Lyrics: Golda Rovinskaya, 73 years old, Kiev, 22 June, 1947, recorded by Hina Shargorodsky.

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Music: Based on “In droysn geyt a regn,” a folk song, with instrumental parts and arrangement by Sergei Erdenko.

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The song is likely based on eyewitness accounts of the massacre in Babi Yar,

the ravine near Kiev, where 33,771 Jews were shot on September 29-30, 1941.

Witnesses reported blood pouring through the streets, gunshots throughout

the day and night, and other atrocities, which are described in the song. The

song probably also tells us something about 1947, in addition to 1941. It hints

at the immediate post-war ethnic tension between Jews, returning from the

Soviet rear, and facing hostility from their former neighbors, who were not

generally too happy about their return. The line “as long as they live, they

will not see their victory in our land” probably signals the fear of a return of

German-inspired antisemitism.

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The tune of “In droysn geyt a regn” was chosen not only because it seemed to

fit beautifully with the poignant lyrics, but also because it resonated with the

original song, which lamented lost love. Rovinskaya’s song was also a lament

but it mourned the loss of an entire community.

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This melody was learned and recorded in New York by Michael Alpert (born

in 1955), an American klezmer composer and performer, in the early 1980s,

from Bronya Sakina (1910-1988), b. Olvanisk (Holovanivsk/Golovanevsk),

southwestern Ukraine.