"Dona Dona", popularly known as "Donna, Donna", is a song about a calf being led to slaughter, written by Sholom Secunda and Aaron Zeitlin. Originally a Yiddish language song "Dana Dana" (in Yiddish דאַנאַ דאַנאַ), also known as "Dos Kelbl" (in Yiddish דאָס קעלבל, meaning The Calf), it was a song used in a Yiddish play produced by Zeitlin.

History

"Dana Dana" was written for the Aaron Zeitlin stage production Esterke (1940–41) with music composed by Sholom Secunda. The lyrics, score, parts, and associated material are available online in the Yiddish Theater Digital Archives. The lyric sheet is in typewritten Yiddish and handwritten Yiddish lyrics also appear in the piano score. The text underlay in the score and parts is otherwise romanized in a phonetic transcription that appears oriented toward stage German. The YIVO standardized transliteration system was not then in widespread use, and many Yiddish transliterations looked like German, to which the Yiddish language is closely related. The orchestra plays the "Dana Dana" melody at several points in Esterke. The original is 2/4, in G minor for a duo of a man and a woman, choral with the orchestral accompaniment. Secunda wrote "Dana-" for the orchestral score and "Dana Dana" for the vocal scores. The Yiddish text was written with Roman alphabet. He wrote for the choral score andantino (somewhat slowly) and sempre staccato (play staccato always). The melody of the introduction was also used at the end of the song. He wrote piu mosso (more rapidly) for the refrain and some passages that emphasize the winds. First, a woman (Secunda wrote "she") sings four bars and then the man (Secunda wrote "he") sings the next four. They sing together from the refrain. Although singing the third part of "Dana Dana" (= "Dana Dana Dana Dana …"), the man sometimes sings lower than the melody using disjunct motions. The melody is refrained. Then "he" sings the melody, and "she" sometimes sings "Dana", other times sings "Ah" with a high voice or technical passage. Secunda wrote molto rit (suddenly much more slowly) for the ending of the first verse. There are some differences between the original and the melody that are well known. Secunda wrote "ha ha ha" for the choral score with the broken chords. There are various views as to the meaning of the words 'Dana, dana' in the original Yiddish version of the song, which are repeated sixteen times in each chorus. The words 'dana, dana' are a common refrain in Polish folk song, heard often in formulas such as 'Oj, dana dana, moja dana'. Some believe it to be a nonsense word, but it may have earlier ritual origins in Polish song or be imitative of musical instruments. Zeitlin, who spent most of his life in the Polish-speaking world before emigrating to the U.S. in 1939, may have taken the 'dana' refrain from this source. A comment appearing in the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz gives the meaning of Dana as the sound that was commonly made by the guide of a horse-drawn cart to encourage the horse to continue to step forward as it drags its load. According to the comment in Haaretz, the translation of the word Dana (from Yiddish to Hebrew) was provided by Kol Israel in 1962, when the song was performed by Nechama Hendel. In the John Camden Hotten Slang Dictionary, the word Dana related to a nightman's or dustman's cart in old German or Austrian slang. In Turkish, Azerbaijani and other Turkic languages, "dana" means a "weaned calf".

Lyrics

Versions

English covers

Joan Baez first popularized the English version of the song when she recorded it in 1960, retitled as "Donna Donna". This version remains popular, with over 10 millions streams on Spotify. Ola & the Janglers version Swedish band Ola & the Janglers covered the song in 1966, having heard the version by Kodesh & Schwartz. Unlike many artists that had previously covered "Donna, Donna", the Janglers were not known as folk artists and had previously only released rock songs and they slightly changed the arrangement of the song to fit the group. They added a harpsichord part played by keyboardist Johannes Olsson, and bass guitar by Åke Eldsäter. A harmony part by Ola Håkansson, Claes af Geijerstam and Eldsäter was added during the chorus. The group recorded the song and the B-side, "Come and Stay with Me", during a session in 1966, with their regular producer Gunnar Bergström. Initially intended to mark the introduction of guitarist af Geijerstam, who had recently replaced Christer Idering, "Donna, Donna" was chosen as the A-side of the single. While the single sleeves with "Donna, Donna" as the A-side were being printed, Pye Records released Donovan's version of the song as a single in Sweden. Fearing that the two singles would compete, the record label, Gazell, decided to switch the running order, with "Come and Stay with Me" becoming the A-side on the 7-inch single. This meant that the sleeve and single had contrasting A-sides, which led to confusion with fans and radio stations. "Come and Stay with Me" reached number 13 on Kvällstoppen and number three on Tio i Topp in April 1966. "Donna, Donna" was still asked about in record stores, which led to it gaining a chart position on Kvällstoppen. It entered on April 12, 1966, at number 19 and was last seen on April 19 at the same position, the same date that "Come and Stay with Me" entered the chart. This led to the Janglers having three singles simultaneously; "Love Was on Your Mind", "Donna, Donna" and "Come and Stay with Me". Both sides of the single were among the first attempts by a Swedish rock band to release a song in a folk rock vein. It was included on their second studio album Patterns, released in June of that year and became a staple on most of their compilation albums, including Best Sounds (1969) and Ola & the Janglers, 1964–71!.

Charts

Other English covers

French covers

Claude François cover In 1964, the song was recorded in French language by French singer Claude François as "Donna, Donna" reaching the top of the French Singles Charts for two consecutive weeks in December 1964. François co-wrote the French lyrics with Vline Buggy. The song, also known by its longer title "Donna, Donna (Le Petit Garçon)", is a revamped version. It no longer describes a helpless calf being led to slaughter, as in the original Yiddish version, but the troubles of an aspiring young boy growing up and dreaming about his own future. In the last verse, in an autobiographical twist, Claude François alludes to himself by singing the verse as "ce petit garçon que j'étais" (this small boy that I was...). Other French covers

Other versions