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Tzena, Tzena, Tzena
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Wikipedia article
"'Tzena, Tzena, Tzena'" , sometimes "'Tzena, Tzena'", is a song, written in 1941 in Hebrew. Its music is by Issachar Miron (a.k.a. Stefan Michrovsky), a Polish emigrant in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel), and the lyrics are by .
History
Miron, born in 1919, left Poland at the age of 19 in the late 1930s, thus avoiding the Holocaust. In 1941, while serving in the Jewish Brigade of the British forces, he composed the melody for lyrics written by Chagiz. The song became popular in Palestine and was played on the Kol Yisrael radio service.
Julius Grossman, who did not know who composed the song, wrote the so-called third part of "Tzena" circa November 1946. After hearing Pete Seeger performing 'Tzena', with The Weavers as backing, Gordon Jenkins made an arrangement of the song for the Weavers with English lyrics. [https://www.heritagefl.com/story/2014/01/31/features/remembering-pete-seeger-and-his-jewish-influence/2158.html "Remembering Pete Seeger and his Jewish influence"] 'Heritage: Florida Jewish News', January 31, 2014 (retrieved January 26, 2022) The Jenkins/Weavers version, released by Decca Records under catalog number 27077, was one side of a two-sided hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard magazine charts in 1950 while the flip side, "Goodnight Irene," reached No. 1.
Cromwell Music Inc., a subsidiary of Richmond/TRO, claimed the rights to the song, and had licensed the Decca release. They alleged the music to have been composed by a person named Spencer Ross. In reality this turned out to be a fictitious persona constructed to hide the melody's true authorship. Mills Music, Inc., Miron's publisher, sued Cromwell and won. The presiding judge also dismissed Cromwell's claim that the melody was based on a traditional folk song and was thus in the public domain.[https://blogs.law.gwu.edu/mcir/case/mills-music-inc-v-cromwell-music-inc/ "Mills Music, Inc. v. Cromwell Music, Inc. 126 F. Supp. 54 (S.D.N.Y. 1954)"]
Covers
The original English lyrics, written by Mitchell Parish, were greatly altered in the version recorded by the Weavers. Other charting versions in 1950 were recorded by Vic Damone (Billboard pos. 6), Ralph Flanagan & His Orchestra, and Mitch Miller's Orchestra.
The 'New York Times' obituary of Issachar Miron lists the following artists who covered "Tsena Tsena": "It was sung in some 39 languages and was performed and recorded by numerous leading artists in the United States, including Pete Seeger, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Dusty Springfield, Connie Francis, Vic Damone, Chubby Checker, the Smothers Brothers and Arlo Guthrie."[https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/nytimes/name/issachar-miron-obituary?id=22350198 Issachar Miron], an obituary
*Guitarist Chet Atkins recorded an instrumental version of "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" on his 1960 album 'The Other Chet Atkins'.
*1960: Connie Francis, 'Connie Francis Sings Jewish Favorites', Universal Records
*1961: The Springfields, album 'Kinda Folksy', a cover of the version by 'The Weavers' described by Richie Unterberger as "a ridiculously brassy arrangement"[https://www.allmusic.com/album/kinda-folksy-mw0000942501 The Springfields, Kinda Folksy], allmusic
*1961: A humorous version titled "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" was recorded by the Smothers Brothers on their 1961 debut album, 'The Smothers Brothers at the Purple Onion'.
*1961 Canada, 1962, USA The Barry Sisters, album 'Shalom' as part of Side A, track 1: 'Izraeli Medley'('Artza Alinu Tzena-Tzena')[https://www.discogs.com/master/376448-The-Barry-Sisters-Shalom The Barry Sisters Shalom], discogs
*1964: Chubby Checker, on 'Chubby's Folk Album'[https://www.discogs.com/release/4159777-Chubby-Checker-Chubbys-Folk-Album Chubby Checker Chubby's Folk Album]
*1967: The Dudaim duo: album = 'On Tour With The Dudaim'[https://www.discogs.com/release/5739424-The-Dudaim-%D7%A1%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A8-%D7%A2%D7%9D-%D7%94%D7%93%D7%95%D7%93%D7%90%D7%99%D7%9D-On-Tour-With-The-Dudaim "The Dudaim* = On Tour With The Dudaim"]
*1969: 'Sing Along With Effi Netzer', Vol. 2
*1971: a single by Marion Rung
*In the 1980s, Israeli folk star Ran Eliran recorded the song, along with 14 more songs by Miron, to make the album 'Sing to Me Eretz Yisrael'.
*Phranc recorded the song for his 1998 album 'Milkman'.
*In October 2012 a single was released by RebbeSoul, featuring musicians and singers from South America, Africa, the UK, USA, and Israel, singing intheir native languages
Lyrics
Transliterated: 'Tzena, tzena, tzena, tzena ha-banot u-rena ayalim ba-mosheva; Al na, Al na, Al na, Al na, al na titabena Mi-ben ayil, ish tzava.'
Translated: "Go out, go out, go out girls and see soldiers in the moshava; Do not, do not, do not hide yourself away from a virtuous man [a pun on the word for "soldier"], an army man."
References
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