LYRIC

NEBICH OF THE SHTEEBLE- Country Yossi- Strike Again!
(Originally Coward of the County- Kenny Rogers-
Composed By Roger Bowling & Billy Ed Wheeler)

Everyone considered him the nebich of the Shteeble
He’d never done a single thing to prove that he was strong
His real name was Moishy, but folks just called him Nebich
But somethin’ always told me they were reading Moishy wrong.
He was only ten years old when his Daddy died in Europe
I looked after Moishy ‘cause he was my brother’s son
I still recall the final words my brother said to Moishy
Son, my life is over but yours has just begun.

CHORUS 1:
Promise me, son, not to do the things I’ve done
I ran away from trouble my whole life through
Now I know I was wrong
Klal Yisroel must be strong
And, son, these are my final words to you
Sometimes you gotta fight when you’re a Jew.

But Moishy was a gentle soul, never one for fightin’
He loved to sit and learn in Shul, he had a golden heart
But then one early mornin’, when he came into the Shteeble
He found 3 shkotzim there and they were tearin’ the place apart.
Moishy’s hands were tremblin’ as he watched them from the shadows
Tearin’ up the Seforim and writin’ on the walls
Then he heard 6 million voices cryin’ in the darkness
He recognized his Daddy’s voice, high above them all.
And it said…

CHORUS 1:
Promise me, son, not to do the things I’ve done
I ran away from trouble my whole life through
Now I know I was wrong
Klal Yisroel must be strong
And, son, these are my final words to you
Sometimes you gotta fight when you’re a Jew.

Moishy walked into the Shul and they all started laughin’
Then one took a Torah and threw it halfways ‘cross the floor
When Moishy turned around, they said, “Hey, the Jewish coward’s leavin!”
But they were sure surprised when Moishy stopped and locked the door.
2,000 years of silence were bottled up inside him
He wasn’t holdin’ nothin’ back, he let ‘em have it all
When Moishy finished, not a sheigetz was left standing
He said, this one’s for Daddy, as he watched the last one fall.
And I heard him say:

CHORUS 2:
I promise you, Dad, not to do the things you’ve done
Won’t run away when trouble starts to brew
Now I know I was wrong
Klal Yisroel must be strong
So, Dad, I know your final words are true
Sometimes you gotta fight when you’re a Jew.

Everyone considered him the nebich of… the Shteeble.