A sheynem kholem hob ikh oysgetrakht

A likhtikn, a klorn

Az mir aleyn hot zikh shoyn oysgedakht

Ikh ze im oyf der vor

Un geven iz mayn kholem basheydn  

Nor a vinkl, a heym, nor a dakh

Un ikh bin mit mayn kholem gevezn tsufridn

Farvos hot men mikh oysgelakht?

A lebn geyt farbay in eynzamkayt

Di beste tsayt in umet

Vi lang bin ikh geven, nu freg ikh aykh

Mit ale mentsn glaykh?

Froyen, geboyrene in beyze sho-en

Dan ven es loyert shrek oyf yedn trit

In shvere keyrn aykh geshmidt

Shvester! Oyf aykh ligt itst der yokh der grester

Dan ven ir kert tsurik fun mi un payn

Badarft ir oykh a mame zayn

Es iz farvert, tseshtert dos glik

Fun yorn lang geshpint

Un s’iz aykh fremd

Di treyst, di freyd

Fun ayer eygn kind

Kinder, ir zayt vi shefelekh, vi rinder

Ir trogt di zorg di groyse far der tsayt

Un klert un trakht vi alte layt

Shvester! Oyf aykh ligt itst der yokh der grester

Dan ven ir kert tsurik fun mi un payn

Badarft ir oykh a mame zayn

Second verse, not on Tango Yona’s CD

Fartog, di shtot in shlof iz ayngehilt

Un es dremlt nakht oyf shoybn

Un ergets hoykh oyf dekher fray

Hobn zikh tsevorket toybn

Nor du geyst gefast in kolone

Un oyf shvern bruk klingen op

dayne hiltserne trit Vi in keytn geshmidt

Un hilkhn op vayt-vayt in gas

Un nit bay undz, oyf veykhn betgevant

Shlofn froyen nokh tsepyeshtshet

In droysn klepn zikh di oygn mid

Farshteyen nit farvos

Froyen, geboyrene in beyze sho-en

Dan ven es loyert shrek oyf yedn trit

In shvere keyrn aykh geshmidt (fits tune better)

Shvester! Oyf aykh ligt itst der yokh der grester

Dan ven ir kert tsurik fun mi un payn

Badarft ir oykh a mame zayn

Es iz farvert, tseshtert dos glik

Fun yorn lang geshpint

Un s’iz aykh fremd

Di treyst, di freyd

Fun ayer eygn kind

Froyen, s’veln farshvindn beyze sho-en!

Far undzer tsar, far undzer leyd un payn

Vet a treyst far undz nokh zayn

I thought up a good dream

Radiant and clear

As I myself imagined it

I see it as if it were true

And my dream was modest

Just a corner, a home, just a roof

And I was content with my dream

Why did people laugh at me?

A life passes in loneliness

The best of times in sadness

How long since I was – nu, I am asking you all –

Equal to all other people?

Women, born in bad hours,

At a time when terror lies in ambush at every step

You are shackled in heavy chains

Sisters! Upon you, now, lies the greatest yoke

At the time when you return from effort and pain

You also have to be a mother

Forbidden, destroyed is happiness

Woven since long years

And it is foreign to you –

The comfort, the joy

From your own child.

Children, you are like little sheep, like cattle

You carry the greatest worry before your time

And think and ponder like old people

Sisters! Upon you, now, lies the greatest yoke

At the time when you return from effort and pain

You also have to be a mother

Before daybreak, the city is wrapped in sleep

And night is napping on the windowpanes

And somewhere, high, on the roofs, free,

Doves have been cooing intensely

Only you go trapped in a column [image of marching along?]

And on the heavy cobblestones resound

Your wooden steps, as if shackled in chains

And echo far far in the street

And not by us, on soft beddings,

Do women still sleep like spoiled children

Outside, tired eyes stick together

Not understanding why

Women, born in bad hours,

At a time when terror lies in ambush at every step

You are shackled in heavy chains

Sisters! Upon you, now, lies the greatest yoke

At the time when you return from effort and pain

You also have to be a mother

Forbidden, destroyed is happiness

Woven since long years

And it is foreign to you –

The comfort, the joy

From your own child.

Women, bad hours will disappear!

From our sorrow, from our suffering and pain

There will yet be comfort for us