[Instrumental Intro] [Fast accordion chug] [Playful Eastern European klezmer rhythm] [Clarinet trill and short answering phrases] [Muted brass punctuation] [Uptempo but slightly crooked cabaret swing] [Verse 1] [Vocal: dry deadpan Yiddish baritone] [Conversational, sly, almost spoken] [Very precise diction] [Accordion and upright bass carry the rhythm] [Clarinet occasionally answers the final word of each line] In a nasn gesl, vu shotns shpiln khapke Ikh bin a kater on halsband, mit vonsn vi a shlapke Lapes in rinshtok, yog ikh gayster fun a lebn Epes in mir iz gefaln, der khoylem muz shtarbn [Brief brass stab] [Half-beat pause] Der kabaret lakht, di bir-shtiber zaynen trikn Ikh miyauk nokh milkh, vos der milkhiker vil nit shikn Farlorn in nebl fun a gesl-labirint Ikh murkl far rakhmones... [Sudden silence] [Very dry whispered delivery] ...nor di patshkanes shatsn, on a vint [Short clarinet laugh] [Chorus] [Vocal becomes more theatrical] [Sharper rhythmic attack] [Call-and-response backing voices] [Accordion pushes harder] [Clarinet doubles and mocks the vocal melody] Oy, vos iz gestorbn in der finsternish? [Backing voices: Gestorbn! Gestorbn!] A harts? A hofenung? Oder nor nekhtns funk? Nor kratz in di beyner, filn dos tsukn in pelts Epes shlogt oys, a nayer khaye— [Low guttural growl] Grrr! Grrr! [Music suddenly accelerates] [More aggressive klezmer swing] Fun dem ketsele's layb, a monster nay-geboyrn Klavn aroys tsu der velt, in a satirishn shtorem Miyau tsum gornit, un dos ekho iz a geshrey [Voices begin overlapping] Metamorfoze in mitn nakht— [Shouted] MER! MER! [Instrumental Break] [Fast virtuosic klezmer clarinet] [Accordion racing underneath] [Brass stabs] [Clarinet imitates a cat] [Brief manic musical laughter] [Verse 2] [Vocal: sly, increasingly unstable deadpan] [Still controlled, but beginning to crack] [Rhythmic spoken delivery] [Occasional whispered asides] [Clarinet becomes more intrusive] Ikh shlep mikh farbay plakatn fun groyse havtokhes Bekhirus-konfeti kleybt tsu der lape vi zamd Der alter ikh iz geven vayk, itst shpay ikh un shmaykhl Der shvants vi a fon in Raykhstag's opshayd [Dry brass accent] Gefaln in shlakht? Oder fun kugl's sharfn kush? Gornit vikhtik, s'kotsl rirt zikh— [Hissed] progres, ikh sis! [A crooked little accordion flourish] A flo-tsebisener filosof, vayz in di opfaln Nayn lebns farhandlt far eyn shlekht gesmak [Brief silence] [Second Chorus] [Full theatrical intensity] [Male baritone with increasingly feral edge] [Backing voices louder] [Call-and-response] [Accordion and clarinet racing] Oy, vos iz gestorbn in der finsternish? [Backing: Gestorbn! Gestorbn!] A harts? A hofenung? Oder nor nekhtns funk? Nor kratz in di beyner, filn dos tsukn in pelts Epes shlogt oys, a nayer khaye— [Guttural] Grrr! Grrr! Fun dem ketsele's layb, a monster nay-geboyrn Klavn aroys tsu der velt, in a satirishn shtorem Miyau tsum gornit, un dos ekho iz a geshrey [Voices overlapping] [Accordion accelerating] [Clarinet shrieking] Metamorfoze in mitn nakht— [Shouted] MER! MER! [Outro] [Tempo accelerates] [Frantic accordion] [Rapid klezmer clarinet] [Brass becoming increasingly chaotic] [Male voice suddenly drops back into a whisper] Metamorfoze in mitn nakht... [Long pause] [Almost whispered] Mer... [Sudden animalistic growl] MER! [Final explosive brass chord] [Hard stop] [No fade]
