Hava Nagila

Album: Jewish Songs (1922)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This Hebrew wedding song is as well known among Gentiles as it is among Jews, usually as an instrumental.

    The melody appears to have originated among the Hassidim of Eastern Europe, probably no earlier than the 18th Century, but it was not until the 20th Century that words were added, in Palestine by Avraham Zvi Idelsohn - the father of Jewish musicology. The words are taken from Psalms, and it was first published in 1922.

    By the 1950s it had established itself in the United States, and has been performed in countless films, by both Jewish and non-Jewish artists. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Janet Jackson

Janet JacksonFact or Fiction

Was Janet secretly married at 18? Did she gain 60 pounds for a movie role that went to Mariah Carey? See what you know about Ms. Jackson.

Yacht Rock Quiz

Yacht Rock QuizFact or Fiction

Christopher Cross with Deep Purple? Kenny Loggins in Caddyshack? A Fact or Fiction all about yacht rock and those who made it.

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New York

Barney Hoskyns Explores The Forgotten History Of Woodstock, New YorkSong Writing

Our chat with Barney Hoskyns, who covers the wild years of Woodstock - the town, not the festival - in his book Small Town Talk.

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.