Lyrics Ketzele Baroiges (Why Are You Angry) - The Barry Sisters

Ketzele Baroiges (Why Are You Angry)

Vos-zhe bistu, ketsele broyges,
vos geystu aropgelozt di noz?
Oy efsher vilstu visn dayn yikhes,
ken ikh dir zogn ver un vos …
Dayn tate iz a shmarovoznik,
dayn mame ganvet fish in mark,
un dayn bruder iz a kartyozhnik,
un dayn shvester geyt mit a soldat
Dayn feter iz geshtanen oyf di rogn,
dayn mume — a hendlerke in mark,
un dayn bruder zitst in di ostrogn,
un dayn shvester geyt mit a matros …
Dayn zeyde iz geven a shoykhet,
dayn bobe — a tukerin in bod,
un aleyn bistu, oy, a mamzer,
un genumen bistu fun priut …
English Translation:
Why, little kitten, are you so angry?
Why is your nose turned down?
Oy, perhaps you’d like to know your breeding?
I can tell you who and what:
Your father greases wagon wheels
Your mother steals fish at the fair
And your brother is a card-sharp
And your sister lives with a Cossack.
Your uncle hangs around streetcorners
Your aunt a street-peddler
And your brother sits in prison
And your sister… ai-di-di-dai-dai-dum.
Your grandpa was a butcher
Your grandma a bath-house attendant
And you yourself are a bastard
Taken from an orphanage.