Mother Sarah Sings a Lullaby to Isaac
/From Genesis – Songs/
by Itzik Manger
1.
Sing liu, liu, liu, liulinkeh
Sleep little Isaac, sleep
The shepherd in the meadow
is grazing his sheep.
Says one little sheep it’s day,
another says it’s night, of course,
for Beryl the storekeeper
has closed his little store.
Because at David Ber the smith’s
you cannot hear a sound,
and Lazer the miller too
twirls his mustache round and round.
The first says: no it is day
for in the tsadik’s* house
a clever cat is learning
the chapter about a mouse.
And on the Cantor’s roof
the tailor’s goat eats on a gable,
while little Isaac lies awake
not sleeping in his cradle.
The shepherd says – well meh,
let’s all take a walk, all right?
and ask little Isaac himself –
is it day or is it night?
Nu, ay liu liu liu Isaac
Ay liu liu liu sleep,
At the door the shepherd stands
waiting with his sheep.
2.
So quiet, quiet little shepherd
you see that it is night,
for Abraham our Father
sleeps with eyes closed tight.
And seven drops of dew again
sparkle on red poppies
and on their perches, fast asleep
are the rooster and the hen.