6 Artists You Didn't Know Used Yiddish, From Elvis to Public Enemy
Autor: G. David Sedrez-Conde | Publicado: 2015-10-02T13:21:00-03:00

It’s astounding how much Yiddish has infiltrated today’s popular 
culture. From classic musicals like “Fiddler on the Roof” to sitcoms 
like Seinfeld, some words and phrases of Ashkenazi Jews’ native tongue 
have become Americanized, naturalized, and sometimes clichéd.

So, when Public Enemy released its latest album, “Man Plans, God Laughs,” emblazoned with 
     such an obvious Yiddish proverb
, we decided to investigate. Here are six Yiddish idioms that classic 
and modern musicians across major genres have invoked their work.    


1) Man Plans, God Laughs
Transliteration: 
     Der mentsh trakht un got lakht


Famed hip-hop group Public Enemy released its 15th LP, Man Plans, God
 Laughs, last week. Although rapper and producer Chuck D has said that 
Kendrick Lamar and Run the Jewels inspired this record, we know that the
 title is actually a Yiddish proverb. Whether intentional or not, the 
connection seems fitting: Public Enemy still represents the pinnacle of 
political rap and Yiddish sayings often comment on such issues as well



2) Mazel Tov



Transliteration: 
     Mazal tov


This obvious, congratulatory phrase has already breached most forms 
of mass cultural consumption. But this 2009 Grammy award-winning track 
from The Black Eyed Peas integrated an exclamatory “Mazel tov!” so 
flawlessly into the middle of “I Gotta Feeling” that the song has since 
become a mainstay at all bar and bat mitzvahs and Jewish weddings until 
the end of time. Plus, it’s like The Peas even knew about Pesach’s four 
cups of wine, as the Yiddish exclamation comes right after the line 
about “Fill up my cup.”


Extra Listening: Jay-Z &amp; Kanye West also used recently the phrase
 in “New Day” from 2011’s Watch The Throne, rapping, “So at thirteen 
we’ll have our first drink together / Black bar mitzvahs, mazel tov, 
mogul talk.”

3) Walls Have Ears
Transliteration: 
     Vent hobn oyern


Many have researched and analyzed 
     Elvis Presley’s relationship with Judaism
. It’s been rumored that his mother was part Jewish and part Native 
America, and the King was often spotted sporting a Chai or Star of David
 necklace. In 1962, Elvis recorded ‘The Walls Have Ears” for his film 
Girls! Girls! Girls! The title refers to a Yiddish phrase that warns 
someone is always listening.    


Extra Listening: A Sonic Youth bootleg, unapproved by the band, was released in 1986 by this name.



4) Still Water Runs Deep


Transliteration: 
     Shtil vaser grobt tif


The origin of this phrase is debated (some say Italian/Latin, other 
say Shakespearian.), the Yiddish version still offers a cautious 
admonition of the roiling emotions that can hide beneath a calm 
exterior. Detroit soul group The Four Tops made this idiom famous in 
1970, with its Hitsville USA record Still Waters Run Deep and chart 
topping single “Still Water (Love)."

5) Either All Or Nothing


Transliteration: 
     Oder gor oder gornisht


Although quite a common turn of phrase in pop culture today, one of 
the most groundbreaking uses came from Arthur Altman and Jack Lawrence’s
 1939 composition “All or Nothing At All.” But it wasn’t until 1943 
until consummate crooner Frank Sinatra made the song a smash, when 
Columbia Records re-released his vocal version. Since then, other famous
 musicians including Chet Baker, John Coltrane, Diana Krall, and Sarah 
Vaughan have all covered “All or Nothing At All.”




         







6) Jack of All Trades, Master of None
Transliteration: 
     Fil meloches, vainik broches


Diana Krall actually channeled another Yiddish phrase on her 1997 
album Love Scenes. She chastises a potential love interest with this 
saying in each chorus, revisiting the shame of his lack of excellence 
brings. While some have argued that this figure of speech was originally
 two separate phrases, the Yiddish version usually links them together.

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