“The Dreidel Song” is probably the most well known Chanukah song to those of us outside of the Jewish religion and tradition, and for those of you who don’t know is about the playing of a traditional game using a spinning top called a dreidel. The dreidel itself is a four sided top with the Hebrew letters nun, gimel, hei, and shin printed on it. The letters represent the words nes gadol hayah sham, which translates to “A great miracle happened there.” Except in Israel where hei is replaced by pei for the word poh. This then changes the meaning to “A great miracle happened here”
I decided to rethink “The Dreidel Song” as a half spoken, half sung piece, and features a new vocalist I’m working with, a bloke by the name of Jim Furey. Yup, me. Ha! It opens with a nice old-timey organ courtesy an old-timey Orchestron and then quickly transforms into a driving electrosynth-fest. Also features are the Logic Retrosynth for pads and the 8-bit “victory jingle”, impOSCar2 from G-Force, and Massive from NI. All beats were programmed in NI’s Maschine using the Pulswerk and Raw Voltage sets.
lyrics
I have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay.
When it's dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play.
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay.
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, then dreidel I shall play.
It has a lovely body, with legs so short and thin.
When it gets all tired, it drops and then I win!
Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, with leg so short and thin.
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, it drops and then I win!
My dreidel's always playful. It loves to dance and spin.
A happy game of dreidel, come play now let's begin.
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, it loves to dance and spin.
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel. Come play now let's begin.
All songs arranged, produced, and mastered by Jim Furey.
Mixed and mastered at Robot Junkyard.
Artwork by Jim Furey. Stock photos provided by www.photoeverywhere.co.uk.
Copyright 2013, Jim Furey (ASCAP) and MixiM Music (ASCAP)
Every song by Solarno has a story behind it, and a goal to create an experience and atmosphere of exploration, not just of the music itself, but also the inspiration behind it.
Color Theory, the king of electronic piano pop, takes a beautiful detour down a digital highway lined with neon lights and bouncy synths. My fave track? The epic album closer, The Past Yet to Come. Solarno