New Hanukkah Song Launches Maccabeats To Stardom
NEW YORK (AP/CBS 2/1010 WINS) -- It's not your mother's dreidel song.
A singing group from Yeshiva University has a Hanukkah hit on their hands. The Maccabeats' "Candlelight'' is sung to the tune of the pop song "Dynamite'' by Taio Cruz, and features latkes, candles and a telling of the Hanukkah story. The video for the song has gotten well over 2 million views since its release about a week and a half ago.
LINK: Yeshiva Maccabeats Perform Live In CBS 2 Studio
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1010 WINS Reporter Al Jones talks with members of the Maccabeats about their hit song.
'We really didn't expect what happened,'' said Julian Horowitz, musical director of The Maccabeats, made up of 14 current and former students at the school.
The song includes lines like, "I flip my latkes in the air sometimes,'' and the video features a tongue-in-cheek re-enactment of the fight between the Greeks and the Maccabees.
Horowitz said the song and video were initially created as a promotional way to showcase the group's abilities. Since the video's release and popularity, though, there have been numerous news articles and even television appearances.
"We're still just recovering from the shell shock,'' he said Monday.
Horowitz said the group doesn't know yet what any future musical offerings might be.
"We definitely want to make sure we continue to have fun and we continue to inspire others,'' he said.
SING ALONG!
I'll tell a tale
Of Maccabees in Israel
When the Greeks tried to assail
But it was all to no avail
The war went on and on and on
Until the mighty Greeks were gone
I flip my latkes in the air sometimes sayin ayy ohh spin the dreidel
Just wanna celebrate for all eight nights singin ayy oh, light the candles
We say al hanissim
Oh yea for all eight nights
Then we play dreidel
By the candlelight
And I told you once
Now I told you twice
Bout the miracle
Of the candlelight
They took the field
The rivals thought "are they for real?"
But those macabees they'd never yield
They charged ahead with sword and shield
The war went on and on and on
Until the mighty Greeks were gone
I flip my latkes in the air sometimes sayin ayy ohh spin the dreidel
Just wanna celebrate for all eight nights singin ayy oh, light the candles
We say maoz tzur
Oh yea for all eight nights
Then we play dreidel
By the candlelight
And I told you once
Now I told you twice
Bout the miracle
Of the candlelight
And the great menorah
For eight days it kept on burning
What a celebration
A great return to Torah learning
Cuz I can feel it
And Ay-ay-ay
Nes gadol, nes gadol
Nes gadol hayah sham
I flip my latkes in the air sometimes sayin ayy ohh spin the dreidel
Just wanna celebrate for all eight nights singin ayy oh, light the candles
We say al hanissim
Oh yea for all eight nights
Then we play dreidel
By the candlelight
And I told you once
Now I told you twice
Bout the miracle
Of the candlelight
Lyrics: David Block and Immanuel Shalev
(lyrics copyright David Block and Immanuel 2010)
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
