Lesson 2: Exploring “Hob ikh mir a mantl”

Aim: How can we learn about using something old in a new way through a Yiddish folk song?
Summary: Students learn to sing “Hob ikh mir a mantl” and explore the story of the song.
Materials: Musical Explorers online audio, crayons
Standards:
GA: ESGMK-2.PR.1, ESGMK-2.RE.1, ESGMK-2.RE.2, ESGMK-2.RE.3, ESGMK-2.CN.1, ESGMK-2.CN.2
SC: GM.PR.NL-AH.3, GM.RE.NL-AH.6, GM.RE.NL-AH.7, GM.CN.NL-AH.8, GM.CN.NL-AH.9
Vocabulary: Ahava raba, klezmer music, Yiddish
> See Glossary

Sing “Hob ikh mir a mantl”

Listen to “Hob ikh mir a mantl,” Track 52.


savannahmusicfestival · 52 Hob Ikh Mir A Mantl
Explain that “Hob ikh mir a mantl” is Yiddish for “I had a little overcoat.”
Learn and sing along to “Hob ikh mir a mantl,” Track 52. Each verse tells a story about a different piece of clothing.


savannahmusicfestival · 52 Hob Ikh Mir A Mantl

“Hob ikh mir a mantl”

Verse 1:
I had a little overcoat, as old as can be
Tralala lalalala lalalala
What I’d ever do with it, I just couldn’t see
Tralala lalalala lalalala

So I thought a little while
And made myself a jacket in the very latest style
Tralala lalalala
Tralala lalalala
Made a jacket in the very latest style

Verse 2:
I had a little jacket, it was old as can be
Tralala lalalala lalalala
What I’d ever do with it, I just couldn’t see
Tralala lalalala lalalala

So I thought a little while
And made myself a vest in the very latest style
Tralala lalalala
Tralala lalalala
Made a vest in the very latest style

Verse 3:
I had a little vest, it was old as can be […] And made myself a tie in the very latest style […]

Verse 4:
I had a little tie, it was old as can be […] And made myself a button in the very latest style […]

Verse 5:
I had a little button, it was old as can be […] And made myself nothing in the very latest style […]

Verse 6:
I had a little nothing, it was old as can be […] And made myself a song in the very latest style […]

Explore the Meaning of “Hob ikh mir a mantl”

Listen to “Hob ikh mir a mantl,” Track 52, again, and show students the pictures on SG44.
savannahmusicfestival · 52 Hob Ikh Mir A Mantl
- In the song, the original mantl, or “overcoat,” is reused in many different ways as it wears down over time. We can also reuse old objects in new ways. For example, if the strap from your worn-out backpack breaks, you can use the strap as a belt. If the belt breaks, you can use the buckle as a key chain! What other items can you think of that you can reuse in different ways?
Brainstorm objects that can be reused for purposes other than for what they were originally intended.
Ask students to choose one object that they could reuse in many different ways over time. Using SG45, have students draw the original object and the new uses for it over time.

Explore Tempo Changes in “Hob ikh mir a mantl”

Tempo is how fast or slow a song is.
Listening to “Hob ikh mir a mantl,” Track 52, ask students to raise their hands when they hear the music slow down.


savannahmusicfestival · 52 Hob Ikh Mir A Mantl
When the tempo slows down, that is called a ritardando (ree-tar-DAHN-doh).

Move to “Hob ikh mir a mantl”

Many Jewish folk dances, such as the hora, are circle dances. Teach your students this simple circle dance to the lyrics of “Hob ikh mir a mantl.” See the video below:

Start with students holding hands in a circle with everyone facing the middle of the circle.
During the introduction, everyone bend their knees four times to the pulse.
During “I had a little (overcoat) as old as can be,” everyone take four steps clockwise in the circle to the half note pulse.
On “Tra la la la la la la la la la la,” everyone jog clockwise eight steps to the quarter note pulse (i.e., jog twice as fast as you were walking).
On “What I’d ever do with it, I just couldn’t see,” everyone take four steps clockwise in the circle to the half note pulse.
On “Tra la la la la la la la la la la,” everyone jog clockwise eight steps to the quarter note pulse (i.e., jog twice as fast as you were walking).
On “So I,” face the middle of the circle and take two steps in to the half note pulse.
On “thought a little while,” take two steps back to the half note pulse. On “And made myself a (jacket) in the very latest style,” everyone slowly raise their arms above their heads and hold on the word “style.”
On “Tra la la la la la la, Tra la la la la la la, made a (jacket) in the very latest style,” everyone lower their hands and jog clockwise 16 steps to the quarter note pulse (i.e., twice as fast). Repeat movements for subsequent verses. You can switch directions (counterclockwise instead of clockwise) between or during verses to vary the dance.