Dave’s Gone By Song (3/14/2012): SHMINI ATZERET
Joined by accompanist Richard Shore, Rabbi Sol Solomon tells tales of this lesser-known Jewish holiday.
This song was written for the live stage show, Shalom Dammit! An Evening with Rabbi Sol Solomon, which was filmed March 14, 2012 during the play’s run at off-off-Broadway’s Richmond Shepard Theater.
To date, the song has not been played on the “Dave’s Gone By” program hosted by Dave Lefkowitz. Full episodes are available on youtube, Facebook (davesgoneby), Spotify, and on DavesGoneBy.com.
All content (c)2012 TotalTheater Productions.
More information on Dave’s Gone By: http://www.davesgoneby.com
SHMINI ATZERET
(Lyrics: David Lefkowitz. Music: Cab Calloway and Irving Mills’s “Minnie the Moocher”)
This is a song about Shmini Atzeret
It’s just three minutes – if you can bear it
We sit around in the Sukkah together
Hoping for peace and half-decent weather
Chai dee chai dee chai dee chai
Cho dee cho dee cho dee cho
Chee dee chee dee chee dee chee
Cho dee cho dee cho
I sit all day with a bible in front o’ me
Until I reach the end of Deuteronomy
We dance around, say prayers, and then
we have to start with Genesis all over again
Chai dee chai dee chai dee chai
Ribbity bibbity bobbity bay
Oosha oosha oosha boom
Cho dee cho dee chay
There was a Rabbi on this happy day
He drank too much and got carried away
They found him crouching behind the Sukkah
Strung out on crank with an underage hooka
Oy dee oy dee oy dee oy
Tradition!
Yodel odel odel le hee
Cho dee cho dee cho
There was a Rabbi, we’ll call him “Freddy”
He did brisses, but his hands were not steady
They tracked him down; what they saw was creepy
They found three knives and a sack full of peepees
Oh dee oy dee oy dee oy
Hey sexy lady!
Spiddleeobledeebahboodleebobbledee, etc. (gibberish)
Cho dee cho dee cho
Well, that’s the story of Shmini Atzeret
I’m glad that you, my friends, were here to hear it
It may be minor, but one thing is sure
I’ll take it any day over Yom K’friggin-pur
Chai dee chai dee chai dee chai
Cho dee cho dee cho dee cho
Chee dee chee dee chee dee chee
Cho dee cho dee cho
Ooy vey, ooy vey, ooy vey.
(c)2011 David Lefkowitz