VARIATIONS 1
Chazzan Man
The Art Of Silence
Our Minyan
Seasons In The Den
Shadchan
American Lie
Winds of Faith
Jacks and the Dreidle
Breaker “1-9”
Chazzan Man
(B. Joel/ E. Nathan)
It’s 4:45 in the morning,
The regular crowd shuffles in.
There’s an old man sitting next to me
In his tallis and wrapped in tfillin.
He says “son, can you sing me a nigun?
I’m not really sure how it goes,
But it’s sad and it’s sweet,
and I knew it complete,
And it comes from deep down in your soul.”
Sing us a song, you’re the chazzan man,
Sing us a song today.
Well, we’re all in the mood for a melody,
A nigun that will help us all pray.
Now, Joe’s got a store in the city,
Supposed to be there 9-5.
But he learns his daf-yomi,
Forgets about money,
Says he’s got enough to survive.
He says “Yossi, how I love to learn Torah,
How I love to follow its ways!
And soon I’ll have enough to retire,
And then I can stay here all day.”
Now, Velvel’s a real estate millionaire.
Gives tzedakah along with his wife,
And he’s learns with Akivah,
Who’s still in yeshiva,
And probably will be for life.
And no one is talking about politics
‘Cause they come here to learn and to pray.
Oh yes, these tzadikim, they come to vasikin,
And that’s how they start off each day.
(Sing us a song…)
It’s a pretty good crowd for a Wednesday
And the gabbai tells me to begin.
As the sound of my tune
Was heard through the room,
The rest of the people joined in.
And the sun rose above the horizon,
And the angels danced as we prayed
As we shared in the feeling called holiness,
Cause that’s how we start a new day
(Sing us a song… )
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Our Minyan
(J. Lennon/ P. McCartney/ D. Gold)
(Performed by Harold Fruchter)
There’s a shul in New Jersey that is one of a kind
Where ten people come and daven every day.
What makes it so special are the people inside,
Their backgrounds and the way in which they pray.
Nosson is a Yekki, he’s from Washington Heights, Sol graduated from Y.U.
Ben Shushan is a Sfardi that is pretty unique, 'cause he can daven like an Ashkenazi, too.
Oh, yes! What a mess! Have rachmonis!
How could such a minyan survive?
Oy veys mir! A gevalt! What latzonis!
What will keep this minyan alive?
Etan’s an Israeli with a kippa sruga, stands there with intense concentration.
Stanley is a lawyer, a baal tshuva, too. has a siddur with an English translation.
Yossi’s a yeshiva bochur, wears a black hat. Shaya wears a bekesha, you see.
Mendy is originally from Crown Heights and, of course, he davens nusach Ari.
(Oh, yes! What a mess…)
Alex came from Russia not so long ago and davens with a real terrific bren.
Fishel deals in diamonds, a baal tfilah, too and that brings us to our minyan of ten.
Yet no one ever seems to kvetch or complain. They consider one another best of friends,
For they know that together there all davening to the one and only Hashem.
What a sight! A delight! Its a kiddush Hashem.
Achdus keeps this minyan alive.
Me for you, you for me! We’re a team, you see.
With achdus our nation survives.
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The Art Of Silence
(P. Simon/ D. Gold)
Hello Shalom, my dear friend,
I've come to talk with you again.
We haven't spoken since 1903,
Around the turn of the century,
But the message that you planted in my brain
Still remains. It was the sound of silence.
You taught me then what words could do,
How they could twist and misconstrue.
Words can build and words can devastate.
Words can establish love or senseless hate
And like daggers, they can pierce a persons heart,
Split apart the very sound of silence.
And in 1931, I married off my eldest son.
When he asked me for some sound advice,
I told him "soundless" would be more precise.
You must measure every word that leaves your lips.
Relationships flourish on the sound of silence.
And in 1953, with my Grandson on my knee,
He asked the secret of longevity,
I said the trick is sensitivity.
You must judge every person favorably
Master the art of silence.
And in 1993, we’re still around for all to see.
As your 107th birthday nears,
I wish you many more joy-filled years.
My dear Shalom,
Such loyal friends are scarce and few
And, thanks to you,
We're spreading the sounds of silence.
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Seasons In The Den
(R. McKuen/ J. Brel/ E. Nathan)
Goodbye to you, my trusted friend,
We’ve always been together in the den
Together, wasting lots of time.
Learned of decadence and crime,
Immorality and grime.
Goodbye, my friend, it’s time you know
I’ve had enough of you, it’s time you go.
Before I watch another show
I can’t take it, can’t you see?
Goodbye to you, my dear TV.
We saw violence, we saw crime,
We saw decadence and grime.
On the channels, we could find
The destruction of our minds.
Goodbye to Starsky and to Hutch,
Archie Bunker and the Brady Bunch,
The Simpson family,
Empty laughs and comedy
And late night stupidity.
Goodbye to you, my Sony friend.
Escape from life and meaning ‘til the end
My trusty Trinitron,
Remote control would turn it on
And in seconds I’d be gone.
(We saw violence…)
Goodbye to you at NBC
And all the extra stuff on cable TV,
HBO and Pay-Per-View.
Geraldo, Oprah, Donahue,
I’ll do better without you.
Goodbye to you, my TV Guide,
Maxwell Smart and Ironside,
The potato chips and nosh,
In my living room, so posh.
Oh, what a mishugas!
(We saw violence…)
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Shadchan
(T. Hatch/D. Gold)
When you’re alone and life is making you lonely
You can always call the shadchan.
No need to worry, there’s no charge at all
When you decide to call the shadchan.
Just arrange a meeting and give them information,
How you earn a living and what’s your education.
Who will it be?
So, maybe just pick up a phone,
you can forget all your troubles,
don’t be all alone,
Call the shadchan, maybe you’ll find your mate
Shadchan... Call before it’s too late
Shadchan... Your zivug is waiting for you.
If you’ve had enough and life is getting too tough
You can always call the shadchan.
Who will it be, you won’t know ‘til you see them
When you get set up with the Shadchan.
So take a drive right over to the Marriott Marquis,
Conversation in the lobby or at the Olive Tree,
What will it be?
So maybe just pick up a phone,
you can forget all your troubles, don’t be all alone,
Call the shadchan, Sometimes they exaggerate.
Shadchan... Call before it’s too late
Shadchan... Your zivug is waiting for you.
If things don’t work out
Just the way that you planned them,
You can always blame the shadchan.
But if things develop
And the shidduch goes through,
Then you will thank that same shadchan.
The question that arises is “what’s the going price.”
“Does each side pay separately?” and
“What’s considered nice?”
The moment’s come.
The couple’s decided, the wedding’s in June,
Don’t forget what you promised and pay up real soon
To the shadchan, he helped you find your mate.
Shadchan... He helped you break the plate.
Shadchan.. Your zivug is married to you.
Shadchan... Don’t even hesitate.
Shadchan... Don’t be a cheapskate.
Shadchan... He found your zivug for you.
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American Lie
(D. McLean/ D. Gold/ E. Nathan/ G. Veroba)
A long, long time ago, I can still remember
How I dreamt of being a billionaire.
And I know that, if I had my way,
That I’d be super-rich one day
and maybe I’d be happy for a while.
Then luxury would all be mine,
All day long I’d wine and dine.
I’d have it my way, parties night and day.
Cadillacs, success and fame,
I’d quickly learn to play the game.
Happiness was there to buy, the day the music lied.
So, bye, bye, big American lie,
I tried to buy meaning with no meaning to buy.
They say “drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”
It’s the big American lie. It’s the big American lie.
Did you write the book of success
And will money buy you happiness?
Everybody tells you so.
You got the mansion and the swimming pool,
But you don’t even go to shul.
You’re in “Lincoln Continental-land.”
“A mansion and a Mercedes Benz
Will always bring you lots of friends.”
Hey, wake up you phony!
Don’t believe the baloney.
I had it all I couldn’t want more,
But didn’t know what I was livin’ for
Then suddenly I realized, that day, they all had lied.
I started singing… (bye, bye…)
Now, for ten years I’ve been on my own
Since I came to that wall of stone
It’s called the western wall.
“Say, have you met the Shabbos queen?”
Said Meyer Schuster, like a dream.
“The torah,” he said, “it’s made for you and me.”
“Now, when Hashem created mortal man,
You know he had a special plan.”
I went to yeshiva to stay.
It blew my mind away.
While men were reading the book from the arc,
those words went straight into my heart
And I came out from the dark, the day the music lied.
I started singing…(bye, bye…)
He's got Master Card, American Express,
Diners Club, Visa but he's all depressed
He's got some money and falling fast
Go out now and mow the grass,
Soon the need for truth will pass.
Tomorrow is another day.
“Hey, bought another car this week but his one has leather seats,”
A new PC to play, I'm happy for a day.
With my Concorde and a case of gin,
There's no place I haven't been
There soon was no place left to go, so I sat down to learn.
I started singing..... (bye, bye...)
I only wished I’d heard before,
all I want and maybe more, but better late then never, they say
Now, sink your teeth into a torah pshat,
Some tosephos or your daily blatt
Get some holy food to feed your mind
Don’t waste time on silly things, on Cadillacs and fancy rings
No designer thing you wear will help you out upstairs
We’ve had enough with songs that say,
“We’re only living for today.”
Time to sing a song of truth, the day the music lied.
So, (bye, bye…)
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Winds of Faith
(B. Dylan/ Y. Gold)
How do we know that each day we exist
Is a chance to pursue what is right?
And how do we know that each mitzvah we do
Creates an eternal light?
And how do we know that there will be a time
When the children of Hashem will re-unite?
The answer, my son, is "Hashem has told us so."
He spoke through our prophets long ago.
How do we know that the torah is real,
That each and every letter is true?
And how do we know that each day we exist
Our lives have been granted anew?
And how do we know that the love in our hearts
Is there to be shared with every Jew?
The answer, my friend, we heard on Har Sinai.
Hashem himself has spoken from on high.
How do we know that there's only one G-d,
Whose glory fills the earth and the sea?
And how do we know He created this world,
Only to give joy to you and me?
How will I know what to answer my son
When he asks all these questions of me?
The answer, my son, is a faith so sure and true,
Our fathers passed it down to me and you.
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Jacks and the Dreidle
(H. Chapin/ T. Circle)
My child was born just the other day
We gave him a bris in the traditional way.
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned the aleph beis when I was away.
He started learning chumash and as he grew he’d say
“I want to learn with you dad,
You know I want to learn with you.”
And the jacks and the dreidle and a red balloon
Little boy Dov grew up so soon
“When can we learn dad?”
“ I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, son,
You know we’ll learn together then.”
My boy was Bar Mitzvah on a shabbos day
He read from the torah in a beautiful way.
He asked me “Abba, can we learn today?”
I said “not right now”, he said “that’s okay”
And as he walked away his smile never dimmed
It said, “I’m gonna learn with him, yeah,
Someday I’m gonna learn with him.”
(And the jacks and the dreidle…)
Well he came from yeshiva just the other day
A young, pious man I just had to say
“Son I’m proud of you, can we talk for awhile?”
He said “I’d love to dad”, with a great big smile
“What I’d really love most is to study tonight,
If you want to come it’s quite alright.”
(And the jacks and the dreidle…)
It’s been some time since my son moved away
Now I call him up almost every day.
We talk about the parsha and the things he learns
And how around the torah this whole world turns.
I feel so refreshed when the call is through
“It’s really nice talking to you son,
It’s sure nice learning with you.”
And as I hung up the phone, I could feel in my heart,
It’s never to late to start, yeah,
It’s never to late to start.
(And the jacks and the dreidle…)
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Breaker “1-9”
(D. Gold)
I was on the outskirts of a little Southern town
Trying to reach my destination before the sun went down.
This old CB was blaring away on channel “1-9”
When there came a little boy’s voice on the radio line.
He said, “Breaker ‘1-9’ is anyone there?
Come on back truckers, talk to Dovie Bear.”
Well I keyed the mike and I said “You got it, Dovie Bear”
And the little boy’s voice came back on the air.
Appreciate the break who we got on that end?
I told him my name and then he began.
“Now I’m not supposed to bother you fellas out there.|
Mom says you’re busy and for me to stay off the air.
But you see I’m disabled and unable to walk
And a little disappointed, you mind if we talk?”
I came back and told him to fire up that mike
And I’d talk to him as long as he’d like.
“Well this here’s my dad’s radio and he’s outside in the yard,
you see Succos is tonight and he’s finding it pretty hard.
My dad’s great when it comes to selling wholesale
But he’s not handy when it comes to hammers and nails.
He’s sure trying awful hard to put up those four walls
But each time it just collapses and falls.
I could tell he’s upset and running out of patience
And I guess I won’t have a chance to hang up my decorations.
I wish I could help him but there’s not much I can do
But thank you for listening, it’s been sure nice talking to you.”
Well I came back and said “before you go ‘10-10,’
What’s your home twenty CB friend?”
Well he gave me his address and I didn’t once hesitate
Because this hot load of freight is just gonna have to wait.
I turned that truck around on a dime
And headed to Sherwood Street “2-2-9”.
As I rounded the corner I saw a man standing on a ladder.
He looked up at me and you could tell he just couldn’t be gladder.
I don’t really know what Succos is
But when it comes to hammers and nails, I’m a real whiz.
And before you could say, “eenie, meenie, minie, mo…”
That succah was up and ready to go.
Well of course they appreciated it and invited me to stay.
It was my very first Succos and it was great I must say.
Since then I’ve become an observant Jew.
I’ve got a balabusta of my own and a shabbos table too.
So if you ever need a little help just call Breaker “1-9”
Ask for Yankel, I’m here all the time.
I’m signing off now all my CB friends.
“10-4,” good buddies, catch you all again.
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