jerry bock • sheldon harnick
In 1971, at junior high school, my class had a trip to the theatre to watch this production on stage instead of waiting for the film on the lousy local cinema. The story fascinated me, and this song in particular absorbed me. It didn't feel right for a youngster to sing it, so I started to play it instrumentally instead, the classic way, with a Ry Cooder twist. I kept on this way until right now, when I'm a grumpy guy too old to perform it ... but I cannot let it be. I'm addicted. And I'm not able to play it like I used to do any more, due to arthritis. So, full send it!
Composer Jerry Bock and lyricist Sheldon Harnick wrote it for the 1964 stage score, with book by Joseph Stein and Zero Mostel as the character Tevye. First live performance was on 22nd of September; the original soundtrack was recorded five days later. It became the first Broadway musical theatre in history to run 3000 times continuously, and won nine Tony Awards. It's had five Broadway revivals since that, the latest so far in 2015.
Gradually, Chaim Topol conquered the scene. The Tel Aviv-born actor, briefly skipping his surname in his profession, recorded this song already in 1967, and the single spent twenty weeks on the Official Singles Chart. For the 1971 film he was not the natural choise, as Zero Mostel also headed for the role - other prominent actors, too - but the director and producer Norman Jewison preferred Topol with the argument that he would portray Tevye, not himself, and that his jolly appearance and stout baritone suited the role perfectly. From now on he became Tevye, and himself he estimated that he played him some 3500 times on stage through more than forty years. His death in Tel Aviv 2023, 87 years old, resulted in honours from every VIP in Israel: the derivation that in fact limited his career.
Now I have to make a little statement: this tiny piece of essay does NOT mean that I promote neighter Judaism nor ANY other religion based on theistic belief. I regard Theism as a threat against mankind, and my writings consider the artwork of music and theatre solely.
There are more songs from the musical being popular, like "Tradition", "Matchmaker" and "Sunrise, Sunset", but this one quickly rose to fame because of it's lightness. The musical is fascinating, but in general rather heavy, and is among the few ones without a happy end. In fact, it doesn't end at all: the family scattered around with the sound of the fiddler behind. The song has been recorded some 150 times, included instrumental versions and adaptions, but the original soundtracks from Broadway and film, featuring Mostel and Topol, is sufficient. No further listening required.
«Dear God : You made many, many poor people.
I realize, of course, that it's no shame to be poor.
But it's no great honor either!
So, what would have been so terrible if I had a small fortune?»
if I were a rich man
ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
all day long I'd biddy biddy bum
if I were a wealthy man
I wouldn't have to work hard
ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
if I were a biddy biddy rich
yidle diddle didle didle man
I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen
right in the middle of the town
a fine tin roof with real wooden floors below
there would be one long staircase just going up
and one even longer coming down
and one more leading nowhere just for show
I'd fill my yard with chicks and turkeys and geese and ducks
for the town to see and hear
squawking just as merrily as they can
and each loud 'cheep' and 'swaque' and 'honk' and 'quack'
would land like a trumpet on the ear
as if to say «here lives a wealthy man»
if I were a rich man
ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
all day long I'd biddy biddy bum
if I were a wealthy man
I wouldn't have to work hard
ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
if I were a biddy biddy rich
yidle diddle didle didle man
I see my wife : my Golde looking like a rich man's wife
with a proper double chin
supervising meals to her heart's delight
I see her putting on airs and strutting like a peacock
oy : what a happy mood she's in
screaming at the servants day and night
the most important men in town would come to fawn on me! *)
they would ask me to advise them
like a Solomon the Wise
«if you please Reb Tevye...»
«pardon me Reb Tevye...»
posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes!
yah da dee da da : yah di da da : yah di da da daa ...
and it won't make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong
when you're rich, they think you really know!
if I were rich I'd have the time that I lack
to sit in the synagogue and pray
and maybe have a seat by the Eastern wall
and I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men several hours every day
that would be the sweetest thing of all
if I were a rich man
ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
all day long I'd biddy biddy bum
if I were a wealthy man
I wouldn't have to work hard
ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
Lord who made the lion and the lamb
You decreed I should be what I am
would it spoil some vast eternal plan ? if I were a wealthy man ...
*)The break is often omitted. Even Roger Whittaker did so.
In the film adaption of the Broadway musical, conductor John Williams briefly used the original score by Jerry Bock, but also composed new music, with violin solos performed by Isaac Stern in scenes where the fiddler appeared.
The fiddler is a symbol of cultural endurance, moving with the community as it is forced to split. The titular phrase "fiddler on the roof" is a metaphor for tradition as a base for your life; without you'll fall off the roof and break your neck.
The backdrop for the musical is the Kiev pogrom in 1905, where - as an exception - Von Hubbenet, chief of police of Kiev, warned some of his Jewish friends of the coming riots. So, the stage is Ukraine. Thus, we may again, today, settle that the history often is recurrent. This time the Jews aren't focused, but the idea of the Russian Empire has been there all the time.
The musical is based on stories by Sholem Aleichem written in Yiddish between 1894 and 1914, about Jewish life in a village in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia. Main character is "Tevye the Dairyman", making efforts to marry his daughters the proper and traditional way. These stories were again influenced by "Life is with People", written by Mark Zborowski and Elizabeth Herzog.
Both Rodgers/Hammerstein and Mike Todd considered making a Broadway musical of the material, but dropped it for the reason "being too Jewish".
Chaim Topol dropped his surmame early in his career because it was originally spelled with Hebrew consonant 'ḥēt', resulting in most English people pronouncing it "shame".
"Seat by the Eastern Wall" : The Eastern Wall in a synagogue is considered special because it symbolizes the Eastern Wall in Jerusalem, which is both part of the original city walls and the Temple Mount. During the Jewish exile from Jerusalem, the synagogue was the replacement Temple, so being seated here was synonymous with being among the first ones to observe the Messiah coming, according to the prophet Ezekiel.
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
I strongly recommend adding the note D on 5th string (the green colour) for the base chord G. The composition is inspired by Dorian scale, and playing the base chord this way enhances it.
The chords Edim and Gdim are technically and mathematically the same, but the sevenths differ them. The chord progression forces them being played different.
G if I were a rich man [Bb] G ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum Cm Edim7 Gm Gdim7 all day long I'd biddy biddy bum D#7 D7 if I were a wealthy man D G I wouldn't have to work hard [Bb] G ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum Cm Edim7 Gm Gdim7 if I were a biddy biddy rich D#7 D7 G yidle diddle didle didle man G Cm F I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen Bb [Bb/A] G7 right in the middle of the town Cm D7 G a fine tin roof with real wooden floors below Cm F there would be one long staircase just going up Bb [Bb/A] G7 and one even longer coming down Cm D#7 D7 ...D and one more leading nowhere just for show C D D7 I'd fill my yard with chicks and turkeys and geese G Bm E7 and ducks for the town to see and hear Am D7 G ...G7 squawking just as merrily as they can C D D7 and each loud cheep and swaque and honk and quack G Bm E7 would land like a trumpet on the ear Cm D#7 D7 ...D as if to say here lives a wealthy man [...] Dm Bb G# G7 the most important men in town would come to fawn on me Cm they would ask me to advise them G# like a Solomon the Wise Fm7 if you please Reb Tevye Dm7b5 pardon me Reb Tevye G G7 posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes G7 G yah da dee da da yah di da da yah di da da daa Cm D#7 Bb [Bb/A] G7 and it won't make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong Cm D#7 D7 when you're rich they think you really know [...] Cm Edim7 Gm Lord who made the lion and the lamb Cm Edim7 Gm You decreed I should be what I am D D7 C A7 D#7 D7 G would it spoil some vast eternal plan if I were a wealthy man
