In reply to message #2
Shlama Akhi Dean: "Hava nagila" is a Hebrew song of joy which is usually sung at Jewish weddings. It is also the name of a very clutzy dance where we try to step each leg behind the other while staying in a circle and clapping. You might therefore call it Jewish Country Circle dancing. I am sorry but, because I am only mimicing sounds from memory, I can't say what it means. Perhaps Shmuel can help there. It is also one of those songs that everyone sings and almost no one knows the real meaning to...like Auld Lang Syne...what is THAT? If you are forgetting old acquaintances, why are you drinking to them??? As near as I can remember it goes... Ha-va na-gi-la, ha-va, na-gi-la, ha-va, na-gi-la eh-yitz-ra-ha (?)(repeat for a total of 2 times). Then it gets to a middle part, very roughly: Ha-va yah-man-ah-ha (?), Ha-va yah-man-a-ha, ha-va yah-man-ah-ha eh yitzraha. (again repeats for a total of two times) After that repeats, it modulates into another key: Una-ma-vee b'ritz ma ha-ney...something, something...(very fast about 4 times) And ends... Una ma vee, una ma vee ...something. Because of its festive usage, it is not always sung precisely. I can't vouch for the accuracy of what I have heard myself or other people do, and I hope I won't get shot for being a bit irreverent, but it is a very joyful and boisterous song, and I have heard more than my share of--- shall we say-- less than original renderings like: Ha-va te-qui-la, ha-va te-qui-la, ha-va te-qui-la, then sit back down! The funny thing was, no one who was dancing seemed to notice the difference. Again, please forgive me for being a bit tongue in cheek...it's not exactly the type of thing I have seen written down somehwere and can therefore deliver with precision. Shlama w'burkate... L'CHAIM! Andrew Gabriel Roth PS- Please Shmuel don't be mad at me.
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