Sholem aleykhem tsu imigranṭen ("My Country, ’Tis of Thee”)
Educational Alliance (New York, N.Y.)
Sholem aleykhem tsu imigranṭen: a ḳurtse erḳlehrung ṿegen dem leben in Ameriḳa (Welcome Immigrants: A Short Explanation About Life in the United States), "My Country, ’Tis of Thee” song
New York, 1903
To prepare themselves for the citizenship test, new immigrants were required not only to learn the essential facts about their adopted country, but also to demonstrate a sufficient knowledge of English and even be able to sing America’s most famous patriotic songs, which functioned as de facto national anthems. Among them was the song presented here: “America” (“My Country, ’Tis of Thee”), whose lyrics Samuel Francis Smith (1808–1895) composed in 1831.
It was understood, however, that even after living several years in the U.S., which was a requirement for gaining citizenship, many immigrants who spoke Yiddish in their daily life might still not be able to read and recite in English the long, and quite elaborate, lyrics.
The Educational Alliance, which published the booklet Sholem aleykhem tsu imigranṭen: a ḳurtse erklehrung vegen dem leben in Amerika (Welcome Immigrants: A Short Explanation About Life in the United States) came up with an easy solution: transliterate the original English text by using Hebrew characters. “Amerika” opens the section of the booklet on national songs. The line just above the title explains in Yiddish: English mit Idishe bukhshtaben (English in the Yiddish alphabet).
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