LYRIC
THE FORGOTTEN PRINCESS- London School Of Jewish Song- Adapted & Lyrics By Yigal Calek- Anim Zemiros
PRELUDE:
It’s like a dream:
Leningrad, St. Petersburg, Petrograd, Petrograd,
Ancient cities…
St. Petersburg- the capitol of the Tzars.
Leningrad- the birthplace of the communist revolution.
Here, Gedolim of the previous generation
Would travel for many days
To put their desperate pleas
Before the wicked Tzars
To try and annul their harsh and cruel decrees.
Yemach Shemom Vezichram…
A city still and silent,
The grand of mansions derelict,
The streets are deserted
Like the aftermath of war.
Wondering and searching,
A girl, lone and frightened,
The echo of her footsteps
Tells of days of yore.
The buildings tell the story
Of long gone days of glory
Majesty and tyranny
Torture and distress.
Pushed away and banished
A stately road’s now tarnished
The King’s beloved daughter
His favorite princess.
CHORUS:
Shabbos, my Shabbos
Heiliger Shabbos,
Your shame and disgrace
Have wounded my heart.
(x2)
INTERLUDE:
We continued walking along the ancient pavement,
Sidestepping past the numerous cracks and puddles.
Yigal and the other men were in front,
And we, the kids, a few steps behind.
Yesterday, from the windows of our bus,
The city looked so royal, and now,
as we were passing the ornate archways and huge pillars
that decorated the houses, stench and decay was everywhere,
And so, we were walking to shul,
In Leningrad, on Shabbos, the first day of Sukkos, Taf Shin Nun.
Hey! Look! There it is! The Leningrad shul! Hey! Woah, Rafi, look at those stairs!
Are these beggars sitting there?
Gib ah neduva…
Es is Shabbos, mir hubben nisht shoin gelt!
Ah, Shabbos…
Did you hear that, Yidden?
On the steps of the shul, in Leningrad,
There are Yidden begging for Nedavos on Shabbos!
CHORUS:
Shabbos, my Shabbos
Heiliger Shabbos,
Your shame and disgrace
Have wounded my heart.
(x3)