"Hava Nagila" is one of the first modern Jewish folk songs in the
Hebrew language. It went on to become a staple of band performers at
Jewish weddings and bar/
bat(b'nei) mitzvah celebrations.
Abraham Zevi Idelsohn (1882–1938), a professor at
Hebrew University, began cataloging all known Jewish music and teaching classes in musical composition; one of his students was a promising cantorial student,
Moshe Nathanson, who with the rest of his class was presented by the professor with a 19th-century, slow, melodious, chant (niggun or nigun) and assigned to add rhythm and words to fashion a modern Hebrew song. There are competing claims regarding "Hava Nagila"'s composer, with both Idelsohn and Nathanson being suggested.[3][4]
The niggun has been attributed to the
Sadigurer Chasidim, who lived in what is now
Ukraine.[3] This version has been recreated by Daniel Gil, based on a traditional song collected by
Susman Kiselgof.[5] The text was probably refined by Idelsohn.[6] Members of the community began to
immigrate to
Jerusalem in 1915, and Idelsohn wrote in 1932 that he had been inspired by that melody.[2]
Lyrics
Transliteration
Hebrew text
English translation
Hava nagila
הבה נגילה
Let's rejoice
Hava nagila
הבה נגילה
Let's rejoice
Hava nagila ve-nismeḥa
הבה נגילה ונשמחה
Let's rejoice and be happy
(repeat)
Hava neranenah
הבה נרננה
Let's sing
Hava neranenah
הבה נרננה
Let's sing
Hava neranenah ve-nismeḥa
הבה נרננה ונשמחה
Let's sing and be happy
(repeat)
Uru, uru aḥim!
!עורו, עורו אחים
Awake, awake, brothers!
Uru aḥim be-lev sameaḥ
עורו אחים בלב שמח
Awake brothers with a happy heart
(repeat line three times)
Uru aḥim, uru aḥim!
!עורו אחים, עורו אחים
Awake, brothers, awake, brothers!
Be-lev sameaḥ
בלב שמח
With a happy heart
Notable performers
Singer
Harry Belafonte is known for his version of the song, which was recorded for his album Belafonte at Carnegie Hall, recorded at the titular
Carnegie Hall in 1959.[7] He rarely gave a concert without singing it, and stated that the two "stand out" songs from his professional career were "
The Banana Boat Song" and "Hava Nagila".[3][8][unreliable source?] Belafonte noted and claimed, "Life is not worthwhile without it. Most Jews in America learned that song from me."[9]
Neil Diamond, in addition to having performed Hava Nagila in his 1994 Live In America concert,[13] incorporated it into The Jazz Singer, based on
Samson Raphaelson's play, in which he acted out a cantor with popular-music ambitions.
Abraham Zevi Idelsohn published the Hebrew song book, Sefer Hashirim, in 1922, which includes the first publication of his arrangement of "Hava Nagila". He also produced the first commercial recording in 1922, on the Polyphon record label ("Order No. 8533."), as part of a series which recorded 39 Hebrew folk songs.[18]
After every home Maccabi Tel Aviv win, the fan group
The Gate, which is the biggest Maccabi fan group, start chanting Hava Nagila.[24][failed verification]
Association football
Ajax Amsterdam
Supporters of the Dutch
association football club
AFC Ajax, although not an official Jewish club, commonly use Jewish imagery. A central part of Ajax fans' culture, "Hava Nagila" can often be heard sung in the Stadium by the team's supporters, and at one point ringtones of "Hava Nagila" could even be downloaded from the club's official website.[25][26][27]
Tottenham Hotspur
Supporters of the
English football club
Tottenham Hotspur commonly refer to themselves as "
Yids" and say they are strongly associated with
Jewish symbolism and culture. "Hava Nagila" has been adopted as an anthem of sorts by the club, and was one of the most frequently sung songs at the team's former stadium at
White Hart Lane.[28][29]
Ice Hockey
Montreal Canadiens
Hava Nagila can often be heard during game stoppages being played on the
Centre Bell organ.
Other versions
George Lam recorded a
Cantonese version of "Hava Nagila" titled《
狂歡》("Carnival") for his 1981 album《活色生香》.
^
abcRoberta Grossman, Director/Producer; Sophie Sartain, Writer/Producer (2012).
Hava Nagila (The Movie)(NTSC B&W and color, widescreen, closed-captioned). Los Angeles, CA, USA: Katahdin Productions, More Horses Productions.
OCLC859211976. Retrieved 3 September 2015. The song you thought you knew. The story you won't believe.