The song below was composed by “Yankele Moshe Yoneh’s, also known as Braverman” and appeared in the Keidan Association’s 1930 Anniversary book. A note says it is meant to be sung to the tune of a popular Yiddish marching song called “Vos Mir Zaynen, Zaynen Mir” (What we are, we are). A version of that tune may be heard here. An English translation of the song appears below the Yiddish transliteration.
Ikh, Keidaner
Amerikaner birger zaynen mir
Zol undz zayn oyf lange yorn
Vos mir zaynen, zaynen mir
Ober in Keidan zaynen mir geborn
Undzer vig iz dort geshtanen
Undzer yugent dort farbrakht
Di velt hobn mir nokh nit farshtanen,
Ober in Keidan gelebt, gelakht.
Vi gut hot yeder zikh gefilt
Freylekh, munter, yung un frish.
Oyf Kelerkes felder zikh geshpilt
Un in Neviazhe gekhapt fish.
Fun der heym gemuzt antloyfn
In amerike gekumen
Hobn mir mit libe stroyfn
A fareyn tsunoyfgenumen.
A minyen, brider, bloyz tzen,
A gutn onfang dan gemakht
Hunderter kent ir haynt zen.
Keyn yirbu! dize groyse makht.
Draysik yorn iz shoyn farbay
Un vos es hot mit undz pasirt
Oyfn vakh geshtanen tray,
Un zikh briderlekh gefirt
Zayt gegrist, shvester, brider,
Un ale gest fun dem fareyn
Bagegen zoln mir zikh vider
Oyf nekstn banket – groys un kleyn.
I, the Keidaner
Citizens of America are we all.
Here’s to our long lives.
We are what we are,
but we were born in Keidan.
Our cradles rocked there,
our youth was spent there –
We may not have understood the world
but in Keidan we lived and laughed
How fine we all felt:
Happy, spirited, young and fresh
as we played on Kelerke’s fields
and caught fish in the Neviazhe.
We had to run away from home
and came to America
where we lovingly put together
our association.
A band of brothers, only ten,
we made a good beginning then.
Now you see hundreds of us.
Thus may we still grow in number.
Thirty years have now passed by
and no matter what happened in that time
we stood staunch and true
and dealt with each other as brothers.
Greetings to you, sisters, brothers
and all the guests of our association.
Let’s hope that all of us – great and small –
meet again at our next banquet.