Jewish partisans' anthem in the Jewish partisans memorial in Giv'ataym, Israel
Zog Nit Keyn Mol (Template:Lang-yi) (also referred to as Partizaner Lid or "Partisan song") is the name of a Yiddish song considered one of the chief anthems of Holocaust survivors and is sung in memorial services around the world.
The lyrics Glick wrote were set to music from a pre-war Soviet song written by Pokrass brothers, Dmitri and Daniel, "Терская походная" (Terek Cossacks' March Song), also known as "То не тучи - грозовые облака" (Those aren't clouds but thunderclouds), originally from the 1937 film I, Son of Working People. The lyrics of the original song were written by Aleksey Surkov. This song was first performed by the well-known Soviet singer Leonid Utyosov.
Never say this is the final road for you,
Though leaden skies may cover over days of blue.
As the hour that we longed for is so near,
Our step beats out the message: we are here!
From lands so green with palms to lands all white with snow.
We shall be coming with our anguish and our woe,
And where a spurt of our blood fell on the earth,
There our courage and our spirit have rebirth!
The early morning sun will brighten our day,
And yesterday with our foe will fade away,
But if the sun delays and in the east remains –
This song as motto generations must remain.
This song was written with our blood and not with lead,
It's not a little tune that birds sing overhead,
This song a people sang amid collapsing walls,
With pistols in hand[1] they heeded to the call.
Therefore never say the road now ends for you,
Though leaden skies may cover over days of blue.
As the hour that we longed for is so near,
Our step beats out the message: we are here!
zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho,
s'vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!
fun grinem palmenland biz vaysn land fun shney,
mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey,
un vu gefaln iz a shprits fun undzer blut,
shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut!
s'vet di morgnzun bagildn undz dem haynt,
un der nekhtn vet farshvindn mit dem faynt,
nor oyb farzamen vet di zun in der kayor –
vi a parol zol geyn dos lid fun dor tsu dor.
dos lid geshribn iz mit blut, un nit mit blay,
s'iz nit keyn lidl fun a foygl oyf der fray,
dos hot a folk tsvishn falndike vent
dos lid gezungen mit naganes in di hent.
to zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho –
es vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!
A musical physical theater work entitled "Leaden Skies," produced in part in the San Francisco Bay area in 2008 and 2009,[2][3] uses the imagery of the song "Zog Nit Keyn Mol" as an anthem and inspirational launching point. The Holocaust themes and inner thoughts of the prisoner characters are explored by using "drama, original music, and physical theatre choreography to explore its thought-provoking subject."[4] Written by author Martin A. David, with original music by Los Angeles-based musician Jacob A. Hall.[5]
References
^The actual words used are "with nagants in the hand", a reference to the Nagant M1895 pistol, widely used in the early Soviet Union and having a reputation for ruggedness
