La Komida La Manyana

 

While the title of this song suggests that it’s about breakfast, it is in fact a mother-daughter dialogue with a timeless and universal sentiment: a daughter’s longing for love and a mother’s caution that she must be very careful. It’s not like it was back in her day, when love meant a serious commitment; now, says the mother, they’ll just “leave you with sorrow.” Like a good many traditional Sephardic songs, there is nothing specifically Jewish about this song but it’s in Ladino, and therefore Sephardic. We learned this version, which is of Turkish origin, from Daphna Mor who in turn learned it from Nell Snaidas, the superb New York-based soprano of Sephardic descent.

Susan, vocals; Tina, rebec; Howard, guitar; Brian, dumbek.

LADINO	ENGLISH
La komida la manyana	The meal in the morning,
La tarde le traigo atras	The afternoon I bring it back.
Ke lo sepa la mi madre	My mother knows
Ke yo kero t’espozar.	That I want to marry.
Una ora en la ventana	An hour by the window,
Otra ora en el balkón	Another hour on the balcony;
Ke lo sepa la mi madre	My mother knows
Ke yo tengo mucho amor.	That I have much love (to give).
No se burle la mi madre	Don’t make fun, mother,
No se burle del amor	Don’t make fun of love;
Elya kuando era moza	When you were a girl
Hizo amor kon mi sinyor	You made love with my father!
Yo lo hize la mi hija	I did it, my daughter,
Yo lo hize kun l’amor	I did it with love;
No son komo loz de agora	Not like those of today
Ke deshan kun la dolor.	Who leave you with sorrow.

Traditional Turkish Sephardic song