BIRDS START SINGING
COCK CROWS
SOLO FIDDLE PLAYS MELODY
MELODY PLAYS IN COUNTERPOINT
"A fiddler on the roof."
Sounds crazy, no?
But here in our little village of Anatevka,
you might say every one of us is a fiddler on the roof -
trying to scratch out a pleasant,
simple tune without breaking his neck!
It isn't easy.
You may ask, "Why do we stay up there if it's so dangerous?"
Well...we stay because Anatevka is our home.
And how do we keep our balance?
That I can tell you in one word -
TRADITION!
# Tradition! Tradition!
# Tradition!
# Tradition! Tradition!
# Tradition! #
Because of our traditions,
we've kept our balance for many, many years.
Here in Anatevka,
we have traditions for everything -
how to sleep, how to eat...
..how to work...
..how to wear clothes.
For instance, we always keep our heads covered
and always wear a little prayer shawl.
This shows our constant devotion to God.
You may ask, "How did this tradition get started?"
I'll tell you...
..I don't know.
But it's a tradition.
And because of our traditions,
every one of us knows who he is
and what God expects him to do.
MEN:
# Who, day and night,
must scramble for a living,
# Feed a wife and children, say his daily prayers,
# And who has the right, as master of the house, to have the final word at home?
# The papa! The papa!
# Tradition!
# The papa! The papa!
# Tradition!
WOMEN:
# Who must know the way to make
a proper home, a quiet home,
a kosher home?
# Who must raise a family and run the home, so Papa's free to read the Holy Book?
# The mama! The mama!
# Tradition!
# The mama! The mama!
# Tradition!
BOYS:
# At three I started Hebrew School,
at ten I learned a trade
# I hear they've picked a bride for me
# I hope she's pretty! # Ow!
GIRLS:
# And who does Mama teach
to mend and tend and fix,
# Preparing her to marry whoever Papa picks?
# The daughters! The daughters!
# Tradition!
ALL: # The papas, mamas, sons, daughters!
# Tradition! #
And in the circle of our little village,
we've always had our special types. For instance...
..Yente, the matchmaker...
..Reb Nachum, the beggar...
..and most important of all, our beloved Rabbi!
Rabbi, may I ask a question?
Certainly, Leibesh!
Is there a proper blessing for the Tsar?
A blessing for the Tsar? Of course.
May God bless and keep the Tsar...
..far away from us!
THEY LAUGH TRADITION TUNE RESUMES
MUSIC GROWS SOLEMN
Then there are the others in our village.
They make a much bigger circle.
We don't bother them, and, so far, they don't bother us.
And among ourselves, we always get along perfectly well!
Of course, there was the time when he sold him a horse
and told him it was only six years old,
when it was really 12!
But now it's all over
and we all live in simple peace and harmony.
It was really 12 years old. It was six!
THEY ALL START ARGUING
Help!
HE-E-E-ELP!
# Tradition! Tradition!
# Tradition!
# Tradition! Tradition!
# Tradition! #
Traditions, traditions!
Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as...as...
..as a fiddler on the roof!
OVERTURE PLAYS
Mama! Mama! Yente, the matchmaker, is coming!
Maybe she's finally found a good match for you, Tzeitel!
From your mouth to God's ears!
Why now? It's almost Sabbath!
Out! I want to talk to Yente alone.
But, Mama, the men she finds!
The last one was so old!
And he was bald! He had no hair!
A poor girl can't be so particular. You want hair? Marry a monkey!
Even a poor girl has to look at her husband sometimes!
A husband is not to look at - a husband is to get!
I'm not yet 20 years old. I don't think I have to get...
Shah! Do you have to boast about your age?
Do you want to tempt the evil eye? SHE SPITS
GIGGLING
Out! All of you!
There's work to do for the Sabbath! Hurry, all of you!
Golde?
Golde! I have such news for you!
And not every-day-of-the-week news,
once-in-a-lifetime news!
Such diamonds! Such jewels!
I'll find a husband for all of them, but YOU shouldn't be so picky!
Right? Of course right!
After all, even the worst husband, God forbid,
is better than no husband, God forbid!
Who should know better than me? Ever since my husband died,
I've been a poor widow, all alone, no-one to talk to, nothing to say!
All I do at night is think of him,
and even thinking of him gives me no pleasure!
Is Tzeitel in the house?
Why don't you go in and find out?
Thank you, Bielke.
THEY GIGGLE
He never raised his voice...
Oh! Good afternoon. Is Tzeitel in the house?
She's busy. Come back later.
But I'd like to tell her something. Later!
Later? Mmm. I...
What does that skinny tailor want with Tzeitel?
They've been friends since babies. They talk, they play.
They play? What do they play?
I don't know. They're children.
From such children come other children!
Motel? He's nothing! Yente, you said you had news for me?
Ah, children, children! They are your blessing in your old age!
My Aaron, may he rest in peace, couldn't give me children.
In truth, Golde, he hardly tried!
But, what's the use complaining?
Other women enjoy complaining, not Yente!
Not every woman in the world is a Yente!
Well...I have to go home now.
I must prepare my poor Sabbath meal. Goodbye, Golde.
It was a pleasure talking our hearts out.
Yente! You said you had news!
Ach, I'm losing my head. One day it'll fall off altogether
and a horse will kick it in the mud, and "Goodbye, Yente!"
Of course, the news!
It's about Lazar Wolf, the butcher. A good man, a fine man,
and I don't need to tell you he's well off. No? Yes!
But he's lonely, the poor man.
After all, he's been a widower all these years. You understand? Of course you do!
So I'll make it short.
Out of the whole town, he's cast his eye on Tzeitel!
MY Tzeitel?
No, the Tsar's Tzeitel!
Of course, your Tzeitel!
Such a match for my Tzeitel!
But Tevye wants a learned man. He doesn't like Lazar.
So Lazar won't marry HIM! He wants the daughter, not the father!
Listen, Golde, send Tevye to him. Don't tell him what it's about.
They'll talk. Lazar will win him over.
He's a good man AND a wealthy man!
So you'll let me know how it went. You don't need to thank me, Golde,
because, aside from my fee, which Lazar will pay anyway,
it gives me satisfaction to make people happy!
True? Of course true!
So, goodbye, Golde,
and you're welcome! Goodbye, Yente.
Come! Get ready for the Sabbath!
I wonder if Yente found a husband for you.
I'm not anxious for Yente to find me a husband!
Not unless it's Motel, the tailor! I didn't ask you!
Tzeitel, you're the oldest. They have to make a match for you
before one for me. And after her, me.
So, if Yente... Yente, Yente!
Someone has to arrange the matches!
She might bring someone wonderful! Interesting!
Well off! Important!
# Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match
# Find me a find, catch me a catch
# Matchmaker, matchmaker, look through your book
# And make me a perfect match!
# Matchmaker, matchmaker, I'll bring the veil
# You bring the groom, slender and pale
# Bring me a ring, for I'm longing to be
# The envy of all I see!
# For Papa, make him a scholar!
# For Mama, make him rich as a king!
BOTH: # For me, well, I wouldn't holler
# If he were as handsome as anything!
# Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match,
# Find me a find, catch me a catch
# Night after night, in the dark, I'm alone
# So find me a match of my own! #
Since when did you want a match, Chava?
I thought you just had your eye on your books!
And YOU have your eye on the Rabbi's son! Well, why not?
We only have one Rabbi and he only has one son!
Why shouldn't I want the best?
Because you're from a poor family,
so whatever Yente brings, you'll take!
Right? Of course right!
# Hodel! Oh, Hodel, have I made a match for you!
# He's handsome! He's young! All right, he's 62...
# But he's a nice man, a good catch
True? True!
# I promise you'll be happy
# And even if you're not, there's more to life than that
# Don't ask me what!
# Chava, I've found him!
# Will you be a lucky bride!
# He's handsome, he's tall
# That is from side to side!
# But he's a nice man, a good catch
Right? Right!
# You heard he has a temper He'll beat you every night
# But only when he's sober
# So you're all right!
# Did you think you'd get a prince?
# Well, I'll find the best I can!
# With no dowry, no money, no family background
# Be glad you've got a MAN!
# Matchmaker, matchmaker, you know that I'm still very young
# Please, take your time!
# Up to this minute I misunderstood
# That I could get stuck for GOOD!
# Dear Yente, see that he's gentle
# Remember, you were also a bride
# It's not that I'm sentimental
# It's just that I'm TERRIFIED!
# Matchmaker, matchmaker, plan me no plans, I'm in no rush
# Maybe I've learned
# Playing with matches a girl can get burned!
# So bring me no ring! Groom me no groom!
# Find me no find! Catch me no catch!
# Unless he's a matchless match! #
TEVYE SIGHS
Dear God, was that necessary?
Did you have to make him lame just before the Sabbath?
Oh, that wasn't nice.
It's enough you pick on me, bless me with five daughters,
a life of poverty. That's all right.
But what have you got against my horse?
Really! Sometimes I think
when things are too quiet up there
you say to yourself,
"Let's see... What kind of mischief can I play on my friend Tevye?"
Ah-ha, so you're finally here, my breadwinner!
WHISPERS: I'll talk to you later.
Why are you late today? His foot went lame.
Well, hurry! The sun won't wait!
And I have something important to say to you.
I still have some deliveries in the village.
You'll be late for the Sabbath! I won't be late.
You'll be late. I won't be late!
I WON'T be late!
If you ever stop talking, I won't be late!
You can die from such a man!
As the Good Book says, "Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed."
In other words, send us the cure...
WHISPERS: ..we've got the sickness already!
Well, I'm not really complaining.
After all, with your help...
..I'm STARVING to death!
O dear Lord...
..you made many, many poor people.
I realise, of course, it's no shame to be poor.
But it's no great honour, either!
So would it have been SO terrible if I had a small fortune?
# If I were a rich man
# Yaba-dibi-dibi, dibi-dibi-dibi-dibi-dum
# All day long I'd bidi-bidi-bum
# If I were a wealthy man
# I wouldn't have to work hard!
# Yaba-dibi-dibi, dibi-dibi-dibi-dibi-dum
# If I were a bidi-bidi rich,
# Idle diddle-diedle-diedle man!
# I'd build a big tall house, with rooms by the dozen
# Right in the middle of the town!
# A fine tin roof, with real wooden floors below!
# There would be one long staircase just going up
# And one even longer coming down
# And one more, leading nowhere, just for show!
# I'd fill my yard with chicks and turkeys and geese and ducks
# For the town to see and hear
# Squawking just as noisily as they can!
# And each LOB-DE-KEE! LOB-DE-COO! LOB-DE-CACK!
# Will land like a trumpet on the ear!
# As if to say, "Here lives a wealthy man!"
HE SIGHS
# If I were a rich man
# Yaba-dibi-dibi, dibi-dibi-dibi-dibi-dum
# All day long I'd bidi-bidi-bum
# If I were a wealthy man!
# I wouldn't have to work hard!
# Yaba-dibi-dibi, dibi-dibi-dibi-dibi-dum!
# If I were a bidi-bidi rich
# Idle diddle-diedle-diedle man!
# I see my wife, my Golde
# Looking like a rich man's wife with a proper double-chin
# Supervising meals to her heart's delight!
# I see her putting on airs and strutting like a peacock!
# Oh, what a happy mood she's in!
# Screaming at the servants day and night! #
HE YELLS
# The most important men in town will come to fawn on me!
# They'll ask me to advise them like Solomon the Wise
# "If you please, Reb Tevye..."
# "Pardon me, Reb Tevye..."
# Posing problems that would cross a Rabbi's eyes!
SINGS LIKE A CANTOR IN SYNAGOGUE
# And it won't make one bit of difference
# If I answer right or wrong
# When you're rich, they think you really know
# If I were rich, I'd have the time that I lack
# To sit in the synagogue and pray
# And maybe have a seat by the eastern wall
# And I'd discuss the Holy Books with the learned men
# Seven hours every day
# And that would be the sweetest thing of all!
HE SIGHS
# If I were a rich man
# Yaba-dibi-dibi, dibi-dibi-dibi-dibi-dum
# All day long I'd bidi-bidi-bum
# If I were a wealthy man!
# I wouldn't have to work hard!
# Yaba-dibi-dibi, dibi-dibi-dibi-dibi-dum!
# Lord who made the lion and the lamb
# You decreed I should be what I am
# Would it spoil some VAST ETERNAL PLAN
# If I were a WEALTHY MAN?! #
Tevye! Where's your horse?
Well, he decided to take a day off!
Have a good Sabbath. Thank you.
CHATTER
Look at this! Look what it says in the paper!
EXCITED CHATTER
Quiet!
Stop braying like a pack of mules and let a man talk!
Talk, Avram. My paper came to the post office like it does every week.
It usually comes on Thursday, but... Avram, that's NOT talking!
That's babbling!
ROWDY HUBBUB
QUIET! Talk, Avram.
Well, I was reading my paper.
Nothing very important, a story about crops in Ukraine and this and that...
Avram...TALK.
And then...I saw THIS!
All right. We all see it.
What does it SAY?
In a village called Rajanka, all the Jews were evicted!
"Forced to leave their homes!"
For what reason?
It doesn't say. Maybe the Tsar wanted their land? Maybe a plague?
May the Tsar have his OWN plague! THEY SPIT
Why don't you ever bring us good news?
It's not my fault! I only read it. An edict from the authorities!
May they grow like onions with their heads in the ground!
THEY SPIT What good will your cursing do?
You stand around, you curse and you chatter!
You don't DO anything!
You'll chatter your way into the grave!
Excuse me, you're not from this village.
No. Where are you from?
Kyiv. I studied at the university.
Tell me, is that where you learned not to respect your elders?!
I learned there is more to life than talk!
You should know what's going on outside!
Why must I break my head over them? Let them break their own heads!
He's right! As the Good Book says,
"If you spit in the air, it lands in your face!"
Nonsense! You can't close your eyes to what's happening!
He's right.
He's right and he's right? They can't both be right!
You know, you are also right!
He's right? He's too young to wipe his nose! Good Sabbath!
Here, good Sabbath! Good Shabbos, Tevye.
Good Sabbath.
HE MUMBLES
Oh, I'm sorry! I apologise.
Here.
Good Sabbath! Tevye, the Rabbi's order.
Oh, of course.
So you're from Kyiv, Reb...? Perchik. Perchik.
So you are a newcomer here?
As Abraham said, "I am a stranger in a strange land."
Moses said that!
Forgive me.
As King David said, "I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."
That was also Moses.
For a man with a slow tongue, he talked a lot!
Here, Reb Perchik, have a piece.
I have no money. And I'm not a beggar.
Take it. It's a blessing for me to give.
Very well. For your sake.
Thank you, thank you!
You know, it's no crime to be poor.
In this world it's the rich who are the criminals.
Someday their wealth will be ours!
Oh, that would be nice.
If they would agree, I would agree!
Who will make this MIRACLE happen?
Ordinary people. Like you?
Like me.
Until the golden day comes, Reb Perchik, how will you live?
By teaching children. Do you have children?
I have five daughters!
Five?!
Daughters!
Girls should learn too. Girls are people.
A radical! Oh, go away!
I'd be willing to teach them, open their minds to great thoughts.
Yes? I'd like them to know the Good Book.
Well, the Bible has many lessons for our times!
Perchik, I'm a very poor man.
But...food for lessons? Huh?
Good, good! Stay with us for the Sabbath.
We don't eat like kings, but we don't starve either!
As the Good Book says,
"When a poor man eats a chicken, one of them is sick!"
THEY LAUGH
WHERE does it say that?
All right! It doesn't EXACTLY say it!
But someplace it has something about a chicken!
Good Sabbath! Good Sabbath. Good Sabbath.
Good Sabbath, children. Good Sabbath, Papa.
Children, this is Perchik.
Perchik, this is my eldest daughter.
You have a pleasant daughter. I have FIVE pleasant daughters!
This is mine. And this is mine.
And this is mine, and this is mine,
and this is mine!
And th... Well, this is not mine!
This is, Motel Kamzoil.
So you did us a favour and came home?
But this is also mine.
Golde, this is Perchik from Kyiv.
He's staying for Sabbath. He's a teacher!
Would you like to take lessons from him? Yes, Papa!
Good! I'm a very good teacher.
The Rabbi who must praise himself has a congregation of one!
THEY LAUGH
Your daughter has a quick and witty tongue!
Well, the wit is from me.
As the Good Book says... The Good Book can wait! Get washed!
The tongue is from her mother!
Motel, are you eating with us? If...
Of course! Another blessing!
Tzeitel, get the small table and the chairs from outside!
Children, finish dressing. You can wash at the well. Thank you.
Hurry, Hodel, help them.
HURRY! It's almost the Sabbath!
Tevye?
I have something to say to you. Why should today be different?
Tevye, I have something to TELL you!
Tzeitel, I have something to tell you!
Yente was here! I know, I saw her.
If they agree on a match, it'll be too late for us!
Tzeitel, I've found someone who'll sell me his used sewing machine!
So maybe in a few weeks, I can save enough to buy it, then...
A few weeks might be too late!
Lazar Wolf wants to see you. The butcher? What is it about?
I don't know. He says it's important.
What can be important? I have nothing for him to slaughter!
After the Sabbath, see him! Talk with him! About what?
About what? If he is thinking about buying my new milk cow,
he can FORGET IT!
Tevye, I want you to talk... Sh!
HE STARTS RECITING PRAYER
Tevye, I want you to talk to...
HE PRAYS LOUDER
What else can I do?
You could ask my father for my hand tonight.
Now! Why should he consider me? I'm a poor tailor.
And I'm only the daughter of a poor milkman! Just talk to him.
Tzeitel, if your father says no, that's it! It's final!
He'll yell at me! Motel...
I'm JUST a poor tailor! Motel!
Even a poor tailor is entitled to some happiness!
That's true!
HE CONTINUES PRAYING
Amen. Amen! At least you could talk to him!
I don't want to! TALK TO HIM!
All right! I'LL TALK TO HIM!
All right. I'll talk to him.
Well, it's getting late.
Where is everybody?
I don't know, Papa.
Children, come down! We are lighting the candles.
Reb Tevye... Not now, Motel.
Children, hurry up!
Reb Tevye... Not now, Motel. Golde!
Golde, the sun is almost down! R-Reb Tevye...?
What IS it? Reb Tevye...
Yes? Reb Tevye... Yes?
Yes? I... Yes?
Well, Motel, WHAT IS IT?!
SOFT WHIMPER
Good Sabbath, Reb Tevye!
Good Sabbath, good Sabbath.
Hurry up.
Hurry, children. Perchik. It's getting late. Hurry!
# May the Lord protect and defend you
# May He always shield you from shame
# May you come to be in Israel a shining name
# May you be like Ruth and like Esther
# May you be deserving of praise
# Strengthen them, O Lord, and keep them from the strangers' ways
# May God bless you and grant you long life
# May the Lord fulfil our Sabbath prayer for you
# May God make you good mothers and wives
# May He send you husbands who will care for you
# May the Lord protect and defend you May the Lord...
# May He preserve you from pain May He preserve you from pain
# Favour them, O Lord Favour them, O Lord
# With happiness and peace
# O hear our Sabbath prayer
# Amen. #
Is Reb...
Is Reb Lazar Wolf at home?
Is Reb Lazar Wolf...at home?
He's in the back.
May I...um...?
Hmm?
Come in. Oh, thank you. Thank you.
TEVYE EXHALES SHARPLY
Huh.
And all this from killing innocent animals?
Don't touch anything! All right.
DOOR OPENS
Well, Tevye!
HE CHUCKLES
You're here.
Well, sit down, sit down!
Thank you. Have a drink.
I won't insult you by saying no.
Well, how goes it with you, Reb Tevye?
How should it go?
You're right! And you?
The same. I'm sorry to hear that.
Um...
How is your, um...
..brother-in-law...in America?
He's doing very well. He wrote?
No, not lately. Then how do you know?
If he was doing badly, he would write!
L'chaim. L'chaim.
Tevye... Yes?
I suppose you know why I wanted to see you?
Well, yes, I do, but there is no use talking about it.
Tevye, I understand how you feel, but...
..after all, you have a few more without her.
Ah, I see.
Today you want one, tomorrow you may want two!
Two?
W-What would I do with two?
The same as you do with one!
Um...
Tevye...
This is very important to me.
Why is it so important to you?
Frankly...
..because...
..I'm lonely.
Lonely? Mm-hm.
Reb Lazar, what are you TALKING about?
How can a little cow keep you company? Little COW?!
Is that what you call her?!
What else would I call her? That's what she is!
Reb Lazar, what are you talking about?! Don't you know?
Of course I know! We are talking about my new milk cow,
the one you want to buy from me!
HE LAUGHS
A milk cow?!
A milk cow so I won't be lonely!
I'm talking...
I'm talking about your daughter...Tzeitel!
My daughter, Tzeitel?
Of course your daughter, Tzeitel!
I see her every Thursday in my butcher's shop
and she's made a very good impression on me,
a VERY good impression!
Reb Tevye...I like her.
Why don't we just shake hands and call it a match?
And...I'll be good to her.
Tevye...
I...
I like her.
Well...
What do you think?
What do I think? Huh?
I've never really liked him.
Why should I?
You can have a fine conversation with him...
..if you talk about kidneys and livers!
On the other hand,
not everyone has to be a scholar.
And with a butcher, my daughter will surely never know hunger.
Maybe I misjudged him.
He's a good man.
He likes her.
And he'll try to make her happy.
What do I think?
It's a match! Oh!
You agree? I agree!
Oh, Tevye, you have made me a happy man!
Good! Let's drink on it! Why not?
To you! No, my friend, to YOU!
To both of us! To our agreement! To our agreement!
To our prosperity!
To our good health and happiness!
And most important of all...
# Well, to life! To life! L'chaim!
# L'chaim! L'chaim! To life!
# To the father I've tried to be! Here's to my bride-to-be!
# Drink l'chaim! To life! To life! L'chaim!
# L'chaim! L'chaim! To life!
# Life has a way of confusing us Blessing and bruising us
# Drink l'chaim to life!
# God would like us to be joyful
# Even when our hearts lie panting on the floor!
# How much more can we be joyful
# When there's really something to be joyful for?!
# To life! To life! L'chaim!
# To Tzeitel, my daughter! My wife!
# It's something to think about! Something to drink about!
# Drink, l'chaim...
# ..to life! #
Bartend! Bartend! Drinks for EVERYONE!
What's the big occasion? I'm taking myself a bride!
Who's the lucky one?
Tevye's eldest, Tzeitel!
# To Lazar Wolf! To Tevye!
# To Tzeitel, your daughter! My wife!
# May your futures be pleasant ones, not like our present ones!
# Drink l'chaim! To life! To life! L'chaim!
# L'chaim! L'chaim! L'chaim! To life!
# It takes a wedding to make us say
# Let's live another day! Drink l'chaim! To life!
# We raise a glass and sip a drop of schnapps
# In honour of the great good luck that favoured you!
# We know that when good fortune favours two such men
# It stands to reason we deserve it too!
# To us and our good fortune!
# Be happy! Be healthy! Long life!
# And if our good fortune never comes, here's to whatever comes!
# Drink l'chaim! To life! #
THEY VOCALISE THE MELODY
A SINGLE PURE NOTE RINGS OUT
# Za vashe zdorovye
# Heaven bless you both, na zdrovye!
# To your health and may we live together in peace! #
Thank you.
# Za vashe zdorovye
# Heaven bless you both, na zdrovye!
# To your health and may we live together in peace!
# May you both be favoured with the future of your choice!
# May you live to see 1,000 reasons to rejoice!
# Aa-a-a-a-h! #
Hey! I like it!
# Hey, hey, hey, hey! #
THEY VOCALISE MELODY
Drinks for everybody! Mazel tov!
TO LIFE!
ROWDY CHATTER
Tevye, after the marriage...
..we will be related! Yes?
You will be my Papa!
Your Papa?
Lazar Wolf, I always wanted a son!
But I wanted one a little younger than myself!
THEY LAUGH
Goodnight. Goodnight.
I hear that congratulations are in order, Tevye.
Thank you, Your Honour! Thank you!
Tevye?
Tevye.
Yes, Your Honour?
I have some news I should tell you as a friend. Your Honour?
I'm giving you this news because I like you.
You're an honest, decent person, even though you are a Jew.
Oh, thank you, Your Honour!
How often does a man get a compliment like THAT?
And the news?
We have received orders that sometime soon
this district is to have a little unofficial demonstration.
What?
A pogrom? Here?
No, no, no just a little unofficial demonstration!
Little? How little?
Well, not too serious. Just some mischief,
so that if an inspector comes, he'll see we did our duty.
Personally, I don't know why there has to be this trouble between people,
but I thought I should tell you.
Thank you, Your Honour.
You're a good man.
If I may say so...
..it's too bad you're not a Jew.
That's what I like about you, Tevye,
you're always joking!
Congratulations again for your daughter. Thank you, Your Honour.
About the other matter - it won't be too bad. I wouldn't worry.
No, of course not!
Dear God...
..did you HAVE to send me news like THAT today of all days?
I know, I know! We are the Chosen People.
But, once in a while, can't you choose someone ELSE?
Anyway, thank you for sending a husband for my Tzeitel.
L'chaim.
FIDDLE PLAYS IF I WERE A RICH MAN
Now, after Jacob had worked for Laban for seven years,
do you know what happened?
Laban fooled him and gave him his ugly daughter, Leah.
So to marry Rachel, Jacob was forced to work another seven years!
So, you see, children, the Bible clearly teaches us
you can never trust an employer!
And that is what the Bible teaches us?
That's the lesson of the story of Jacob,
if you interpret it correctly
Is your Papa up yet?
No, Mama.
Enough lessons! Back to the house! There's work to do!
Go on, children. Another story tomorrow.
That was a very interesting lesson, Perchik.
Do you think so? Mmm.
Although I don't know if the Rabbi would agree with your interpretation.
Neither, I suppose, would the Rabbi's son?
My little sisters talk too much.
What do you know of him, except he is the Rabbi's son?
At least I know this - he doesn't have any strange ideas
about turning the world upside down!
Good day, Perchik.
You have wit, even a little intelligence! Thank you. Perhaps!
But what use is your brain? Without curiosity, it's a rusty tool!
Good day! We have an old CUSTOM here!
A boy talks respectfully to a girl.
But of course that's too TRADITIONAL for an advanced thinker like you!
Our traditions! Nothing must change!
Everything is PERFECT exactly the way it is!
We like our ways! Our ways are changing all over but here!
Do you know in the city, boys and girls can be affectionate
without the permission of a matchmaker?
They hold hands together!
They even dance together! New dances, like this!
I learned it in Kyiv!
Do you like it? It's...
It's very nice.
There.
We've just changed an old custom.
Yes.
I mean...th-thank you.
I mean...
Good day!
Go away!
HE GROANS
HE GRUMBLES
So my prince is finally up! Oh, God! Not now.
Open your eyes! Go away. The day's half gone!
Well?
Well, what happened, besides you drinking like a peasant?
Did you see Lazar Wolf?
Well?
WELL?
What did he say?
What... What did YOU say? Where...
Where is Tzeitel?
She's in the barn. Do you have news for me? Oh, the other way.
Did you talk with Lazar Wolf? Sh! Well, what HAPPENED?!
Patience, woman, patience!
As the Good Book says,
"Good news will stay, and bad news will refuse to leave!"
And there is another saying... You can DIE from such a man!
Did you see Lazar? Was it friendly?
Oh, shah, woman, shah. Are you still drunk or what?
Ah! Here she is!
Tzeitel, my lamb, come here!
You are to be congratulated!
You are going to be married!
Married! What do you mean, Papa?
Lazar Wolf has asked for your hand.
I KNEW it!
The butcher? Oh, dear God, I thank thee!
I thank thee! Do you have to...?
What do you say, Tzeitel? What can she say?
Let her say one word. My first-born a bride!
May you grow old with him in fortune and honour!
Not like Fruma Sarah, his first wife.
She was a bitter woman, may she rest in peace!
Not like my Tzeitel!
And now I must thank Yente! My Tzeitel, a bride!
A bride! Oh, I thank thee! I THANK THEE!
Well, Chavaleh? Huh?
Mazel tov, Tzeitel.
"Mazel tov, Tzeitel." What kind of a mazel tov is that?
Perchik, won't you congratulate her?
Congratulations, Tzeitel, for getting a rich man!
Ah, again with the rich!
What's WRONG with being rich?
It's no reason to marry! Money's the world's curse.
May the Lord smite ME with it!
And may I NEVER recover!
World's curse!
My Tzeitel knows I mean only her welfare!
Am I right, Tzeitel?
Yes, Papa. There! You see?
I see. I see very well!
Well, my child, why are you so silent?
Aren't you happy with this blessing? Huh?
Papa...
Papa... What is it? Tell me.
Papa, I don't want to marry him!
I CAN'T marry him! I can't!
What do you mean, you can't?
If I say you will, you will!
Papa, if it's a matter of money, I'll do ANYTHING!
I'll hire myself out as a servant! Just...
But we made an agreement!
And with us, an AGREEMENT IS AN AGREEMENT!
Is that...more important than I am, Papa?!
PAPA, DON'T FORCE ME, PLEASE!
I'LL BE UNHAPPY ALL MY DAYS!
SHE SOBS
I don't want to marry him! All right.
All right. I won't force you.
Oh, THANK YOU, Papa! Thank you!
Thank you, Papa!
It seems it was not ordained
that you should have all the comforts of life!
Reb Tevye, may I speak to you? Later, Motel. Later.
But I would like to speak to you.
Not now, Motel, not now. I have problems!
That's what I want to speak to you about. I think I can help.
Certainly, like a bandage can help a corpse!
Goodbye. Motel. At least listen to him, Papa!
All right. You have a tongue, talk!
Reb Tevye, I hear you are arranging
a match for Tzeitel.
He also has ears!
Well, I have a match for Tzeitel.
What kind of a match?
A perfect fit. A perfect fit.
Like a glove! Glove.
This match was made exactly to measure!
Perfect fit, made-to-measure!
Stop talking like a tailor! WHO IS IT?!
Please don't shout at me, Reb Tevye.
SOFTLY: All right. All right, I won't shout.
Sh. Who is it?
Who IS it? Who is it?
Who is it? WHO IS IT?!
It's me.
Myself.
TEVYE CHUCKLES
It's HIM...HIMSELF!
Either you are out of your mind, or you're crazy!
He must be crazy! Arranging a match for yourself!
What are you? Everything?
The bridegroom, the matchmaker, the guests all rolled into one?!
I suppose you'll even perform the ceremony yourself?!
Please don't shout at me, Reb Tevye.
As for being my own matchmaker, I know it's a little unusual...
Unusual? It's CRAZY!
Times are changing, Reb Tevye!
Over a year ago, Tzeitel and I gave each other a pledge to marry.
You gave each other a pledge?
Yes, Papa. We gave each other our pledge.
They gave each other a pledge?
Unheard of! Absurd!
# You gave each other a pledge? Unthinkable!
# Where do you think you are? In Moscow? In Paris?
# Where do they think they are? America?
# What do you think you're doing? You stitcher! You nothing!
# Who do you think you are? King Solomon?
# This isn't the way it's done! Not here! Not now!
# Some things I will not, I cannot allow!
# Tradition!
# Marriages must be arranged by the papa!
# This should never be changed!
# One little time you pull out a prop and where does it stop? #
WHERE DOES IT STOP?
Do I still have something to say about my daughter?
Doesn't anyone have to ask a father any more?
I've wanted to ask you for some time, Reb Tevye,
but first, I wanted to save up for my own sewing machine so we'd have...
Stop talking nonsense!
You are just a poor tailor! That's true, Reb Tevye!
But even a poor tailor is entitled to some happiness!
I promise you, Reb Tevye, your daughter will not starve!
Hmm, he's beginning to talk like a man!
On the other hand, what kind of a match will that be
with a poor tailor?
On the other hand, he's an honest hard worker.
But on the other hand, he has absolutely nothing!
On the other hand, things could never get worse for him,
they could only get better!
They gave each other a pledge! Unheard of! Absurd!
# They gave each other a pledge! Unthinkable!
# But look at my daughter's face
# She loves him, she wants him
# And look at my daughter's eyes, so hopeful
# TRADITION! #
Well, children...
..when shall we make the wedding?
Oh, THANK YOU, PAPA!!
Reb Tevye, you won't be sorry!
You WON'T be sorry! I won't be sorry?
I'm sorry ALREADY!
Thank you, Papa! Thank you...Papa! All right.
Papa!
They gave each other a pledge!
HE GRUMBLES
GOLDE!
What shall I tell Golde?!
Motel, you were WONDERFUL! It was a miracle!
# Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles
# God took up Daniel once again
# Stood by his side and miracle of miracles
# Walked him through the lions' den!
# Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles
# I was afraid that God would frown
# But, like he did so long ago in Jericho
# God just made a wall fall down!
TZEITEL LAUGHS
# When Moses softened Pharaoh's heart
# That was a miracle!
# When God made the waters of the Red Sea part
# That was a miracle too!
# But of all God's miracles, large and small
# The most miraculous one of all
# Is that out of a worthless lump of clay
# God has made a man today!
# Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles
# God took a tailor by the hand
# Turned him around and miracle of miracles
# Led him to the Promised Land!
# When David slew Goliath, YES, that was a miracle!
# When God gave us manna in the wilderness
# That was a miracle too!
# But of all God's miracles, large and small
# The most miraculous one of all
# Is the one I thought could never be
# God has given you to me! #
Good day! Hello, Sarah, Varsha! Mazel tov, Chava!
Soon it will be you! I hope so.
Give my best wishes to Tzeitel. I will! Mazel tov!
Mazel tov, Chava! Mazel tov! Mazel tov!
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Don't run away!
Please... No, don't.
Please!
THEY TAUNT HER
All right, stop it.
What's wrong with you, Fyedka? Just stop it.
We're just having a little fun, Fyedka. Goodbye, Sasha.
I said goodbye!
MAN WHISTLES
THEY LAUGH
I'm sorry about that.
They mean no harm. Don't they?
Is there something you want?
Yes, I'd like to talk to you.
I'd rather not. Hmm.
I've often noticed you at the book-seller's.
Not many girls in this village like to read.
Would you like to borrow this book? It's very good.
No.
Thank you. Why?
Because I'm not Jewish?
Do you feel about me the way THEY feel about you?
I didn't think you would.
And what do you know about me?
Let me tell you about myself.
I'm a pleasant fellow, charming,
honest, ambitious, quite bright,
and very modest!
Go ahead. Take the book.
And after you return it, I'll ask you how you like it
and we can talk about it for a while.
Then we can talk about life.
How we feel about things.
Here.
Thank you.
Good day, Chava. Good day.
Fyedka.
HELP!
Help! Help! Motel! Tzeitel! Tevye, what's the matter with you?
Help! Wake up! What is the matter with you? Wake up!
What? Where is she? Where? Who?
Where is she? Where is who? What are you talking about?
Fruma Sarah! Lazar Wolf's first wife!
She was standing here a minute ago!
What are you TALKING about?
Fruma Sarah has been dead for years!
You must have been dreaming. Yes.
Now, tell me what you dreamt and I'll tell you what it meant.
Oh, it was terrible! Tell me.
All right.
Only don't be...FRIGHTENED!
In the beginning, I dreamt that, um...
we were having...a celebration of some kind.
Everybody we knew, all of our beloved departed, were there.
All of them!
Even your Great Uncle Mordechai was there.
And your cousin Rachel was there.
And in the middle of the dream,
in walks your Grandmother Tzeitel, may she rest in peace.
Grandmother Tzeitel! How did she look?
Well, for a woman dead 30 years, she looked very good!
Naturally, I went up to greet her.
# A blessing on your head Mazel tov, mazel tov!
# To see a daughter wed Mazel tov, mazel tov!
# And such a son-in-law like no-one ever saw
# The tailor Motel Kamzoil! #
Motel!
# A worthy boy is he Mazel tov, mazel tov!
# Of pious family Mazel tov, mazel tov!
# They named him after my dear Uncle Mordechai
# The tailor Motel Kamzoil! #
Tailor! She must've heard wrong!
She meant the butcher! I'll tell her.
# You must've heard wrong, Grandma, there's no tailor... #
Huh?!
# You mean the butcher, Grandma, by the name of Lazar Wolf! #
No, no, no!
# I mean the tailor, Tevye, my great-grandchild
# My little Tzeitel, who you named for me
# Motel's bride was meant to be!
# For such a match I prayed Mazel tov, mazel tov!
# In heaven it was made! Mazel tov, mazel tov!
# A fine upstanding boy, a comfort and a joy
# The tailor Motel Kamzoil! # But let me explain...
Stop it! We announced it already! We made a bargain with the butcher!
# A blessing on your house, Mazel tov, mazel tov!
# Imagine such a spouse, Mazel tov, mazel tov!
# And such a son-in-law, like no-one ever saw!
# The tailor Motel Kamzoil! #
But he is a butcher! # The tailor Motel Kamzoil! #
Tell them! His name is Lazar Wolf!
# The tailor Motel Kamzoil! #
Shah!
# Look! Who is this? Who is this? Who comes here? Who? Who?
CRASH OF THUNDER
# What woman is this by righteous anger shaken?
# Could it be? Yes, it could! Why not? Who could be mistaken?
# It's the butcher's wife come from beyond the grave! #
Oh, here she comes!
# It's the butcher's dear, darling, departed wife!
# Fruma Sarah! FRUMA SARAH! #
TEVYE!
GOLDE SCREAMS
Tevye!
# What is this about your daughter marrying my husband?
# Could you do this to your friend and neighbour Fruma Sarah?
# Have you no consideration for a woman's feelings?
# Handing over my belongings to a total stranger!
# How can you let your daughter take my place?
# Live in my house? Carry my keys? Wear my pearls? HOW?
# How can you allow your daughter to take her place? #
PEARLS! PEARLS! # House? Keys? Pearls?
Aaargh!
TEVYE-E-E-E-E!
# Such a learned man as Tevye wouldn't let it happen!
# Tell me that it isn't true and then I wouldn't worry!
# Say you didn't give your blessing to this marriage!
# Let me tell you what would follow such a fatal wedding!
BELL TOLLS
# If Tzeitel marries Lazar Wolf
# I pity them both!
# She'll live with him THREE weeks
# And when THREE weeks are up
# I'll come to her by night!
# I'll take her by the throat!
# And THIS I'll give your Tzeitel, THAT I'll give your Tzeitel! #
THEY SCREAM
GOLDE SCREAMS
JUMP!
# Here's my wedding present if she marries LAZAR WOLF! #
Evil spirit, away!
Such an evil spirit!
May it sink back into the earth!
SHE SPITS
Such a dark and horrible dream!
TEVYE WHEEZES
And to think it was brought on
because you saw that butcher!
Tevye, if my Grandmother Tzeitel, may she rest in peace...
SHE SPITS
..took the trouble to come
all the way from the other world to tell us about the tailor,
all I can say is that it's for the best
and couldn't possibly be any better! But, Golde...
Amen! Amen.
MIMICS HER SPITTING
Do you like these troublemakers? These Christ-killers?
Of course not! I just meant things are peaceful here...
BELLS PEAL
I have other villages to visit.
If you don't want to follow orders, we'll get someone who will.
Oh, no, no, sir! I'll take care of it, of course!
BAND PLAYS LIVELY TUNE
MUSIC ENDS CHATTER
Quiet down! Quiet down!
Quiet down!
INTRODUCTION TO SUNRISE, SUNSET DROWNS OUT BLESSING
TEVYE: # Is this the little girl I carried?
# Is this the little boy at play?
GOLDE: # I don't remember growing older
# When did they?
# When did she get to be a beauty?
# When did he grow to be so tall?
# Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?
ALL: # Sunrise, sunset Sunrise, sunset
# Swiftly flow the days
# Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
# Blossoming even as we gaze
# Sunrise, sunset Sunrise, sunset
# Swiftly fly the years
# One season following another
# Laden with happiness and tears
# What words of wisdom can I give them?
# How can I help to ease their way?
# Now they must learn from one another
# Day by day
# They look so natural together
# Just like two newlyweds should be
BOTH: # Is there a canopy in store for me?
ALL: # Sunrise, sunset Sunrise, sunset
# Swiftly fly the years
# One season following another
# Laden with happiness
# And tears. #
ALL: Mazel tov!
LIVELY MUSIC PLAYS
MUSIC GROWS GENTLE
MUSIC TEMPO PICKS UP
CLARINET PLAYS TRILLING TUNE
Quiet down! Quiet down!
Quiet down!
CHEERING
CHATTER
It was beautiful. Really beautiful!
Take your places, everybody! Quiet! Quiet down!
Quiet down!
Quiet down! Ha!
The newlyweds!
Friends, we are gathered here to share in the joys
of the newlyweds Motel and Tzeitel.
May they live together to a ripe old age! Amen!
Amen!
And now I want to say...
REB NACHUM MUMBLES
Reb Nachum...
..please, not HERE!
I'd like to announce the bride's parents are giving the newlyweds the following -
a feather-bed, two pillows...
GOLDE: GOOSE pillows! ..goose pillows,
a Sabbath tablecloth...
..and a pair of candlesticks!'
GUESTS CHEER
Now, we are just here on earth for a short visit.
Even the great and wealthy must die.
In fact, if the rich could hire others to die for them,
we, the poor, would all make a nice living!
LAUGHTER
Well put! Well put!
Lazar Wolf...talking about the rich,
there sits our good friend, Lazar Wolf!
Lazar has everything in the world, except a bride!
But Lazar has no ill feelings.
In fact, he told me he has a gift for the newlyweds
that he, himself, wants to announce.
Come on, Lazar!
Just like he said, I have no ill feelings.
What's done...
..is done!
I am giving the newlyweds FIVE CHICKENS!
ALL: Oh! Oh, that's nice!
One for each of the first five Sabbaths of their wedded life!
APPLAUSE
Um...Reb Lazar Wolf...
..you are a decent man.
On behalf of my daughter and her new husband...
..I accept your gift!
There's a famous saying... Reb Tevye,
I'm not marrying your daughter.
I don't have to listen to your sayings!
If you'd only listen for a moment... Why should I listen to you?!
A man who breaks an agreement?! Ah!
CLAMOURING
I have a right to talk!
What right? It's not YOUR wedding!
It SHOULD have been!
Lazar, don't shame Tevye at his daughter's wedding!
He shamed me in front of the whole village!
It's not me, it's God who changed it! And thank God he did!
SHAH!
Rabbi, say something!
I say... Yes?
I say... Let's sit down.
Yes, yes! Well, we all heard the words of the Rabbi.
Let's sit down.
Now I'm going to sing a little song.
HE CLEARS THROAT, FINDS PITCH
HE STARTS SINGING FOLK SONG
I don't want it! Leave me alone!
YOU CAN KEEP YOUR DISEASED CHICKENS!
YOU LEAVE MY CHICKENS OUT OF THIS!
WE MADE A BARGAIN!
BUT THE TERMS WEREN'T SETTLED!
WE DRANK ON IT!
CLAMOUR
You just sit down, all right!
ONCE A BUTCHER, ALWAYS A BUTCHER!
ONCE A LIAR, ALWAYS A LIAR!
You just sit down, all right?!
Those happen to be MY chickens!
GOLDE: I HAD A SIGN!
Quiet! I'm singing!
RESUMES SINGING
QUIET! QUIET!
What's all the screaming about?
"They drank on it!" "An agreement!" "A sign!"
It's all nonsense!
Tzeitel wanted to marry Motel, not Lazar.
A young girl decides for HERSELF?
Why not? They love each other.
Love! Terrible! He's a radical!
Musicians, play!
It's a dance! Everybody, dance!
It's a wedding! Some wedding! What is he doing?
Perchik! Who will dance with me?
THEY GASP
That's a sin!
It's no sin to dance at a wedding! With a girl? Yes, with a girl!
That's what comes of taking a wild man into your house!
He's not a wild man! His ideas are a little different, but...
Perchik! It's a sin!
It's no sin! Ask the Rabbi.
Go on, ask him!
Well, Rabbi?
Dancing?
Well, it's not exactly forbidden, b...
Well, there, you see!
It's not forbidden! And it's no sin.
Now, who will dance with me?
GASPS
He's asking her to dance!
Hodel!
It's only a dance, Mama.
Play!
MUSICIANS START SLOWLY
Say something.
MUSIC TEMPO PICKS UP
OUTCRY
Tevye, she's DANCING with a MAN!
I can SEE that she's dancing with a man!
And I'M going to dance WITH MY WIFE!
Tevye!
Mama, no! Golde!
He must be... GOLDE!
Golde!
Tzeitel?
No! I will not! Tzeitel! Motel!
See that? YOU are responsible for THAT!
And I CAN'T STAND IT! I tried my best!
Everybody!
ALL VOCALISE TUNE
What are you doing?!
Everybody, dance!
Come on, Rabbi! Come on! Dance! Rabbi, dance!
CHEERING
MUSIC STOPS
HORSE NEIGHS
HE URGES HORSE ON
SCREAMING
PERCHIK!
WOMAN SCREAMS
All right! ENOUGH!
CRASH
I SAID, ENOUGH! COME!
Orders are orders. You understand?
Well...
..why are you all standing around?
Clean up!
WINDOW SMASHES MEN LAUGHING
TRADITION PLAYS
# Tradition! Tradition!
# Tradition!
# Tradition! Tradition!
# Tradition! #
Troubles! Troubles!
That's all you hear from me, right?
But who else can we simple people take our troubles to?
You know, sometimes I wonder, who do you take YOUR troubles to?
PIG GRUNTS
Ah, go away!
Anyway, Motel and Tzeitel
have been married for some time now.
They work very hard,
and they are as poor as squirrels in winter!
But they are so happy, they don't know how miserable they are!
HE SIGHS
Motel keeps talking about a sewing machine.
I know. You are very busy now.
Wars, revolutions, floods, plagues -
all those little things that bring people back to you.
But couldn't you take a second and get him his sewing machine?
And while you are in the neighbourhood...
..as you can see, my horse's leg...
Am I bothering you too much?
I'm sorry, I'm sorry. As the Good Book says...
HE LAUGHS
Why should I tell YOU
what the Good Book says?!
So you must go away?
Yes.
So soon?
Yes.
Tomorrow morning.
A-Alone? No, with a few friends.
And we'll be joining others. Where?
In the city - Kyiv.
Hodel, there are some things I cannot tell even you.
I see.
Please, don't be upset.
Why should I be upset? If you must leave, you must!
I do have to.
So you've told me!
Great changes are about to take place in this country!
Tremendous changes!
But they can't happen by themselves.
So you, personally, must... Not ONLY me! Many people!
Jews, gentiles - many people HATE what's going on!
Don't you understand?
I understand, of course!
You WANT to leave!
Then...goodbye!
Hodel, LISTEN to me!
I have work to do! The greatest work a man CAN do!
Don't you understand?
Yes, Perchik.
Hodel!
HODEL! Hodel, wait!
Hodel, there's a question...
..a certain question I wish to discuss with you. Yes?
It's a political question. What is it?
The question of...marriage.
This is a POLITICAL question?
Well, yes!
Yes, everything's political!
Like everything else,
the relationship between a man and a woman has a socioeconomic base.
Marriage must be founded on mutual beliefs,
a common attitude and philosophy towards society...
AND affection?
Well, yes, of course. Th-That is also necessary.
Such a relationship can have positive social values.
When two people face the world with unity and solidarity...
AND affection!
Yes, THAT is an important element!
At any rate, I, personally, am in favour
of such a...socioeconomic relationship.
I think...
..you are asking me to marry you?
Well, in a theoretical sense,
yes, I am.
I was hoping you were!
I'm VERY happy, Hodel!
I'm very, VERY happy!
GIGGLING
Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Reb Tevye.
I have some bad news. What?
I must leave here. When?
Tomorrow morning.
I'm sorry to hear that, Perchik. We'll all miss you.
But I also have some good news. Good.
You can congratulate me!
Congratulations! What for?
We are engaged!
Engaged?
Yes, Papa, we're engaged. No, you're not.
I know you like him and he likes you,
but he is going away and you are staying here!
So have a nice trip, Perchik, and I hope you'll be very happy,
and my answer is NO.
Please, Papa, you don't understand! I understand.
I understand. I gave permission to Motel and Tzeitel,
so you feel you also have a right.
I'm sorry, Perchik. I like you.
But you are going away, so go in good health,
and my answer is still no!
You don't understand, Papa!
And you are NOT listening! I said NO!
Reb Tevye, we are not asking for your permission, only your blessing.
We ARE going to get married.
What?
You're not asking for my permission?
But we would like your blessing, Papa.
I can't believe my own ears!
My blessing? For what?
# For going over my head! Impossible!
# At least with Tzeitel and Motel, they asked me, they BEGGED me!
# But now, if I like it or not, you'll marry him!
# What do you want from me? Go on, be wed!
# And tear out my beard and uncover my head!
# Tradition!
# They're not even asking permission from the papa!
# What's happening to the tradition?
# One little time I pulled out a thread
# And where has it led? Where has it lead?! #
To THIS!
A man tells me he's getting married. He doesn't ASK me, he TELLS me!
But first, he abandons you!
He's not abandoning me, Papa!
As soon as I can, I'll send for her and marry her!
I love her!
He LOVES her.
Love! It's a new style.
On the other hand, our old ways were once new, weren't they?
On the other hand,
they decided without parents, without a matchmaker!
On the other hand, did Adam and Eve
have a matchmaker?
Oh, yes, they did!
And it seems these two have the same matchmaker!
# They're going over my head! Unheard of! Absurd!
# For THIS they want to be blessed? Unthinkable!
# I'll lock her up in her room!
# I couldn't, I should
# But look at my daughter's eyes
# She loves him!
# TRADITION-N-N-N! #
Well, children, I've decided
to give you my blessing AND my permission!
Oh, thank you, Papa!
What else could I do?
THANK YOU, Papa!
Thank you, PAPA? Thank you, PAPA?!
What will I tell your mother? Another dream?
Perhaps, if you tell her that I'm visiting a RICH uncle...?
Perchik, please! I can handle my own wife!
Golde! GOLDE!
Golde! Hmm?
Hello, Golde. Have some soup.
Golde...
..I have something very important to tell you.
Have the soup. It's warm.
Golde...
..I've just met Perchik and Hodel. Well?
Well...
Well, um...
Well, they seem to be very fond of each other.
So? What do you mean?
So...
So...I've decided to give them my permission to become engaged!
I'll eat later. WHAT?!
JUST LIKE THAT? WITHOUT EVEN ASKING ME?!
WHO ASKS YOU?!
I AM THE FATHER! Who IS he?
A pauper! He has NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
I wouldn't say that!
I hear he has a rich uncle.
A rich uncle!
Golde...
Golde, he's a good man.
I like him. He's a little crazy, but I like him.
And, um...
...what's more important, Hodel likes him.
Hodel LOVES him.
So what can we do?
It's a new world, Golde.
A new world.
Love!
Golde?
# Do you love me? #
Do I WHAT? Sh!
# Do you love me?
# Do I love you? Well?
# With our daughters getting married and this trouble in the town
# You're upset, you're worn out Go inside, go lie down! #
Maybe it's indigestion!
No, Golde, I'm asking you a question.
# Do you love me? #
You're a fool! I know.
# But do you love me?
# Do I love you? Well?
# For 25 years, I've washed your clothes
# Cooked your meals, cleaned your house
# Given you children, milked your cow
# After 25 years, why talk about love right now? #
Golde...
# The first time I met you was on our wedding day
# I was scared I was shy
# I was nervous So was I
# But my father and my mother said we'd learn to love each other
# And now I'm asking, Golde
# Do you love me? #
I'm your wife! I know!
# But do you love me?
# Do I love him? Well?
# For 25 years, I've lived with him, fought with him, starved with him!
# 25 years, my bed is his! Sh!
# If THAT'S not love, what IS?
# Then you love me?! #
I suppose I do.
# And I suppose I love you too
# It doesn't change a thing, but even so
# After 25 years
# It's nice to know. #
COMMANDER GIVES ORDERS
IN DISTANCE: There is no authority above the will of the people!
And we ARE the people!
WE ARE RUSSIA!
CHEERS
The time has come! The time is NOW.
We stand here before you not ONE, but MANY!
Many like YOU -
students, workers - striving for a better life!
And I urge you, fellow workers,
to band together with us! Join our movement in the factories...
CHEERS
..in the schools...
CHEERS
..in the ARMY!
CHEERS
The winds of freedom are beginning to blow all over Russia!
RESOUNDING CHEERS
HE CALLS ORDERS
Wait! Wait! Stand!
Come back!
Wait, fellow workers!
Don't let them break up our meeting!
We have our rights!
YENTE: So I found a girl, but his mother... Good day to you, Esther.
..she didn't like her. Just a minute.
Tzeitel! Good day, Yente. Tzeitel!
I stopped in the post office today to say hello, see what's what.
It doesn't cost anything to be friendly!
Ah, so few people are like that! MAN GRUMBLES
People!
I tell you, if God lived on earth, people would break his windows!
So you went to the post office?
Yes, and there was a letter there for your sister, Hodel.
Thanks, I'll get it. I got it.
It's from her intended, Perchik.
Oh, Hodel will be so happy! She's been waiting to hear from him for...
But it's open. So it happened to be open!
You don't have to wait for the train, Papa.
You'll be late for your customers.
It's all right.
They'll just have to wait for a while.
Is he in bad trouble, that hero of yours?
Arrested?
Convicted?
Yes, but he did nothing wrong!
He cares nothing for himself. Everything he does is for others.
Yes, but if he did nothing wrong, he wouldn't be in trouble.
Oh, Papa, how can you say that?
What wrongs did Joseph do? And Abraham? And Moses?
And they had troubles.
Yes, but...
But why won't you tell me where he is now, this Joseph of yours?
It is far, Papa.
Terribly far.
He is in a settlement in Siberia.
Siberia?!
And he asks you to leave your father and mother
and join him in that frozen wasteland and marry him there?!
No, Papa.
He did not ask me to go, I WANT to go.
I don't want him to be alone. I want to help him in his work.
Hodel... Papa...
# How can I hope to make you understand
# Why I do what I do?
# Why I must travel to a distant land
# Far from the home I love?
# Once I was happily content to be
# As I was, where I was
# Close to the people who are close to me
# Here in the home I love
# Who could see that a man would come
# Who would change the shape of my dreams?
# Helpless now, I stand with him
# Watching older dreams grow dim
# Oh, what a melancholy choice this is
# Wanting home, wanting him
# Closing my heart to every hope but his
# Leaving the home I love
# There, where my heart has settled long ago
# I must go, I MUST go
# Who could imagine I'd be wandering so
# Far from the home I love?
# Yet, there with my love
# I'm home! #
TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
And who, my child, will there be
to perform a marriage there in the wilderness?
Papa, I promise you we will be married under a canopy.
Yes, yes.
No doubt a rabbi or two were also arrested.
WHISTLE BLOWS
Papa!
God alone knows when we shall see each other again!
Well, we will leave it in his hands.
WHISTLE BLOWS
Take care of her.
See that she dresses warm.
RABBI READS PASSAGE IN HEBREW
Even though she only burned his cooking,
he is permitted to divorce her! Just for supper?
HEATED DISCUSSION
I'm sorry, Rabbi...
Yes, of course. What news of the outside world, Avram?
Oh, it's terrible, Rabbi! Terrible.
Then don't tell me!
If I want bad news, I'll read about Noah and the Flood!
Tell me, Avram, surely somewhere there are good things happening?
Can't you buy a paper that prints those things?
It's not my fault, Rabbi! I only read it!
Rabbi! Rabbi, did you hear the news? More bad news?
No, good news!
At Motel and Tzeitel's, a new arrival!
EXCITED CHATTER
Mazel tov!
APPRECIATIVE MURMURS
It's wonderful!
We just heard the good news! Mazel tov!
Oh, thank you! Thank you very much!
It's a nice thing! Yes, it is!
Very nice! Thank you.
What is it?
It's a sewing machine!
It can work twice as fast!
You GOT IT! I got it!
It's beautiful! I know!
Have you tried it yet? Look!
Beautiful! I know, and in less than a minute!
See how close and even the stitches are?
Beautiful! I know!
From now on, my clothes will be perfect! Made by machine!
No more handmade clothes!
Look, Mama! Look!
It's wonderful. Mazel tov, Motel!
The Rabbi, the Rabbi! Sh! Sh!
Rabbi, is there a blessing for a sewing machine?
There is a blessing for everything!
RECITES BLESSING IN HEBREW
That's your new arrival? What is it, a boy or a girl?
Well put!
Yankele! Yankele!
Why isn't he asleep?
Oh, Mama, but he's wonderful! He never cries or anything.
Shah! Do you want to invite bad luck?
Oh! Well!
Well, Motel...
..I never thought you'd amount to anything!
But look at you - a baby and a sewing machine!
You're a person!
Look, I'll show you how it works.
Go, children!
First you put the cloth in, like this.
It's an amazing thing! You work it with your foot and your hand.
EXCLAMATIONS OF DELIGHT
Your father is coming!
Chava, let me talk to him. Let me tell him about us.
No, Fyedka. That would be the worst thing, I'm sure of it.
But let me try? No!
I'LL talk to him, I promise.
Good afternoon, sir!
Good afternoon.
It's...
It's a cold day, isn't it?
Mm.
Well, um...
Good day, sir!
Good day, Chava. Good day!
What were you and he talking about?
Nothing. We were just talking.
Good.
Papa...!
Fyedka and I, we've known each other a long time now and...
Chavaleh, I would be much happier
if you would remain friends from a distance.
You must not forget who YOU are, and who THAT MAN is.
He has a name, Papa! Of course!
All creatures on Earth have a name.
Fyedka is NOT a creature, Papa! Fyedka is a man!
Who says he isn't?
It's just that he's a different kind of man.
As the Good Book says, "Each shall seek his own kind!"
In other words, a bird may love a fish,
but where would they build a home together?
The world is changing, Papa!
NO, CHAVALEH!
No.
Some things do not change for us.
Some things will never change.
We don't feel that way.
"We"?
Fyedka and I...
..we want to be married!
What? Are you out of your mind?!
What?
Don't you UNDERSTAND what that means? Marrying outside the faith?!
But, Papa... NO!
I said NO!
QUIETLY: Never talk about it again!
Never mention his name again! Never see him again! NEVER!
Do you understand me?
Yes, Papa.
I understand YOU.
You're finally here! Let's go home. It's late for supper!
I want to see Motel's new machine.
You'll see it another time! Quiet, woman, before I get angry!
Because when I get angry, even flies don't dare to fly!
I'm very frightened of you.
After we've finished supper, I'll faint!
GOLDE!
I am the MAN in the house!
I'm the HEAD OF THE FAMILY!
AND I WANT TO SEE MOTEL'S NEW MACHINE NOW!
NOW let's go home!
What are you doing here? What do you want?
May I see His Honour the Priest?
The Reverend Father? Yes. Why do you want to see him?
It's a family matter.
A personal matter.
My daughter. Yes? What about your daughter?
Please, if I could speak with the P...
If I could speak with the Reverend Father. Please!
Wait here.
Tevye!
TEVYE!
What is it?
It's Chava.
She left home this morning...with Fyedka.
What?
I looked everywhere for her.
I even went to the priest.
He told me they were married!
Married?
Yes.
Well...
Go home, Golde.
We have other children at home.
You have work to do, I have work to do. Go home.
But CHAVALEH...!
Chava is DEAD to us!
We'll forget her.
Go home.
SOFTLY: Go home, Golde.
SHE SOBS QUIETLY
Chavaleh... Chava...
Oh!
SHE SOBS SOFTLY
# Little bird, little Chavaleh
# I don't understand what's happening today
# Everything is all a blur
# All I can see is a happy child
# What a sweet little bird you were, Chavaleh
# Chavaleh
# Little bird, little Chavaleh
# You were always such a pretty little thing
# Everybody's favourite child
# Gentle and kind and affectionate
# What a sweet little bird you were, Chavaleh
# Chavaleh. #
FIDDLE PLAYS CHAVALEH
Papa?
Papa, I've been looking everywhere for you.
PAPA, STOP!
At least LISTEN to me!
Papa...!
I beg you to accept us!
Accept them?
How can I accept them?
Can I deny everything I believe in?
On the other hand...
..can I deny my own daughter?
On the other hand...
..how can I turn my back on my faith? My people?
If I try and bend THAT far, I'll break!
On the other hand...
No, there is NO OTHER HAND!
NO, CHAVA! NO!
TRADITION PLAYS
But Papa! NO! NO!
PAPA! NO!
NO!
PAPA!
SHE SOBS
YENTE: Golde! Here they are!
The boys I told you about. Wonderful boys! From good families!
Each of them a prize, a jewel! You couldn't do better for your girls!
I don't know, Yente, my girls are still so young.
So what do they look like? Grandfathers?
True, the marriage can wait,
but meanwhile, their future will be all signed and sealed!
Which one for which one?
What's the difference? Take your pick! They're both wonderful boys!
Yankel, the fat one, is apprenticed to a carpenter.
I'm Yankel! Did I ask you?
Yankel, the skinny one...
Mama, is Reb Tevye in the house? He's in the barn. Is there trouble?
Stay inside, children.
COMMOTION
What is it? What's the matter?
Tevye, have you seen the Constable lately?
No, why? There are rumours in town.
We thought, since you knew him so well,
maybe he told you what is true and what is not.
Rumours? What rumours?
SHOUTING
QUIET! Talk, Avram.
Someone from Zolodin told me
there was an edict issued in St Petersburg that all...
HORSE HOOFBEATS APPROACH
Welcome, Your Honour. What's the good news in the world?
I see that you have company.
They are my friends.
It's just as well. What I have to say is for their ears also.
Tevye, how much time do you need to sell your house and all your goods?
MURMURING
Why should I sell my house?
Is it in anybody's way?
I came here to tell you that you are going to have to leave Anatevka.
MURMURING
And how did I come to deserve such an honour?
Not just you, of course...
..but all of you!
OUTCRY
At first I thought you might be spared, Tevye,
because of the marriage of your daughter.
My daughter is dead!
I understand.
At any rate, it affects all of you. You have to leave.
But...
But this corner of the world has always been our home!
Yes! Why should we leave?
I don't know why! There's trouble in the world. Troublemakers.
Like us? You're not the only ones.
Your people must leave all the villages - Zolodin, Rabalevka.
The entire district MUST be emptied!
BABBLE OF VOICES
I HAVE AN ORDER HERE!
It says you must sell your homes and be out of here in three days.
OUTCRY
Three days! Impossible! The children?!
And you...
..YOU, who have known us all your life,
you'd carry out this order?!
I've nothing to do with it! Don't you understand?!
I wish you wouldn't say "me"!
I understand!
And suppose we refuse to go?
You will be forced out!
We will defend ourselves! We'll stay in our homes!
Refuse to leave! We will keep our land! Yes! Fight!
Against our militia, our army? I wouldn't advise THAT!
I have some advice for you.
Get OFF my land!
This is STILL my home, my land.
QUIETLY: Get off my land!
You have THREE DAYS!
After a lifetime, a piece of paper and "Get thee out!"
We should get together with the people of Zolodin.
Maybe they have a plan. We should defend ourselves!
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth!
Very good. That way the whole world will be blind and toothless.
Rabbi...
..we've been waiting for the Messiah all our lives,
wouldn't this be a good time for him to come?
We'll have to wait for him someplace else.
Meanwhile, let's start packing.
Well, Anatevka hasn't exactly been the Garden of Eden.
That's true! After all, what have we got here?
# A little bit of this, a little bit of that
# A pot A pan
# A broom... A hat! #
Someone should have set a match to this place YEARS ago.
# A bench A tree
# What's a house? Or a stove? #
People who pass through Anatevka don't even know they've been here!
# A stick of wood A piece of cloth
ALL: # What do we leave? Nothing much
# Only Anatevka
# Anatevka, Anatevka
# Underfed, overworked Anatevka
# Where else would Sabbath be so sweet?
# Anatevka, Anatevka
# Intimate, obstinate Anatevka
# Where I know everyone I meet
# Soon I'll be a stranger in a strange new place
# Searching for an old familiar face
# From Anatevka
# I belong in Anatevka
# Tumbledown, workaday Anatevka
# Dear little village
# Little town of mine! #
SHE SIGHS
It's just a place.
And our forefathers have been forced out of many, many places
at a moment's notice.
Maybe THAT'S why we always wear our hats?
HE PRAYS QUIETLY
Golde! Golde, darling!
I had to see you before I left, because I have such news for you!
You remember yesterday I told you I didn't know where to go,
what to do with these old bones.
Now I know! You want to hear? I'll tell you!
All my life, I've dreamed of going to one place!
Guess where? Nah, you'll never guess!
Every year at Passover, what do we say?
"Next year in Jerusalem! Next year in the Holy Land!"
You're going to the Holy Land! You guessed!
Goodbye, Yente!
Be well and go in peace.
And so, goodbye, Golde.
Sometime maybe we'll meet on a happier occasion.
Meanwhile, we suffer! Oh, we suffer!
We suffer in silence, right?
Of course right!
Where are you going? You don't know where you're going?
Come, Golde, we have to leave.
Leave! It sounds so easy.
Golde, we'll all be together soon.
Motel, Tzeitel and the baby, they'll come too. You'll see.
This Motel is a person!
And Hodel and Perchik? When will we ever see them again?
Do they come visiting us from Siberia every Sabbath?
You know what she writes - he sits in prison, she works,
but soon he'll be set free
and together they'll turn the world upside down!
She couldn't be happier!
And the other children will be with us.
Not all.
ALL!
SHE SOBS
Come, Golde... I have to clean up...
..sweep the floor. Sweep the FLOOR?
I don't want to leave a dirty house!
Tevye!
Tevye, I'm...on my way!
Where are you going?
Chicago...in America.
Chicago, America?
We are going to New York, America.
We'll be neighbours!
My wife, Fruma Sarah, may she rest in peace, has a brother there.
That's nice. I HATE him!
But, tsk...a relative is a relative.
Goodbye, Tevye. Goodbye, Lazar Wolf.
TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS IN DISTANCE
Well, my old friend, it's time to say goodbye.
HORSE WHINNIES
Farmer Bushenko will be coming for you later.
He's not a bad sort.
If you are good to him, he'll be good to you.
Take care of your leg, huh?
HORSE SNORTS
Thanks for everything.
Chava?!
Papa will see you!
I want him to. I want to say goodbye to him.
He won't listen to you. At least he will hear.
Maybe it would be better if I told Mama.
Chavaleh!
Papa...?
We came to say goodbye.
We are also leaving this place.
We are going to Krakow.
We cannot stay among people who can do such things to others.
We wanted you to know that!
Some are driven away by edicts,
others by silence.
Goodbye, Papa!
Mama!
Come, Chava.
Goodbye, Chava! Fyedka!
And God be with you.
And God be with you!
We will write to you in America, if you like!
We will be staying with Uncle Avram! Yes, Mama!
"We'll be staying with Uncle Avram! WE'LL BE STAYING WITH UNCLE AVRAM!"
THE WHOLE WORLD HAS TO KNOW OUR BUSINESS?!
STOP YELLING AND FINISH PACKING!
WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO!
GOLDE, I DON'T NEED YOUR ADVICE!
TZEITEL, DON'T FORGET THE BABY!
Bye, Papa.
BABY CRIES
Work hard, Motel, and come to us soon.
I will, Papa.
BABY CRIES
I'll work hard.
All right, children...
..let's go.
WIND HOWLS
CHOIR HUMS ANATEVKA
THEY RECITE PRAYERS
FIDDLE PLAYS TRADITION