Anatevka

[MAN 1, spoken]
After a lifetime, a piece of paper, an edict from the authorities, and we must all leave our homes.

[MENDEL, spoken]
Rabbi, we've been waiting for the Messiah all our lives. Wouldn't this be a good time for him to come?

[RABBI, spoken]
We'll have to wait for him someplace else. Meanwhile, let's start packing.

[YENTE, spoken]
Well, Anatevka hasn't exactly been the Garden of Eden.

[AVRAM, spoken]
That's true.

[GOLDE, spoken]
After all, what have we got here?

(sung)
A littlе bit of this
A little bit of that

[YENTE]
A pot

[LAZAR]
A pan

[MENDEL]
A broom

[AVRAM]
A hat

[TEVYE, spoken]
Someone should havе set a match to this place years ago.

[MENDEL]
A bench

[AVRAM]
A tree

[GOLDE]
So what's a stove?

[LAZAR]
Or a house?

[MENDEL, spoken]
People who pass through Anatevka don't even know they've been here.

[GOLDE]
A stick of wood

[YENTE]
A piece of cloth

[ALL]
What do we leave?
Nothing much
Only Anatevka

Anatevka, Anatevka
Underfed, overworked Anatevka
Where else could 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
Tumble-down, work-a-day Anatevka
Dear little village, little town of mine