We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Up In The Borscht Belt

by The Jews Brothers Band

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

1.
Happy Feet 04:09
lyrics
buy track
1. You’ve got a really good face Michelangelo would find appealing Come over to my place We could paint your portrait on the ceiling CHORUS But your footsies Duh duh duh duh duh duh Footsie wootsies Duh duh duh duh duh Ohhhhhh Happy feet Duh duh duh Happy feet Duh duh duh Happy feet Oh how I love it 2. You’ve got a cool hairstyle Something like a Sassoon But even better And what about your smile Dynamite when you put them together 3. Now I ain’t got no fetish But when you tapping your toes You’re just a winner Make me your apprentice We could be the very next Fred and Ginger It’s your footsies etc
2.
Klezmer, Klezmer 04:55
lyrics
buy track
And when the rabbi came to the house He spoke to Harry’s mum and dad “You must send that boy to school one day Or he’ll grow up one big schlemiel He stays up on the roof just practising all day He’ll never become a doctor Fiddling his life away” And he laughs when they cry “Don’t become a klezmer son we pray” CH Klezmer, klezmer Spiel es noch amol One more time just play it from your soul Make ‘em laugh Make ‘em cry Klezmer play play play And when he went across the sea To a brand new hemisphere A young man could fulfil his dreams Where streets are paved with gold and tears He’d raise a family, maybe make it big Get fame and fortune At least get lots of gigs And he laughs when they sing Klezmer play your violin Suns have risen suns have set Our klezmer has a short time left He didn’t make a fortune you could say I guess he didn’t do it Sinatra’s way But still there’s so much music left to give And all he wants is to play just one more gig And they laugh and they cry Klezmer play just one more time
3.
Up In The Borscht Belt 04:36
lyrics
buy track
Get in the car Cos we're gonna leave the city We're driving to the Catskills Through the Palisades so pretty We're goin' to the mountains To a big resort hotel W'e're booked into the Raleigh Where they know us very well chorus UP IN THE BORSCHT BELT CAN WE GET THERE FASTER PLEASE ( CH.2 can we stay here longer please/ CH.3 can we stay up later please/CH 4 can we all come back here please) IT'S THE CAT'S PYJAMAS IT'S THE REAL BEES KNEES UP IN THE BORSCHT BELT WITH THE OTHER FAMILIES ON VACATION IN THE COUNTRY IN THE LAZY SUMMER BREEZE Oh, the dining room Is our favourite venue And we'd really like to live there And try everything on the menu Al Shiner is our waiter And he's fast with every course And if you don't feel like the chicken soup You can always order borscht In the evening We can wander to and fro We can listen to the house-band Stay on and watch the show We can catch a new comedian Who might become a star Sip a Pink Flamingo Or dance the cha-cha-cha It's the last day And we'll soon be back in the city Take a deep breath of the fresh air Cos we're goin' where it's gritty It's sad that we are leavin' But our cup is really full So it's one last time on the tennis court One more dip in the swimming-pool
4.
F'Later Swing 03:19
lyrics
buy track
You know folks I;m not a complainer But the food in this hotel is pure pure poison And the portions are so small 1.She’ll have a spit-pea soup I’ll have a mushroom and barley Maybe a glass of shav What’s the waiter’s name? Charlie Egg salad sliced tomato A couple of glasses of borscht Of course With a boiled potato But you’ve already had your mains No waiter It’s not for now It’s f’later! 2. (Oy I got such a craving) Hey, y’know waiter how ‘bout a coupla blintzes? Blueberry for him, cheese for the missus A kugel, a knadel, a knish maybe med kasha Anything with a k we’ll take How ‘bout a side of kangaroo? Oy a comedian A bagel and lox Put it in a box Not for now It’s f’later! 3.Get a load, gieb a kich Look who’s at the next table already Hey Harvey, Marilyn you’re having herring Chopped, creamed, pickled we’re sharing He’s on a diet, look he’s having it with matzoh He thinks he’ll lose an ounce He’s such a chaze Harvey go tell the waiter to pack some of it up Yeah, f’later! 4.Hey, everybody it’s dessert Y’know a little piece of cheesecake, it wouldn’t hurt We were gonna ask you If you still have baked alaska Shelley and Sarah, you know this place is famous Yeah, I know for the prune danish And the strudel with the pineapple That makes sense Then we don’t have to stop at the Red Apple Not for now It’s f’later Oh Harvey Yeah! Are you havin’ the hazelnut torte Hey, we ain’t schnorrers But we’ll take the tagelach, rugelach and bapke Oy bapke I got no more room I told you not to eat all those latkes Yeah but remember that’s OK Cos it’s not for now Not for now Not for now? It’s f’later! 4. Harvey, Marilyn f’later! Shelly, Sarah hey f’later! The pickles, the kichels The kasha hey waiter The blintzes, knishes the bapke F’later! Hey waiter, We don’t mean for now It’s f’later!
5.
Egypt 05:01
lyrics
buy track
There’s a place where time itself began Somewhere underneath the shifting sand CHORUS Egypt I feel something calling me to Egypt Soon I’ll be in Egypt All my friends are waiting there By the river Nile Chasing all the butterflies And the crocodiles In Egypt Down beside the pyramids Sits the mighty Sphinx Twenty extra stars appear Every time he winks In a musty dusty cave Lies a famous king With his golden furniture And his precious things Rows and rows of camels march In a caravan Loaded up with cotton goods Bound for distant lands Rushing past the bulrushes And the lotus flowers In the shadow of the palms We will play for hours
6.
Istanbul (Not Constantinople) 03:40
lyrics
buy track
Istanbul was Constantinople Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople Been a long time gone, old Constantinople Still it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night Every gal in Constantinople Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople So if you've a date in Constantinople She'll be waiting in Istanbul Even old New York was once New Amsterdam Why they changed it I can't say People just liked it better that way Take me back to Constantinople No, you can't go back to Constantinople Now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the Turks
7.
Bozo's Big Flop 03:39
buy track
8.
When The Band Began To Play 05:55
lyrics
buy track
1. When the band began to play We didn’t know the words They said “what a lot of chutzpah” And they said that our singing was strictly for the birds “Such fakakta Yiddish You should stick to English And you guys are finished!” When the band began to play CHORUS So we went lai-lai-lai-lai-lai-lai=lai And that’s the reason why We kept on singing lai-lai-lai The years flew by Lai-lai-lai-lai-lai-lai Oh yes those were the days When the band began to play 2. When the band began to play We had no clarinet And they said it wasn’t klezmer And “the music that you’re playing is making us upset Can’t you do Bette Midler That would be a mitzvah Or a bit from Fiddler” When the band began to play 3. When the band began to play Our repertoire was small So we didn’t make a set list And we made a lot of fans The only trouble was They were all on the guest list Either that or the press list So the band made bupkis When the band began to play And when the rabbi came He said “Change your name You won’t get any fame Your name will be to blame And you should be ashamed Thus spake the bold rabbi But I said What d’ya mean? On this name I am keen’ I heard it in a dream (He heard it in a dream) This name has been ordained from on high The Jews Brothers Jews Brothers Jews Brothers …. Band!!!! chutzpah - ‘cheek’ fakakta - ridiculous mitzvah - blessing bupkis - nothing & (mentioned earlier) schtick - gimmick, comic performance/routine

about

Mark 1 of this album was recorded for a national tour of NZ in 2015. The promo for Mark 2 ( worldwise release!) in 2016 says it all:
The Jews Brothers Band is thrilled to announce the launch of their album Up in the Borscht Belt, revisited, revamped, rebooted, remixed and remastered. It’s been a labour of love and features 3 actors, 18 guest musicians and a tap-dancer! Plus some tasty big-band flourishes. We couldn’t be prouder of our product.

credits

released January 1, 2016

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

The Jews Brothers Band image

The Jews Brothers Band Auckland, New Zealand

Twenty years ago, inspired by a klezmer tune playing on an Auckland café’s stereo, Hershal Herscher picked up his accordion and started playing the music his grandfather Harry had brought to New York from the Ukraine.

The rhythm he was pumping out acted like a magnet on three musician friends who were in the caf that day. From that nucleus The Jews Brothers Band was born. ... more

contact / help

Contact The Jews Brothers Band

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like The Jews Brothers Band, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.
listen now