I would rather give to death
than to never have seen (loved) you
And now that I have seen you
I feel that I can...finally die
Chorus
You slay me, you slay me
Verse 2 (Yiddish)
"Besser hoben toit vie kein mohl nisht zen dir,
un yetz az ich hob dir gezen, ken ich shtarben"
Chorus
You slay me, you slay me
Pre-Bridge (Hebrew)
Ani ma-adif mavet ma-asher
lo lirot otaach, achshav,
acharei shera-iti otach
she-ani yechol lemoot
Chorus
You slay me, you slay me
Pre-Bridge (Hebrew)
Ani ma-adif mavet ma-asher
lo lirot otaach, achshav,
acharei shera-iti otach
she-ani yechol lemoot,
ani yechol lemoot
Bridge
...I die...
lyrics
Mostly Kosher’s original lyrics and soothing sound speak to the experience of euphoria and fulfillment when heartstruck. As the song’s pulse becomes more agitated in intensity, so does the quickening of one’s heart in love. As it arrives to the peak of fulfillment, the whole world slows down and spins on a gentle wind, just as our bridge sounds.
The instrumentation is pared down to the bare bones of Mostly Kosher, 4 instruments, 4 players...to find the beauty and simplicity of the message we are portraying.
Yet, with the irony of death = love, we are also asking our audiences to think about more than “just another flower frolicking, love song”. Our unorthodox video patiently paints a scene of calm and love, all the while stumbling upon an unsuspecting experience with gun violence, only to be over in moments, reverting the viewer’s attention back to the beauty of our day to day environment. Finally zooming out to reveal the masses of the population continuing their day of smelling the flowers, despite in earshot of gunshot and murder. Death occurs in this country by the hundreds to gun violence, yet our world keeps turning, basking in the frolicking love songs of the radios.
A band famed for its caberet/vaudevill and disney-esque experiences, Mostly Kosher will spend these next few years crying out messages for change, experience and humanity. The first single of a long awaited second album due to release in 2020, this single spells out a darker landscape of social justice, love and consciousness.
It is a departure from Mostly Kosher’s beginnings and deep exploration of traditional Jewish klezmer and yiddish music. This is the introduction to the new chapter of Mostly Kosher’s artistic exploration.
Yet still represents the trifecta of our band, with american roots, hebrew language to reflect bandleader’s Israeli roots and yiddish to represent Janice’s and america’s deep connection to jewish roots. We started with the english poetry and then translated it into Yiddish and then Hebrew, creating a new/modern Judaic folk song.
credits
from This World Is Yours,
released February 24, 2022
Music By: Leeav Sofer
Arranged By: Leeav Sofer, Eric Hagstrom, Adam Levy, Janice Mautner Markham
Lyrics By: Leeav Sofer
Yiddish Translation By: Pinny Lew
Recording & Mixing Engineering By Adam Levy
Leeav Sofer: Vocals, Strumstick
Janice Mautner Markham: Violin, Vocals
Eric Hagstrom: Drums, Vocals
Adam Levy: Upright Bass, Vocals
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