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10 Eddy Arnold Yiddish words and expressions I know – most of which have already been assimilated into mainstream English – seem to fit the people and situations in these songs. To begin with, these are tsouris songs. Tsouris refers to something that lies somewhere between serious trouble and extreme bad luck. The people in these songs are often shnorers (literally, beggars, but Yiddish is rarely a literal language.) Think about the difference between a schlemiel and a schlemozel. A schlemiel is a guy who spills his soup. A schlemozel is the guy he spills it on. There’s plenty of soup to go around in these songs. Reinhard Kleist’s illustrations offer some wonderful counterpoint to the overbearing pathos of the music. I mean, what can one do in the face of such relentless tragedy? It’s a hell of a task – staying afloat – through such a sea of PREVIEW