A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
About "Der Shmayser"
ORKESTAR KRIMINAL: GISELLE CLAUDIA WEBBER (voice), SAM MINEVICH (electric guitar, bouzouki), LISA GAMBLE (musical saw, tambourine), INGRID WISSINK (fiddle, trumpet), MILAN SIMAS (clarinet), JULIE RICHARD (sousaphone), ALLEN WATSKY (steel string guitar), ETIENNE BARRY (accordion), ANNA FRANCES MEYER (backup vocals), PETER (SPANKY) HOROWITZ (drums).

Recorded September, 2014 at HOTEL 2 TANGO in Montréal, Canada.

Audio Engineer: HOWARD BILERMAN

Produced by: HOWARD BILERMAN and GISELLE CLAUDIA WEBBER

Mastered by: HARRIS NEWMAN at Grey Market Mastering


lyrics
1. Der Shmayser (The Wagon-Driver)

Ver s'hot felder,

Ver s'hot velder,

Ver s'hot a droshke,

Un ikh hob nor tsores, dales,

A balbeysl moshke.

Hey, ferdlekh flit zhe yogt zhe,

Shlept zhe di parshoynim:

Moshken reyves muz men brengen,

Andersh vet nisht loynen.

Ver s'hot shof

Un ver s'hot rinder,

Ver s'hot gor tekher,

Un ikh hob a vayb un kinder

hoyzn ful mit lekher.

Ver s'zitst af shtuln, benklekh,

Un ver in foteln,

Un ikh zits af moshkes kelnye

Trayb tsu di hoteln.

Zukh a porets zikh a khone,

A mlune zukh a latkhn,

Muz ikh hern, zen un shvaygn,

Tsu mol nokh zayn der shadkhn.

Brent der frost, brot di zun,

Tsi s'geyt a regn,

Ikh muz shtendik umetum

Zukhn naye vegn.

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Who has fields,

Who has forests,

Who has a wagon,

And I have only troubles, poverty,

And a boss, Moshke.

Hey! Horses, fly! Pull!

Haul around the people:

One must bring profits to Moshke,

Otherwise I won't earn.

Who has sheep,

And who has cows,

Who has only rags,

And I have a wife and children

And pants full of holes.

Who sits on stools, chairs,

And who in easy chairs,

And I sit on Moshke’s coachbox,

Driving to the hotels.

A rich man looks for a hooker,

A crook looks for a hideout,

I must hear, see and be silent,

Occasionally I am the matchmaker.

The frost burns, the sun roasts,

It may even rain,

I must always,

Look for new ways.