Prologue: Tradition

[TEVYE, spoken]
A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But 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? We stay because Anatevka's our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word. Tradition!

[ALL]
Tradition, tradition
Tradition
Tradition, tradition
Tradition

[TEVYE, spoken]
Because of our traditions, we've kept our balance for many years. Here in Anatevka we have our traditions for everything... how to eat, how to sleep, how to work, even how to wear clothes. For instance, we always keep our heads covered and we wear these little prayer shawls. 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. Because of our traditions, everyone knows who he is and what God expects him to do.

[PAPAS]
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?

[ALL]
The papa, the papa
Tradition
The papa, the papa
Tradition

[MAMAS]
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?

[ALL]
The mama, the mama
Tradition
The mama, the mama
Tradition

[SONS]
At three I started Hebrew school
At ten I learned a trade
I hear they picked a bride for me
I hope she's pretty

[ALL]
The sons, the sons
Tradition
The sons, the sons
Tradition

[DAUGHTERS]
And who does mama teach
To mend and tend and fix
Preparing me to marry
Whoever papa picks?

[ALL]
The daughters, the daughters

[TEVYE, spoken]
I have five daughters!

[ALL]
Tradition
The daughters, the daughters
Tradition

[PAPAS, DAUGHTERS, SONS, MAMAS]
Who day and night must scramble for a living
And who does mama teach
At three I started Hebrew school
Who must know the way to make a proper home
Feed the wife and children, say his daily prayers?
To mend and tend and fix
At ten I learned a trade
A quiet home, a kosher home?
And who has the right as master of the house
Preparing me to marry
I hear they picked a bride for me
Who must raise a family and run the home
To have the final word at home?
Whoever papa picks?
I hope she's pretty
So papa's free to read the holy book?

[PAPAS]
The papa

[MAMAS]
The mama

[SONS]
The sons

[DAUGHTERS]
The daughters

[ALL]
Tradition

[PAPAS, MAMAS, SONS, DAUGHTERS]
The papa The mama The sons The daughters
The papa The mama The sons The daughters

[ALL]
Tradition

[TEVYE, spoken]
And in the circle of our little village, we've always had our many special types. For instance, Yente, the matchmaker.

[YENTE, spoken]
Avram, I have a perfect match for your son. A wonderful girl.

[AVRAM, spoken]
Who is it?

[YENTE, spoken]
Ruchel, the shoemaker's daughter.

[AVRAM, spoken]
Ruchel? She can hardly see. She's almost blind.

[YENTE, spoken]
Tell the truth, Avram, is your son so much to look at? The way she sees and the way he looks, it's a perfect match.

[TEVYE, spoken]
And we have Nachum, the beggar.

[NACHUM, spoken]
Alms for the poor, alms for the poor.

[LAZAR, spoken]
Here, Nachum, here's one kopek.

[NACHUM, spoken]
One kopek? Last week you gave me two kopeks.

[LAZAR, spoken]
I had a bad week.

[NAHUM, spoken]
So, if you had a bad week, why should I suffer?

[TEVYE, spoken]
And most important, our beloved Rabbi.

[MENDEL, spoken]
Rabbi, may I ask you a question?

[RABBI, spoken]
Certainly, my son.

[MENDEL, spoken]
Is there a proper blessing for the Tsar?

[RABBI, spoken]
A blessing for the Tsar? Of course.

(sung)
May God bless and keep the Tsar...

(spoken)
Far away from us!

[TEVYE, spoken]
Among ourselves, we've always gotten along perfectly well. Of course, there was the time he sold him a horse, but delivered a mule, but that's all settled. Now we live in simple peace and harmony.

[MAN 1, spoken]
It was a horse.

[MAN 2, spoken]
It was a mule.

[MAN 1, spoken]
It was a horse.

[MAN 2, spoken]
It was a mule, I tell you.

[MAN 1, spoken]
It was a horse.

[MAN 2, spoken]
It was a mule.

[VILLAGERS arguing.]

[ALL, spoken]
Horse! Mule! Horse! Mule! Horse! Mule! Horse! Mule!

(sung)
Tradition, tradition
Tradition
Tradition, tradition
Tradition

[TEVYE, spoken]
Tradition, tradition. Without our traditions, our life would be as shaky as, as... as a fiddler on the roof!