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

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.