Music

Jewish        Sephardic romances      Ashkenazi Klezmer

 








© The Alibi Sisters ______________________ The song “Papirossen” (“Cigarettes”) can rightfully be called one of the most popular songs of the 20th century. There exists an incredible amount of its translations and adaptations (in German, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish). The song was performed by great artists. In the Soviet Union, the popularity of the song was so high that it could be considered a phenomenon of urban folklore.   But, in fact, “Papirossen” has an author, his name is Herman Yablokoff (Chaim Yablonik 1903 - 1981). It was originally written in Yiddish (the author's native language) and, apparently, was based on a popular klezmer melody, originally from Bessarabia or Balkan Peninsula. While collaborating in the 1920s with Jewish theatre companies in Lithuania and Poland, Yablokoff observed the life of the lower classes of Jewish society, including children trading on the street. One of these plots lays at the basis of the “Papirossen" lyrics.    However, the song became popular only in the 1930s in the USA, where Hermann Yablokoff emigrated. Here the author makes himself an  impetuous career as an actor and a singer, and the song “Papirossen” becomes his golden hit. The story of a poor orphan boy dying of hunger and selling cigarettes on the street becomes so popular that it instantly spreads beyond American Jewish diaspora and starts its trip across the countries and continents.   Probably one of the most popular recordings of this song is the one performed by Mina (Merna) and Klara Beigelman - the famous American-Jewish duo “The Barry Sisters”. It is important to note that the Berry sisters made their recording under the guidance of Herman Yablokoff, whom early they have got acquainted with.   It was this recording of the song, with the original text in Yiddish, that we got to know in our early childhood. Our parent’s vinyl collection contained one of our favorite records with Berry Sisters best songs. We not only listened to “Papirossen” many times, it also accompanied our home theatrical performances, when we were dressing ourselves up in furs and boas from grandmother's closet.   Today we decided to create our interpretation of the famous “Papirossen”, paying tribute to its history. Taking into account all the interpretations that we know, we decided to rethink the song and present to you our version of it.