If I Were a Rich Man (song)

"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 dreams of glory.^[1]

The title is inspired by a 1902 monologue by Sholem Aleichem in Yiddish, Ven ikh bin Rothschild (Yiddish: װען איך בין ראָטשילד; lit. “If I were a Rothschild”),^[1] a reference to the wealth of the Rothschild family, although the content is quite different. The lyric is based in part on passages from Sholem Aleichem’s 1899 short story "The Bubble Bursts." Both stories appeared in English in the 1949 collection of stories Tevye's Daughters.^[2]

Analysis

The Oxford Companion to the American Musical wrote that the song includes passages of "cantor-like chanting", and is "the most revealing of the many character numbers".^[3] The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey explained that the song contains a greater number of Jewish "commonplaces" than any other number in the score, and added the song does twofold: it "offers such a strong dose of idiom early in the show [which] is good for the overall unity", and the "important dramatic function" of introducing the central character of Tevye through song.^[4] History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe explains that the song is based on a monologue from the stories of Sholem Aleichem entitled "If I were Rothschild", in reference to the wealthy Jewish banking family.^[5] The Grammar Devotional likens the phrase "if I were a rich man" to the Cowardly Lion's "if I were king of the forest" in The Wizard of Oz; both songs involve a tongue-in-cheek comparison between the character's actual condition and the one they imagine.^[6] It has been suggested that song is inspired by a Hasidic folk song.^[7]

Lyrics and style

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.^[8][9]

Covers and samples

• In September 1967 Bill and Boyd's version peaked at No. 24 on the Go-Set National Top 40 in Australia.^[10]
• In 1967, Chaim Topol recorded a version, billed as Topol and also credited as 'From the London cast production "Fiddler On The Roof"' (CBS 202651), it entered the UK Singles Chart on 20 April 1967 where it remained for 20 consecutive weeks peaking at nine.^[11]
• The reggae song "Rich Girl", released in 1993 by Louchie Lou & Michie One and covered in 2004 by Gwen Stefani, is an adaptation of "If I Were a Rich Man".^[12]
• In 2001 the Australian punk band Yidcore recorded the song for their self-titled debut album and later on their Fiddlin' on ya Roof album.^[13]
• In 2013, French baritone David Serero recorded a French version which he modernized on a videoclip.^[14]
• In 2021, it was sampled on Flo Milli's song "Roaring 20s".^[15]

References

1. "Fiddler On The Roof - Tradition Lyrics". www.lyricsmania.com.
2. Tevye's Daughters, by Sholom Aleichem, translated by Frances Butwin (1949). "The Bubble Bursts" appears on pages 1–15, "If I Were Rothschild" on pages 16–19.
3. Hischak, Thomas (2008). The Oxford Companion to the American Musical. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195335330.
4. Swain, Joseph (2002). The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9781461664079.
5. Wolitz, Seth (2006). Cornis-Pope, Marcel; Neubauer, John (eds.). Ashkenaz or the Jewish Presence in East-Central Europe. History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe: Junctures and disjunctures in the 19th and 20th centuries, Volume 2. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 9789027293404.
6. Fogarty, Mignon (27 October 2009). The Grammar Devotional. ISBN 9781429964401.
7. Knight, Professor Arthur; Wojcik, Pamela Robertson; Knight, Arthur (3 December 2001). Soundtrack Available. ISBN 0822328003.
8. "tefilla - Meaning of "bidi-bidi-bum" - Mi Yodeya". stackexchange.com.
9. "'Fiddler' Composer Jerry Bock, 1928–2010". NPR.org. 5 November 2010.
10. Nimmervoll, Ed (6 September 1967). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
11. Rice, Tim; Rice, Jo; Gambaccini, Paul; Read, Mike (1985). Guinness British Hit Singles (5th ed.). Guinness Superlatives Limited. ISBN 0-85112-429-1.
12. Vineyard, Jennifer (2004). . MTV. p. 3. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
13. Kamien, Adam (15 December 2009). "Yidcore's final countdown". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
14. David Serero - Ah! Si J'étais Riche. YouTube. 5 August 2014.^{[dead YouTube link]}
15. Friedman, Gabe (16 January 2021). "Flo Milli samples 'If I Were a Rich Man' in new track". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links

• Ven ikh bin Rothschild (full text in Yiddish)