

And it will help me stop all wars

And arguments and strife.

They'll be an end to bullying,

They'll be an end to rife.

And me, I won't be troubled more,

'cause all I have to do is

bring this clay to life!

 

Soul Power, Klez Style

 

I've been up and I've been down,

I've been beaten all around.

I've been kicked upon the ground.

Power!

 

I've been hit and I've been named.

I've been dissed and shook and shamed.

And it's all a power game.

Power!

 

Chorus:

You don't have it,

So you want it.

Once you get it,

Then you flaunt it.

If you use it,

Don't abuse it.

You will lose it.

Power!

 

Take the power in your hands,

It's YOUR turn to make demands.

Rule the kingdom and its lands.

Power!

 

Come on brothers, side by side,

In an army long and wide.

We won't wait for time nor tide.

Power!

 

Chorus

But power when it's not in check

Can leave your life an awful wreck,

Turns success right into drek.

Power!

 

With love and friendship, side by side,

We can find a better guide,

Not just with power, but with pride.

Power!

Shiva

 

It's been a year, Papa, your candle glows.

And where you've gone to no one knows.

The candle flame blows high and higher,

I see your dear face in the fire.

You are my first death. Now you're gone.

We do not forget, but life goes on.

 

Life goes on, I'm not sure why,

Just watch me Papa from on high.

Life goes on, for me not you,

I'm singing now full klezmer blue.

 

Candlepower and candle flame,

I carry your soul if not your name.

I carry your love inside my heart

And know that we're not really apart.

You're here, Papa, though you have gone.

We never forget, though life goes on.

Bar Mitzvah

 

Today I am a man; I am a man today.

I think of many manly things; I have no time to play.

My voice is very deep; my thoughts are quite deep, too.

I am a man today. I have no time for you.

 

I've put down childish things; I've taken up the sword.

I skewer with a phrase; I pinion with a word.

Today I am a man; I have two feet of clay.

I am a grown-up now; I have no time to play.

 

God's Ears

 

Wishing on a starry night,

I wish I could, I wish I might,

Wish away my deepest fears.

May wishes reach into God's ears.

 

When things go wrong, when nothing's right,

It's then I wish with all my might

And hope that someone somewhere hears.

Do wishes reach into God's ears?

 

Chorus:

Grandma said, and Grandma knows

The way that wishing always goes,

Sometimes the devil only hears

What your lips send to reach God's ears.

 

The best of wishes, they are those

You make to heal another's woes.

The ones to soothe your brother's fears

Go from your lips straight to God's ears.

 

BUG

 

You can quit or you can play,

You can leave or you can stay.

If you name it, then you shame it,

BUG!.

 

You can fear it, or you can own it.

You can dull it, or you can hone it.

If you name it, then you shame it.

BUG!

 

You can run, or you can fight.

You're not wrong if in the right.

If you name it then you claim it.

BUG!

 

Mitzvah

 

The bigger the hole,

The longer to fill.

The deeper the valley,

The higher the hill.

The wider the longing,

The louder the cry.

Who's willing to help?

I am.

And I.

 

The bigger the bully,

The weaker the boy.

The greater the sorrow,

The better the joy.

The harder the hardship,

The more we must try.

Who's willing to help?

I am.

And I.

 

Chorus:

 

There's not enough time

To fill every hole;

Not enough tzedakah

For every soul.

But the greater the need,

The more we must try.

Who's willing to help?

I am.

And I.

 

The wider the sea,

The smaller the boat.

The greater the need,

The weaker the hope.

The longer the illness,

The sooner you die.

Who's willing to help?

I am.

And I.

 

The littler the child,

The larger the love.

The bigger the eagle,

The smaller the dove.

The farther we go,

The nearer we get.

The greater the stakes

The more we must bet.

 

Who's willing to help?

I am.

And I.

And I!

AND I!

EVERYBODY:

WHO'S WILLING TO HELP SAY—

AND I!

Glossary of Yiddish/Hebrew Words

Adonai:
The holy name for God in Hebrew.

 

Alefbet:
The Hebrew alphabet.

 

Alef:
The first letter in the Hebrew alphabet.

 

Aleichem shalom:
“Upon you be peace.” A Hebrew greeting.

 

Bar Mitzvah:
Hebrew. This literally means “one who has the obligation of fulfilling commandments,” so it marks the time when a boy is old enough to understand and become responsible for following certain rules of living. There are certain religious rites in the synagogue in which the boy takes part, in both Hebrew and his own language. And then, most often, there is a celebration or party afterward.

 

Bat Mitzvah:
Hebrew. The girl's version of bar mitzvah.

 

Bimah:
Hebrew. This is the platform in the synagogue where the Torah scroll is read aloud.

Drek:
Yiddish for trash, junk.

 

Frask:
Slap in the face.

 

Grober:
A crude person.

 

Hebrew:
A Semitic language, now seen as a Jewish language. It is the “Holy tongue,” the language of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians and others call the Old Testament, but Jews do not. It is one of the official languages of Israel (the others being Arabic and English). From the nineteenth century on, Hebrew was reinvented and revived by Eliezar Ben Yehuda and became the spoken language of Israel.

 

Kavod:
Hebrew for honor.

 

Kelev:
Hebrew for dog.

 

Klezmer:
Jewish folk music.

 

Livyatan:
The Hebrew word for whale.

 

Minyan:
Hebrew for ten adult Jews, the number necessary for prayer services. In the old days they had to be men, but in the Reform and some Conservative synagogues, woman can now be in the minyan as well. The Orthodox Jews still exclude women from the minyans.

 

Mitzvah:
Hebrew meaning a good deed.

 

Mossad:
“The Institute” The Israeli intelligence agency responsible for counter-terrorism and paramilitary operations.

 

Nazirite:
An ancient type of Jewish ascetic, typically they were forbidden to ever shave or cut their hair.

Philistines:
Ancient people of the southern coast of Canaan before the arrival of the Israelites.

 

Rabbi:
Hebrew word literally comes from the Hebrew word rav which means “master.” By that term was meant someone who was a master of the Torah and the teachings of Judiasm, a sage, a scholar, a teacher. For the most part these days the term is used for a Jewish religious leader with or without his or her own congregation. Reb is the shortened form, used informally.

 

Rabbinical:
Pertaining to a rabbi, usually used for teachings, wisdom, or rulings about Jewish law/customs.

 

Shabbat shalom:
Hebrew greeting on Shabbat or the Sabbath, which in Judaism is celebrated from sundown on Friday evening to sundown on Saturday evening.

 

Shablul:
The Hebrew word for slug.

 

Shalom:
The Hebrew word for peace, which is also used as a greeting and a farewell.

 

Shalom aleichem/Aleichem shalom:
Hebrew which means “Peace be upon you,/ To all of you, peace.” It is used both as a greeting and a farewell.

 

Shiva:
a week-long period of mourning after a death where the family stays at home and visitors come with food and comfort.

Shul:
Place of worship, another word for temple or synagogue.

 

Skullcap also called yarmulke or kepi:
The traditional Jewish head covering.

 

Synagogue:
Place of worship, another word for temple or shul.

 

Taw:
The last letter in the Hebrew alphabet.

 

Temple:
Place of worship, another word for shul or synagogue.

 

Torah:
A term that specifically means the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Usually referring to the scroll written in Hebrew, but can mean the printed text as well. Christians refer to this as the Old Testament but Jews do not.

 

Torah portion:
The section of the Torah corresponding to the date of the bar mitzvah boy's birth and read aloud by him, then talked about in his speech
.

 

Tzedakah:
The Hebrew word meaning charity.

 

Yahrzeit:
Lighting a candle at the year's commemoration of a loved one's death.

 

Yiddish:
the language of Eastern European Jews made up from medieval German and including words from Hebrew, Romance, and Slavic languages. At one point, actually up until the mid-twentieth century, it had a vibrant culture, a literary and poetic tradition, newspapers printed in the language, as well as stage plays and songs. Traditional Klezmer songs are usually sung in Yiddish.