YO YA
YO YA
 
[1]
Kibalti onesh ktsat mugzam
Shaftu oti lamavet
Yashavti al kiseh chashmal
Nifradti mehaprai'vet

Lu yacholti lefachot
Lehachlif takisa'ot
Ki omrim bederech klal
Meshaneh makom meshaneh mazal
[1]
I got a harsh sentence
They sentenced me to death
I sat on the electric chair
Said good-bye to my (car)

I hoped that at least
I could change chairs
Because they say
(If you change your place you change your luck)
   
Chorus:
Hey yo ya
Ani sho'el
Hey yo ya
Atem onim
Hey yo ya
Ha'im ze fair?
Hey yo-ya
Atem lo yod'im
Chorus:
Hey yo ya
I ask you
Hey yo ya
You answer me
Hey yo ya
Is it fair?
Hey yo ya
You don't know
   
[2]
Ha'ach sheli asaf bulim
Lachen avad bado'ar.
Haya mechalek tamichtavim
Kibel afilu to'ar.

Yom echad pakach hivchin
She'asaf gam michtavim
Mehajob miyad putar
Ki yesh sof lechol davar
[2]
My brother used to collect stamps
That's why he worked in the post office
He would sort the mail
(Even got promoted)

One day a supervisor noticed
That he also collected letters
From his job he was immediately fired
Because all good things must have an end*
   
Chorus:
Hey yo ya
Chorus:
Hey yo ya
   
[3]
Haya li dod kazeh batlan
Shehit'atsel lanuach
Haya holech lanemala
Chozer bli matzav ruach.

Lu haya pachot tipesh
Az vaday yada she'yesh
Gam tosefet la'pitgam
Re'e dracheha va'chacham
[3]
I had an uncle who was so lazy
He was too tired even to nap
He'd go off to the (ant)
Come back tired

If he wasn't so stupid
He'd know there was
More to the saying:
See the path and learn.**
   
Chorus:
Hey yo ya
Chorus:
Hey yo ya
   
[4]
Ben-dod sheli ratza lis'chot
Kedei latsuf kavu'a
Lamad s'chiyah be'hitkatvut
Etsel matsil yadu'a

Kshenichnas sof-sof layam
Toch shniyot hu ne'elam
Shnayim kaftsu elav miyad
Tov'im hashnayim min ha'echad.

[4]
My cousin wanted to learn to swim
So he could surf all day
He learned to swim by correspondence course
From a famous lifeguard

When he finally got in the water
Within seconds he was gone
Two jumped in right away
Drowning the two from the one***

   
Chorus:
Hey yo ya
Chorus:
Hey yo ya
   

Hebrew words

Translator's notes:
Many of the "punchlines" in this song are wordplays, so it is difficult to do an exact translation.
*(in Hebrew, "things" and "postman" sound the same: =Because there's an end to every postman
**The full saying is something like this: If you're lazy, look at an ant; see its path and learn
***The saying is: two are better than one. Two ("tovim") and Drowning ("tov'im") are switched.

LYRICS Alon Oleartchik & Danny Sanderson
MUSIC Danny Sanderson & Yitzhak Klepter
SINGER Lehakat Poogy (Kaveret)
CDs Poogy Tales  Track 13
Live In The Park  Disk 2 Track 7
DANCE CHOREOGRAPHER Circle - Oren Ashkenazi 2005
DANCE FORMAT Line - Folk  1987
DANCE INSTRUCTION VIDEO Click here to purchase
 

Transliteration by Henry Lederfeind of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Translation by Amitai Lipton of Boston, Massachussetts, USA
Chord chart from Reuben Bolaffi of Adelaide, South Australia
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Chord Chart

Am
Kibalti onesh k'tsat moogzam
    F   G       Am
Shaftu oti la'mavet.
Am
Yashavti al kisay chashmal
   F      G        Am
Nifrad'ti may ha'pryevet.
Dm          Em  Am
Lu-yacholti lifachot
 Dm          Em    Am
Le'hachlif t'hakisaot
Dm         Em     Am
Ki omrim biderech klal
Dm                 (E7  Am)
Mishaneh makom mishaneh mazal.

Chorus:
F
Yo-ya
 G      Am
Ani sho-ayl
F
Hay yo-ya
   G      Am
ha-im zeh fair
 
Hay yo-ya
      G     Am
Atem lo yodim


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