"Hava Nagila" (Hebrew: הָבָה נָגִילָה, romanized: Hāvā Nāgīlā, lit. 'Let us rejoice') is a Jewish folk song. It is traditionally sung at celebrations, such as weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other Jewish holidays among the Jewish community. Written in 1918, it quickly spread through the Jewish diaspora.
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History
The melody is based on a Hassidic Nigun. It was composed in 1918 to celebrate the Balfour Declaration and the British victory over the Ottomans in 1917. It was first performed in a mixed choir concert in Jerusalem.
Abraham Zevi Idelsohn (1882–1938), a professor at Hebrew University, began cataloging all known Jewish music and teaching classes in musical composition. One of his students was a promising cantorial student, Moshe Nathanson, who with the rest of his class was presented by the professor with a slow, melodious, 19th-century chant (niggun or nigun) and assigned to add rhythm and words to fashion a modern Hebrew song. There are competing claims regarding "Hava Nagila"'s composer, with both Idelsohn and Nathanson being suggested.
The niggun has been attributed to the Sadigurer Chasidim, who lived in what is now Ukraine. This version has been recreated by Daniel Gil, based on a traditional song collected by Susman Kiselgof. The text was probably refined by Idelsohn. Members of the community began to immigrate to Jerusalem in 1915, and Idelsohn wrote in 1932 that he had been inspired by that melody.
Notable performers
Israeli folk duo Ran & Nama (Ran Eliran and Nechama Hendel) released what is likely the earliest recording of the version that was later made famous throughout the world, on their album Ran & Nama – The First Record (Hed Arzi AN-42-70, 1959).
Singer Harry Belafonte is known for his version of the song, which was recorded for his album Belafonte at Carnegie Hall, recorded at the titular Carnegie Hall in 1959. He rarely gave a concert without singing it, and stated that the two "stand out" songs from his professional career were "The Banana Boat Song" and "Hava Nagila". Belafonte noted and claimed, "Life is not worthwhile without it. Most Jews in America learned that song from me."
Aliza Kashi recorded the song for her 1963 album A Internacional Aliza Kashi (The International Aliza Kashi).
Laurindo Almeida
The Barry Sisters recorded this song on their Greatest Yiddish Hits album, the release date: October 16, 1965.
Raphael (singer), the Spanish singer and actor, recorded the Hava Nagila song in 1968.
Nissim Black, a Jewish Orthodox rapper, recorded an adaptation titled "The Hava Song".
Bruno Blum included an instrumental ska section of the song in his version of French singer songwriter Georges Brassens' "La Mauvaise Réputation" [Bad Reputation] on his 2002 album Think Différent.
Brave Combo
Glen Campbell released True Grit / Hava Nagila via Label Capitol Records in 1969.
David Carroll
Jasper Carrott (on his 1976 album, Carrott in Notts)
Use in sports
Association football
Supporters of the Dutch association football club AFC Ajax, although not an official Jewish club, commonly use Jewish imagery. A central part of Ajax fans' culture, "Hava Nagila" can often be heard sung in the stadium by the team's supporters, and at one point ringtones of "Hava Nagila" could even be downloaded from the club's official website.
Supporters of the English football club Tottenham Hotspur commonly refer to themselves as "Yids" and say they are strongly associated with Jewish symbolism and culture. "Hava Nagila" has been adopted as an anthem of sorts by the club, and was one of the most frequently sung songs at the team's former stadium at White Hart Lane.
Gymnastics
In the 2012 Summer Olympics floor exercise final, Aly Raisman placed first with a score of 15.600, becoming the first American woman to win a gold medal on the floor exercise. She performed to the tune of "Hava Nagila".