| Amol iz geven a mayse | Once upon a time there was a story |
| Di mayse iz gornit freylekh | The story is not happy, |
| Di mayse heybt zikh onet | The story began |
| Mit a yidishn meylekh | With a Jewish king. |
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| Lyulinke mayn feygele | Hush, my little bird, |
| Lyulinke mayn kind, | Hush, my child, |
| Kh'hob ongevoryrn aza libe, | I have been through such a love, |
| Vey iz mir un vind. | Oh, woe is me. |
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| Der meylekh hot gehat a malke, | The king had a queen, |
| Di malke hot gehat a vayngortn, | The queen had a vineyard, |
| In vayngortn iz geven a beymele, | In the vineyard was a tree, |
| Lyulinke, mayn kind. | Hush, my child. |
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| Der boym hot gehat a tsveygele, | The tree had a branch, |
| Oyfn tsveyele iz geven a nestele, | On the branch was a nest. |
| In nestele hot gelebt a feygele, | In the nest lived a bird, |
| Lyulinke, mayn kind. | Hush, my child. |
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| Der meylekh iz opgeshtorbn, | The king died, |
| Di malke iz gevorn fardorbn, | The queen became desolate, |
| Der tsvayg iz opgebrokhn, | The branch broke, |
| Der feygele fun nest - antlofn. | The bird flew away from the nest. |
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| Vu nemt men aza khokhem | Where can one find a wise person |
| Der zol kenen di shtern tseyln? | That can count the stars? |
| Vu nemt men aza dokter | Where can one get a doctor |
| Er zol kenen mayn harts heyln? | Who can heal my heart? |
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| [REFRAIN] | [REFRAIN] |
