"Songs from all over the world"
Dana
Dana / Dona Dona
November 24, 2001
"Dana Dana" is a very popular American song, that is well known in English as "Dona Dona". It's sung in some countries and has been sung in many Japanese schools for a long time. The original Yiddish song was for the theater piece "Esterke" (1940/41). The text was written by Aaron Zeitlin (1889-1973), and the music was written by Sholom Secunda (1894-1974). Both of them are Jewish and the song was written in the time of the Nazis.
1.Original Yiddish
1) The author and the composer
The author, Aaron Zeitlin (or Ahron Tzeitlin) 1889-1973, was born in Russia and lived in Poland.
The composer, Shalom Secunda （or Sholom Secunda) 1894-1974, was born in Ukraine and was educated in America. He worked at a Jewish theater from 1937 to the beginning of the 1940s.
2) The manuscript
You can see the notes, manuscript and scores with "Esterke" http://www.yap.cat.nyu.edu/ . The style of clefs, beams of notes and the handwriting are similar in all the scores, although there are little differences in the stems of some notes. Secunda wrote two types of "D", an English style and a German style. Therefore I believe that all of the scores were written by Shalom Secunda.
The original is 2/4, in G minor for a duo of a man and a
woman, choral with the orchestral accompaniment. Secunda wrote "Dana-
" for the
orchestral score and "Dana Dana" for the vocal scores. The Yiddish text was
written with roman alphabet. You can see the Hebrew text with "Esterke"
http://www.yap.cat.nyu.edu/
that I have already written. He wrote for the choral score
"Andantino" ( some slowly) and "sempre staccato" (Play staccato always!
staccato=separate clearly each of the notes ). The melody of the introduction was
also used at the end of the song. He wrote "piEmosso" (
more rapidly) for the refrain and some passages that emphasize the winds.
First, a woman (Secunda wrote "she") sings four bars and then the man (Secunda wrote "he") sings the next four. They sing together from the refrain. Although singing the third part of "Dana Dana" (="Dana Dana Dana Dana....") the man sometimes sings lower than the melody using disjunct motions. The melody is refrained. Then "he" sings the melody, and "she" sometimes sings "Dana", other times sings "Ah" with a high voice or technical passage. Secunda wrote "molto rit." (gradually very slowly) for the ending of the first verse. There are some difference between the original and the melody that are well known.) Secunda wrote "ha ha ha " for the choral score with the broken chords. I was surprised, because I used "ha ha ha "too, when I arranged the song for a Duo and Piano for my musical research. As I prepared the song I was not aware of his original piece. I used "ha ha ha "with some conjunct motions.
3) The Text
Dana Dana (Original Yiddish)
oyfn furl ligt dos kelbl,
ligt gebundn mit a shtrik.
hoykh in himl flit dos shvelbl,
freyt zikh, dreyt zikh hin un krik.
.....
l
2. English "Dona Dona"
The very popular English translation of "Dana Dana", which is now "Dona Dona" was translated by Arthur Kevess and Teddi Schwartz ca.1956. By the translation, Schwarz changed "Dana" to "Dona" and "Dan" to "Don" or "Down" so it would be pronounced more like the original. The song became very popular, after Joan Baez sang it with her guitar. She didn't notice the spelling changes and sang with different pronunciations. This is the English translated text with some annotations explaining the difference between the translated text and the original.).
Dona Dona
On a wagon bound for market
There's a calf with a mournful eye. (I think it's related to the Judean sacrifice.)
High above him there's a swallow
Winging swiftly through the sky. (The original means the swallow is pleased, turn in around.)
......
I think the following words mean:
calf= an arrested Jew
swallow (in the first verse) =someone who wasn't destined to persecution.
the farmer=a Nazi
swallow (in the third verse) = the free spirit of the arrested Jew
3. What does "Dana" mean?
Let us suppose that "Dana" means one, some or all of the following! I collected a lot of materials and analyzed them.
1) A repeated word such as "la la la..."
I noticed that Aaron Zeitlin lived in Poland and the scene of the story "Esterke" was set there.
"Dana Dana", in Polish, means something like "la la la"
2) A word to herd calves
Chaba Alberstein is a
Judean singer and
was born in Poland just after World War II. I recommend
her CD in Part 6. She wrote on her CD jacket that the driver urges on his team.
3) A word for "cow"
In Turkish "Dana" means "cow".
4) A female name
"Dana" is a popular female name in some countries, especially among Jews.
4. What does "Dana Dana"
show?
I read that Aaron Zeitlin had written many texts about Ghetto. ( Ghetto is
the area where the segregated Judean
lived.) But I understand that the musical "Esterke"
didn't show Ghetto. But I think "Dana Dana" both shows and hides the holocaust as some people say.
5. The atmosphere of "Dana Dana"
The atmosphere of this song is similar to the music of Kurt Weil (1900-1950), who composed "Die Dreigroschenoper". The music of Hanns Eisler (1898-1962) also has the same feel to it. I think "Dana Dana" should be sung in an upbeat manner.
6. Recommend Listening
1) Chaba Alberstein "Yiddish Songs" Record Label EMD Distribution
This CD features many
songs concerning the affects of the Jewish life in Poland. Although the material
is quite sad, it is sung in positive and upbeat tone.
2)"Dona, Dona "- The Zamir
Chorale
The Zamir Chorale You can hear a sample and purchase this CD at http://jewishmusic.com
.
7. The others
The Joan Baez version "Dona Dona" was a big hit in the middle of the 1960s,
and it brought international recognition to the song. It was
prohibited in the South Korea as a communist song. At the time, the South Korea was a
militaristic country and many students were being arrested as political offenders.
Before I arranged the song, I had never heard of Joan Baez and I hadn't heard any of her music. After the arrangement I heard some CDs featuring her. I think her version of the song was embraced by many people and the song became popular in many countries. Her song was keeping with the musical flavor of the times, which helped it to become more accessible to a wider audience.
I opened the page on November 24, 2001.
Last Update August 31,
2002