A Yiddish song answer to Mother's Day: MUDDER'S DAY
- Henry Sapoznik
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Today is Mother's Day and my mother, Pearl Sapoznik hated Mother's Day.
Absolutely hated it.
"Gib nor a kik," she'd harumph "vi zey shlepn di mames tsi di restauranen." ("Get a load of how they drag their mothers to the restaurants.")
My Survivor family came to the US just before Mother's Day 1949 when she was 29 and, among the other new wonders of the new world, my mom was taken aback by the annual parade of semi-unwilling mothers.
Every year, it was her same hilarious assessment of the day, so I wrote her "Mudder's Day," (as she pronounced it) using her smart, uncompromising, funny and "take-no- prisoners" attitude and her terrific line about dragging mothers to the restaurants setting it to the melody of the drearily lachrymose post-War Yiddish mother hit by Mitchell Parish, Alex Alstone, and Al Goodhart "Mom-e-le" (Little Mother)" which was ubiquitous on the Borscht Belt circuit (where we regularly heard it) and on recordings like the one by the gentile Connie Francis whose LP appeared to be in every Jewish home (including ours.)
For my mother, it was never flowers, or candy, greeting cards or even (God forbid!) getting dragged to a restaurant which characterized Mother's Day for her. It was the singing of this arch, acidy and deeply Yiddish send up which successfully encapsulated the day for her.
My mother has been gone ten years now, so no more opportunities to sing Mudder's Day. Maybe someone else will take up the tradition.
Mudder’s day
Mudder’s day
Ikh rif dir itst vayl haynt s’iz mudder’s day
Dos iz klor
S’eynmol a yor
Milyonen rifn mames up af mudder’s day
File kinder shikn mames kartelkekh
A box mit chocolat
Un blumn fayn
Vi me geyt me zet vi ale kinderlakh
Shlepn di mames in restaurant arayn af
Mudder’s day
Mudder’s day
Ikh vintsh dir a gezint un gliklekh
Mudder’s Day
Mudder’s Day
Mudder’s Day
I call you on the telephone for Mudder’s Day
This is clear
It’s once a year
Millions call their mothers up on Mudder’s Day
Lots of children send their mothers greeting cards
A box of chocolates
Or flowers, fine
Where you go you see the children everywhere
Drag their mothers into restaurants to dine on
Mudder’s Day
Mudder’s Day
I wish you a happy, healthy, restaurant free
Mudder’s Day
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