La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
In our first year together, San Geraldo and I were surprised by how many cultural differences there were in our backgrounds. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the City of New York were like foreign countries.
One time, we were talking about what to do that day and SG said, “Oh, I don’t want to do that. That’s shmucky.” “What?” “It’s shmucky, you know, it means it’s stupid.” “OK,” I explained, “When you meet my mother, don’t use that word.” “Why?” “It’s a Yiddish word that means penis (really spelled schmock).” Moving on, he said, “Well let’s just putz around.” “Again, not in front of my mother.” “Penis?” “Yeah, penis.”
When I was a child, my parents had a record album (LP) called “My Son the Folk Singer” (1962). The singer/songwriter was Allan Sherman and his audience at that time was primarily American Jews, especially those from New York. You might know him from the song Camp Granada, produced later that year. This was his first album and the only one my parents bought. It was satirical and included parodies of many well-known American folk songs. And all this because yesterday I saw yellow roses among the hundreds (thousands?) of roses along the Paseo of Córdoba. And that made me think of the song “Yellow Rose of Texas” which made me think of Allan Sherman’s version, “Melvin Rose of Texas.” It begins around minute 4 on today’s YouTube audio recording. To understand the joke, you need to remember that shmock means penis, and Melvin Rose was born in Old Shamokin. Let me know if you listen to it and don’t get the joke. I’ll have SG explain it to you (or maybe not).
Although many of the roses along the paseo are past their prime, they’re still beautiful and the rich, luxuriant fragrances are a sensual delight. And, yes, I stopped often and smelled them because another song taught me “you’ve got to stop and smell the roses.” And that reminds again of San Geraldo: Instead of saying “Stop and smell the roses” or “Wake up and smell the coffee,” he used to regularly say, “Wake up and smell the roses!”
En nuestro primer año juntos, San Geraldo y yo nos sorprendimos por la cantidad de diferencias culturales que había en nuestros antecedentes. Sioux Falls, Dakota del Sur y la ciudad de Nueva York, eran como países extranjeros.
Una vez, estábamos hablando sobre qué hacer ese día y SG dijo: “Oh, no quiero hacer eso. Eso es shmucky”. “¿Qué?” “Es shmucky, ya sabes, significa que es estúpido”. “De acuerdo”, le expliqué, “Cuando conozcas a mi madre, no uses esa palabra”. “¿Por qué?” “Es una palabra yidis que significa pene (en realidad se escribe shmock)”. Siguiendo adelante, dijo: “Bueno, vamos a putz”. “De nuevo, no delante de mi madre”. “¿Pene?” “Sí, pene”.
De niño, mis padres tenían un álbum (LP) llamado My Son the Folk Singer (1962). El cantautor era Allan Sherman y su público en aquel entonces eran principalmente judíos estadounidenses, especialmente neoyorquinos. Quizás lo conozcan por la canción “Camp Granada”, producida más tarde ese año. Este fue su primer álbum y el único que compraron mis padres. Era satírico e incluía parodias de muchas canciones populares estadounidenses muy conocidas. Y todo esto porque ayer vi rosas amarillas entre los cientos (¿miles?) de rosas a lo largo del Paseo de Córdoba. Y eso me hizo pensar en la canción “Yellow Rose of Texas”, que me hizo pensar en la versión de Allan Sherman, “Melvin Rose of Texas”. Empieza alrededor del minuto 4 en la grabación de audio de YouTube de hoy. Para entender el chiste, recuerda que “shmock” significa pene y Melvin Rose nació en Old Shamokin. Avísame si lo escuchas y no entiendes el chiste. Haré que SG te lo explique (o quizás no).
Aunque muchas de las rosas a lo largo del paseo ya pasaron su mejor momento, aún son hermosas y sus fragancias ricas y exuberantes son un deleite sensual. Y, sí, me detuve a menudo a olerlas porque otra canción me enseñó “hay que detenerse a oler las rosas”. Y eso nos recuerda de nuevo a San Geraldo: en lugar de decir “Detente y huele las rosas” o “Despierta y huele el café”, solía decir regularmente: “¡Despierta y huele las rosas!”.
Click the thumbnails. Because I said so.
Haz clic en las miniaturas. Porque lo digo yo.
SD and NY, worlds apart.
David:
Truly different countries. Jerry was the first person from South Dakota I ever met.
Oh, what beautiful roses! I’d wake up to smell them!
Jennifer
Jennifer:
😉 Be sure to smell some coffee while you’re out.
I may have to curb my use of schmuck and putz!
Love the roses; Carlos grows thema round the yard and his are blooming nicely.
Bob:
Even many Jewish people I knew in NY had no idea what they words actually meant. SG was the first and only person I ever heard say schmucky.
I think I’m in love with SG. How he expresses himself in mixed sayings. And, yes, care is needed around Yiddish language. Those of us who’ve picked it up from New York friends don’t always know what we’re saying! Just sayin’. Boud
Boud:
I’m sure many of your NY friends didn’t know what they were saying either.
Roses don’t bloom here until June but they are worth the wait!
Debra:
And something to look forward to. I’m sad to see these going already.
I certainly remember Camp Grenada. Almost like I may have spent a summer there. P. S. Did you drop the hair dryer in the bathtub and cause the massive blackout?
Frank D:
Hair dryer? What’s THAT for?
Oh those roses!! How lovely are they!?
Those songs take me back a bit to the 60’s………at least the music does along with the ‘new’ lyrics.
Jim:
I loved Camp Granada. Some of the folksinger songs are hilarious.
Of course I remember Allan Sherman but mostly from Camp Grenada which I adored. The song, not the camp. My first introduction to anything like NYC culture came when I attended the University of Denver. That was a whole mishegoss that involved a girl from Florida in a state with giant mountains and NO OCEAN going to school with a bunch of rich NY kids who went to DU because they loved to ski. I didn’t even know what prep school was and they’d all attended one. But I very much fell in love with a lot of those NY Jews who were as exotic to me as if they’d landed from another planet.
They found me amusing.
Thank you for all the roses! I wish I could smell them all. I almost can. The deep, deep red ones, dark with a bit of blue in them are my favorites, I think. But don’t tell the others.
M. Moon
Ms. Moon:
That first dark red one was one of my favorites. Pure velvet. I wish I could share the fragrances.
I always thought prep school was a very WASP thing. Then again, all my family were very aware of the blueblood Yankee names of the northeast. Those were the people to know. So much of my extended family (including my parents) were impressed that I hooked a Lowell. It didn’t matter to them that he was from a branch that had gone to South Dakota.
I remember when I lived in Amman, I had a big front yard with large rose bushes blooming most of the year, it was really beautiful. Growing up in a big Jewish neighbourhood in Montreal, I know those words from a young age.
larrymuffin:
SG’s father and grandmother both had spectacular rose gardens. What glorious flowers.
Sorry about the electrical blackout. I thought they only happened here in Texas in the winter so our senator “Cancun Ted” Cruz can jet off to warmer climes, leaving his constituents behind to burn their furniture for warmth.
TexasTrailerParkTrash:
It was an adventure but no leaders were caught trying to escape to Cancun. More to come on that today.
I’d wager my cultural upbringing was totally foreign to either of yours!
Beautiful roses!
Kelly:
Where did you grow up? There are several parts of the country that are foreign to us both.
I grew up in south Arkansas. Probably more similarities to SG’s area than yours, but still very different.
Kelly,
I have never been to Arkansas. A friend here, English, always wanted to visit. He pronounced it Are-Kansas.
I had no idea shmucky and putz have hidden meanings. Though I’ve never used “shmucky”, I have referred to someone as a shmuck, a putz and used putz around countless times. Learn something every day, LOL. BTW, I just read there’s a massive blackout in Spain. Did it hit your neighborhood?
Shirley:
SG is the only person I’ve ever known to use the word schmucky. I’ve heard many people say putz around. I always said futz around. The entire country and all of Portugal had no power. Ours came back after 15 hours. I’ll write about it today.
Wow, I haven’t thought of Allan Sherman in years. I think I’ve only ever heard “Camp Granada” (which I always thought was titled, “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah”).
Steve:
I love that song. My sister went to girl scout camp for 3 weeks when she was 10 or 11. She sent a postcard every day asking to be saved until the last day when she didn’t want to leave.
I heard shmuck and puts said on TV way back in my pre-cable childhood. Obviously, the censors weren’t Yiddish.
Kirk:
Yeah, most people have no idea what they’re actually saying. I didn’t know until I was in my 20s and my friend’s father slapped her for calling her sister a putz. She and her sister were also in their 20s. They were shocked but burst out laughing.
Beautiful! Roses are such a joy – ours are in bud, and will probably start opening while we are in Benalmadena next week (power cuts permitting, of course). Something to look forward to… Jx
Jon:
You have the power… and so do we, after 15 hours. Our friends in Fuengirola and Mijas waited even longer.
Thanks for the beautiful roses this morning, Scoot — they count as glimmers! The only roses we have here are wild roses which range from pale to deep pink and appear in late June. And now that I think about it, I don’t think we have the proper climate or growing season for garden roses and I’ve never seen them in anyone’s gardens here.
Allan Sherman’s clip was hilarious too — many good belly laughs!
Tundra Bunny:
We planted naturalizing roses in Connecticut that are also called wild roses. Pale pink. I’ve never been a rose grower. SG’s father and grandmother both had phenomenal rose gardens in Pipestone, Minnesota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. But they have much hotter summers than you.
… if Bina was not already in Heaven , she woul be looking at all those beautiful roses💜