BMM 6 - If I Were a Rich Man

Oh, dear Lord, you made many, many poor people
I realize, of course, it's no shame to be poor
But it's no great honor, either
So, what would have been so terrible
If I had a small fortune?

 

If I were a rich man,
Ya-ba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dum
All day long, I'd biddy-biddy-bum
If I were a wealthy man
I wouldn't have to work hard
Ya-ba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dum
If I were a biddy-biddy rich
Yidle-diddle-didle-didle 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 loud of the "gee," be it "gow," be it "geh," be it "guh"
Would land like a trumpet on the ear
As if to say, "Here lives a wealthy man!"

 

Ahhh...

 

If I were a rich man,
Ya-ba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dum
All day long, I'd biddy-biddy-bum
If I were a wealthy man
I wouldn't have to work hard
Ya-ba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dum
If I were a biddy-biddy rich
Yidle-diddle-didle-didle 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

 

The most important men in town would come to fawn on me
They would ask me to advise them
Like a Solomon the Wise
"If you please, Reb Tevye!"
"Pardon me, Reb Tevye!"
Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes
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
Several hours every day
And that would be the sweetest thing of all

 

Ahhh...

 

If I were a rich man,
Ya-ba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dum
All day long, I'd biddy-biddy-bum
If I were a wealthy man
I wouldn't have to work hard
Ya-ba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dibba-dum

 

God, 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? 

 

From Wikipedia: "If I Were a Rich Man" is a show tune from the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof. It was written by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. The song is performed by Tevye, the main character in the musical, and reflects his aspirational dreams.

 

Through the first two verses, Tevye dreams of the material comforts that wealth would bring him. He describes the enormous house he would buy and the needless luxuries he would fill it with, including a third staircase "leading nowhere, just for show," and then the poultry he would buy to fill his yard. In the third verse, Tevye switches his attention to the luxuries in which he would shower his wife, Golde.

 

In the bridge, Tevye contemplates the esteem that wealth would bring him, with important men seeking his advice. In the final verse, Tevye considers how wealth would allow him to spend less time working and more time praying and studying the Torah. He ends the song by asking God if it would "spoil some vast eternal plan" if he were wealthy.

 

A repeated phrase throughout the song, "all day long I'd bidi-bidi-bum," is often misunderstood to refer to Tevye's desire not to have to work. However, in an interview with Terry Gross, Sheldon Harnick said he basically made up syllables that he thought would give the effect of Chassidic chanting. The first person to play Tevye, Zero Mostel, then replaced the syllables Harnick had written with ones that Mostel thought would be more authentic.

 

My own thoughts: This is definitely my most favorite song from the musical, and no doubt it applies to all of us at one point or another. We wonder what it might be like if we were fabulously wealthy, even as we're aware of that phrase, "Money can't buy happiness."

 

I don't ever expect to be fabulously wealthy, though it would be nice to not have to work so hard to make a decent living, especially these days. At the very least, I have a steady job with a reliable income. I also do my best to be frugal, paying only for what I really need and then splurging within reason here and there.

 

I still feel the sting of my financial loss with FanX. That was a pretty bad investment, although I think I did okay for someone who was doing this for the very first time all on their own.

 

On a side note, I really like how this one turned out. I think it's my most favorite so far.