Kayah is a pseudonym of Katarzyna Rooijens (b. Katarzyna Szczot, 5 Nov 1967… Read Full Bio ↴Kayah is a pseudonym of Katarzyna Rooijens (b. Katarzyna Szczot, 5 Nov 1967, in Białystok, Poland), a successful female Polish singer-songwriter. She has released several albums & won numerous awards. At the start of her career, Kayah sang in choirs and with many bands (such as Tilt and Atrakcyjny Kazimierz). She made her solo debut with the song Daughter in 1988 at the Sopot Festival.

She released her first, self-produced solo album, Kamien (Stone), in 1996. It was a great success, consisting of melancholy pop songs. In the same year, she was voted ‘Vocalist of the Year’ by the Polish music industry and received a Fryderyk in recognition of her achievements.

In 1997, she received another Fryderyk, this time for the album Zebra, in the category of ‘Composer of the Year’. With Zebra she changed her style, moving in the direction of American soul music.

In 1999, she recorded one of the most popular Polish albums ever, with the Balkan composer Goran Bregović, entitled Kayah & Bregović: it is a blend of old Slavic songs and modern rhythms. Most of the music was composed by Bregović for the band Bijelo Dugme (White Button), which he had been a part of and movie soundtracks that he had worked on. The lyrics are both translations of the original text and inspired. In the same year she was awarded a Wiktor and another Fryderyk, in the category ‘Vocalist of the Year’.

In 2000, she released the album Jaka Ja Kayah which featured pop, jazz, and techno-influenced songs. She also released the single "Aniol Wiedzial" ("The Angel Knew") from the album, duetted with Cesaria Evora in Portuguese, and recorded English-language versions of some of her songs.

She was twice cast in advertisements for Polish mobile phone's Web - Orange POP (formerly Idea POP).

Sites: En.Wikipedia.

Hava Nagila
Kayah Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hava nagila, hava nagila
Hava nagila ve-nis'mecha
Repeat

Hava neranena, hava neranena
Hava neranena venis'mecha

Uru, uru achim

Uru achim belev same'ach

Overall Meaning

Kayah's song Hava Nagila is a cover version of the traditional Jewish folk song of the same name, which translates to "let us rejoice." The song is a celebration of joy and happiness, inviting everyone to join in and be joyful. The lyrics are repetitious, which is common in folk music, and encourage the audience to sing along and enjoy themselves.

The lyrics begin with "Hava nagila, hava nagila" which means "let us rejoice, let us rejoice." This opening line sets the tone for the rest of the song, which goes on to invite everyone to join in the celebration and feel happy. The repetition of "ve-nis'mecha" and "venis'mecha" adds a rhythm to the song and encourages the audience to sing along.

The verse "Uru, uru achim, uru achim belev same'ach" means "awake, awake brothers, awake brothers with a happy heart." The verse further urges the audience to join in the celebration with joy in their hearts.

Line by Line Meaning

Hava nagila, hava nagila
Come let us rejoice, come let us rejoice

Hava nagila ve-nis'mecha
Let us rejoice and be happy

Hava neranena, hava neranena
Let us sing, let us sing

Hava neranena venis'mecha
Let us sing and be happy

Uru, uru achim
Awaken, awaken brothers

Uru achim belev same'ach
Awake brothers with a joyful heart

Writer(s): tradicional judía

Contributed by Hailey B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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