| Sha Shtil | |
| Language: | Yiddish |
"Sha, Shtil, Makht Nisht Keyn Gerider!" (Shh, hush, don’t make any noise; yi|שאַ, שטיל, מאַכט נישט קײן גערידער) is a Yiddish folk song, written and composed by unknown authors.[1] [2] In World War II, the song was adapted and sung during the Holocaust.
The song depicts the atmosphere in a hasidic community. The melody starts with an augmented second, which is typical of the so-called gypsy scale.
According to an eye-witness account, the words to the original melody were adapted during police actions in the Holocaust as follows: “Sha, shtil, makh nit keyn gerider,/ S’iz in lager a kontrol vider./ Sha, shtil, makh nit keyn gevald,/ Di kontrol kumt aher bald./ Un az di kontrol kumt iz dokh vey un vind, / Men darf in lager nit zen keyn kind.” (Shh, hush, don't make any noise, the guard is coming again; shh, hush, don't make a clamor, the guard is coming soon. And when the guard comes, it's woe to us — no child in the camp should be seen.)[3]
The Israeli Yiddish metal band Gevolt has recorded Sha, shtil on its album AlefBase.[4]