Yiddish

"Hob ikh mir a shpan"

Hob ikh mir a shpan
Gedekt mit shvartsn ledder
Tsvey leybn ferd
Un fir reder.

REFRAIN:
Un di reder dreyen nit
Un di ferd geyen nit
Un di vayb zi shilt zikh
Un a glezl bronfn vilt zikh
Ze ikh mir a shteyn
Zits ikh mir un veyn...

Volt ikh geven a soykher,
Hob ikh nit kayn skhoyre.
Volt ikh geven a malamed,
Kon ikh nit kayn Toyre.

Volt ikh geven a shuster,
Hob ikh nit kayn ol.
Volt ikh geven a khazn,
Hob ikh nit kayn kol.


I have a coach
Covered with black leather,
I have two horses like lions,
And four wheels

REFRAIN:
But the wheels don't roll
And the horses won't go
And the wife curses
And I'm parched for a glass of whiskey.
I see a stone standing,
I sit down and I cry.

I would have been a merchant,
But I have no merchandise,
I would have been a teacher,
But I do not know the Torah.

I could have been a cobbler,
But I do not have an awl,
I could have been a cantor,
But I haven't got a voice.