Chad gadyo, chad gadyo
This is a Cumulative Song and a Passover Song.
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo
One Little Goat, One Little Goat
Passover Song
Passover Song
(Aramaic)
(English)
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
Ve'oso shunro ve'ochlo l'gadyo
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
Ve'oso calbo ve'noshach
l'shunro d'ochlo l'gadyo
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
Ve'oso chutro ve'hiko l'calbo
D'noshach l'shunro d'ochlo l'gadyo
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
Ve'oso nuro ve'soraf l'chutro
D'hiko l'calbo d'noshach
l'shunro d'ochlo l'gadyo
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
Ve'oso mayo ve'chovo l'nuro
D'soraf l'chutro d'hiko l'calbo
D'noshach l'shunro d'ochlo l'gadyo
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
Ve'oso toro ve'shoso l'mayo d'chovo
l'nuro d'soraf l'chutro d'hiko l'calbo
D'noshach l'shunro d'ochlo l'gadyo
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
Ve'oso ha'shochet ve'shochat l'toro
D'shoso l'mayo d'chovo l'nuro
D'soraf l'chutro d'hiko l'calbo
D'noshach l'shunro d'ochlo l'gadyo
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
Ve'oso malach hamoves ve'shochat l'shochet
D'shochat l'toro d'shoso l'mayo
D'chovo l'nuro d'soraf l'chutro
D'hiko l'calbo d'noshach l'shunro
D'ochlo l'gadyo
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
Ve'oso hakadosh baruch hu
Ve'shochat l'malach hamoves
D'shochat l'shochet d'shochat l'toro
D'shoso l'mayo d'chovo l'nuro
D'soraf l'chutro d'hiko l'calbo
D'noshach l'shunro d'ochlo l'gadyo
D'zabin abbo bitrei zuzei,
Chad gadyo, chad gadyo!
One little goat*, one little goat
That my father bought for two coins**
One little goat, one little goat.
A cat came and ate the little goat
That my father bought for two coins,
One little goat one little goat
Then came a dog and bit
The cat that ate the little goat
That my father bought for two coins,
One little goat one little goat.
Then came a stick which beat the dog
That bit the cat, that ate the little goat
That my father bought for two coins,
One little goat, one little goat.
Then came a fire, that burnt the stick
That beat the dog, that bit
The cat that ate the little goat,
That my father bought for two coins,
One little goat, one little goat.
Then came some water that put out the fire
That burnt the stick, that beat the dog,
That bit the cat, that ate the little goat,
That my father bought for two coins,
One little goat, one little goat.
Then came an ox that drank the water, that put out
The fire, that burnt the stick, that beat the dog,
That bit the cat, that ate the little goat,
That my father bought for two coins,
One little goat, one little goat.
Then came a slaughterer*** that slaughtered the ox,
That drank the water, that put out the fire,
That burnt the stick, that beat the dog,
That bit the cat, that ate the little goat,
That my father bought for two coins,
One little goat, one little goat.
Then came the angel of death, that slaughtered the slaughterer,
That slaughtered the ox, that drank the water,
That put out the fire, that burnt the stick,
That beat the dog, that bit the cat,
That ate the little goat,
That my father bought for two coins,
One little goat, one little goat.
Then came the Holy One blessed be He,
And slaughtered the angel of death,
That slaughtered the slaughterer, that slaughtered the ox,
That drank the water, that put out the fire,
That burnt the stick, that beat the dog,
That bit the cat, that ate the little goat,
That my father bought for two coins,
One little goat, one little goat.
Notes
*This is traditionally translated as "kid", meaning a young goat.
**The actual translation here is "zuzim", which is an ancient Hebrew silver coin.
***Slaughterer is literally a "Shochet" – who is a professional whose job it is to perform ritual slaughters.
_____
Regarding the last verse, the normal translation you'll often see for "shochat" is "killed", "slew" and "slaughtered":
In the transliteration of the original you see:
Ve'oso hakadosh baruch hu
Ve'shochat l'malach hamoves
D'shochat l'shochet d'shochat l'toro
This is an example of how it's usually translated:
Then came the Holy One blessed be He,
And killed the angel of death,
That slew the slaughterer that slaughtered the ox.
I used "slaughtered" in each case to follow the original. I thought the repetition was important:
"Then came the Holy One blessed be He,
And slaughtered the angel of death,
That slaughtered the slaughterer, that slaughtered the ox."
Comments
*****
Alternate Spellings for Chad Gadyo are Had Gadya, Chad Gadya, and Had Gadia.
You can hear Chad Gadyo sung by a choir and read more about it here.
According to The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, Had Gadyo "was first printed in 1590 in a Prague edition of the Haggadah".
Computerized Text
(We apologize if this doesn't display properly on your screen):
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
וְאָתָא שׁוּנְרָא, וְאָכְלָה לְגַּדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
וְאָתָא כַלְבָּא, וְנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַּדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
וְאָתָא חוּטְרָא, וְהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַּדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
וְאָתָא נוּרָא, וְשָׂרַף לְחוּטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַּדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
וְאָתָא מַיָּא, וְכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחוּטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַּדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
וְאָתָא תוֹרָא, וְשָׁתָה לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחוּטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַּדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
וְאָתָא הַשּׁוֹחֵט, וְשָׁחַט לְתוֹרָא, דְּשָׁתָה לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחוּטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַּדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
וְאָתָא מַלְאַךְ הַמָּוֶת, וְשָׁחַט לְשׁוֹחֵט, דְּשָׁחַט לְתוֹרָא, דְּשָׁתָה לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחוּטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַּדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
וְאָתָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וְשָׁחַט לְמַלְאַךְ הַמָּוֶת, דְּשָׁחַט לְשׁוֹחֵט, דְּשָׁחַט לְתוֹרָא, דְּשָׁתָה לְמַיָּא, דְּכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחוּטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאָכְלָה לְגַּדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי.
חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא:
Sheet Music
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Susan Pomerantz for contributing this song. Many thanks to Tovia Ben-David for the Hebrew lyrics to Chad Gadyo.
Toda raba!