Songwriter & Folk Poet

Mark Warshawsky

Mark Warshawsky was born November 26, 1848 in Odessa and grew up in Zhitomir. He studied law and settled in Kiev.

Warshawsky began writing songs for fun and performed them for friends in Kiev. Sholem Aleichem discovered Warshawsky’s talent and oversaw publishing his first song collection.

Mark Warshawsky
26 November 1848 – 1907
"Yidishe folkslider mit noten" (Yiddish Folk Songs with Music)
Warshawsky's first song collection was published in Warsaw in 1901 with Sholem Aleichem's introduction and imprimatur.
"Afn pripetshik brent a fayerl..."
By far, Warshawsky's most enduring song is "Der alef-beyz" (The Alphabet), also known by its first words: "Afn pripetshik" (At the Hearth). Here is the cover of sheet music for his classic, published by the Hebrew Publishing Company in New York in 1913.
Hit Machine
Warshawsky wrote some of the most enduring Yiddish "chestnuts" ever penned, including: "Di mekhutonim geyen" (The In-Laws Arrive); "Dem milners trern” (The Miller’s Tears); and "Dos lid fun broyt" (The Song of Bread). In 1914, this posthumous edition of Warshawsky's "folk songs," was published in Odessa, expanded to include 21 more songs.

Among his many popular songs are “דער בעכער – טייַערע מלכּה (The Goblet – Dear Malke),” “די ראָד – די מעזינקע אויסגעגעבן (The Youngest Daughter is Married),” “דעם מילנערס טרערן (The Miller’s Tears),” and the most famous Yiddish song “אויפן פּריפּעטשיק (Afn Pripetshik).”

Warshawsky died in Kiev in 1907.

Watch students on the 2013 Helix Project sing Warshawsky’s song “דעם מילנערס טרערן” (The Miller’s Tears) at an abandoned, formerly Jewish-owned flour mill in Piesk, Belarus:

Or listen to tenor Louis Danto sing the same song in his inimitable, exquisite style:

Or listen to some classic recordings of Warshawsky’s most famous and enduring songs:

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Mark Warshawsky

Songwriter & Folk Poet

Mark Warshawsky

Mark Warshawsky was born November 26, 1848 in Odessa and grew up in Zhitomir. He studied law and settled in Kiev.

Mark Warshawsky

"Yidishe folkslider mit noten" (Yiddish Folk Songs with Music)

"Afn pripetshik brent a fayerl..."

Hit Machine

Watch students on the 2013 Helix Project sing Warshawsky’s song “דעם מילנערס טרערן” (The Miller’s Tears) at an abandoned, formerly Jewish-owned flour mill in Piesk, Belarus:

Or listen to tenor Louis Danto sing the same song in his inimitable, exquisite style:

Or listen to some classic recordings of Warshawsky’s most famous and enduring songs:

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