Tuesday, December 13, 2011

"Havah Nagilah": Disco Hanukkah

Only 6 more shopping days till Hanukkah! Although I'm not Jewish, some of my best friends.... even better than best friends... have been and still are! Let's just say I've been very close to Jews in my life, and am grateful for that. In fact, I know how to sing the following song in Hebrew (and in English translation)! Learned it in grade school, School #10, Paterson, NJ, ain't ashamed to say it.

It's no longer just a Festival of Lights, people, it's a Festival of Disco Lights now that Dj Buddy Beaverhausen has something to do with it! Let the mirror balls spin, and you'll be spinning like dreydlekh, believe you me. And what says Jewish more than "Fiddler on the Roof?" Barbra Streisand? Ofrah Haza? Sandra Bernhard? No way! How about ye olde Havah Nagilah? Cuz there's nothing like Hebrew folk music from the Ukraine to get me goin', and now it gets all Queer as Folk by getting a 1979 dancefloor treatment by the Italian hiNRG group, Azoto.

So, as the translation to this song's bridge goes: "Whirl and spin about,/Lift up your arms and shout!/Join hands and skip along,/Dance, everyone, dance!" You don't have to be Jewish to love "HN!" Even Harry Belafonte had a pop radio hit with it.
So get down tonight and uru, uru ahim, babies (roughly, "get down on it, people")!

Dj Glenn Rivera has fiddled around to supply scenes from the film version of "Fiddler" to this song, so you can groove on the video attached.

L'chaim! Happy Hanukkah to everyone, but blowing a special holiday kiss out to Israel tonight! Bless you all, my Jewish mentors, lovers, friends and acquaintances! I love you, everyone. We have one world with no room for hate; let's get it together.


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