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Tumbalalaika

"Tumbalalaika", "Tum balalaika" or "Tum balalayke" () is an American Ashkenazi Jewish popular love song in the Yiddish language. The title refers to the balalaika, a three-stringed musical instrument of Russian origin. The song was written by Abraham Ellstein for The Barry Sisters, and was published by him in 1940. Its text was loosely based on a traditional Ukrainian song, "Letiv Ptashok".

Lyrics

Meaning

While most versions use ('a stone') as the answer to "what can grow without rain", some versions use ('understanding').

Cultural references and covers

  • The song "Over and Over" by Nana Mouskouri uses this melody. It followed the singer's French version "Roule s'enroule" (lyrics by ).
  • The song "Tumbalalaika (The Riddle)" by Natalia Zukerman is a poetic adaptation of this to English, with the chorus remaining in Yiddish.
  • The Barry Sisters version of the song appears in episode 5, season 2 ("Midnight At The Concord") of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
  • Benny Hill adapted the melody for one of his own compositions, "Anna Marie," which he performed on his first special for Thames Television on November 19, 1969.
  • The film Khrustalyov, My Car! shows a young Jewish boy singing the song in Russian.
  • The song is used in the film Swing by Tony Gatlif.
  • The song is used in the play ' by Tony Kushner and the film based on this play. It is sung by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg to Roy Cohn, dying of AIDS.
  • The song is used in the film Prendimi l'anima/The Soul Keeper (2002) by Roberto Faenza.
  • A metal version of the song is included in the first Metal Yiddish album AlefBase by Gevolt, released in March 2011.
  • A pastiche of the song is used in the play The Hamlet of Stepney Green: A Sad Comedy with Some Songs by Bernard Kops.
  • The song is included in the album Homenatge a Xesco Boix, a tribute to . The latter used to play in his concerts for children. Also included in Cançons catalanes de Folk in 1976 (Terra Nostra).
  • The song appears in the novel The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros.
  • A Vietnamese version, "Tình Nồng Cháy" (Passioned love), with lyrics by Anh Bằng, based on the English lyrics of "Over and Over", uses this melody.
  • The Berlin-based electro swing duo Masha Ray covered the song in 2023.
  • The song is used in the film Fanny's Journey during the closing credits, and is heard in the middle of the film sung by some of the cast.

References