Abie Rotenberg - The Man From Vilna

      [Verse]:
  C              F      
I met a man last sunday, 
         C               Am
who was on his way back home
       C             F    
From a wedding in Chicago, 
          G          Bm
and was traveling alone
   G                 Am    
He said he came from Vilna, 
      F             Dm
a survivor I could tell
      Gm                  F        
And I helped him with his suitcase, 
          Eb            C
he could not walk very well

   C              F     
A steward gave us coffee 
      C               Am
as we settled on the plane
       C               F       
And I asked him why he bothers, 
        G          Bm 
at his age there'd be no blame
     G                  Am     
He said "no simcha is a burden, 
         F                 Dm
though I miss my dear late wife"
            Gm               F     
And then he shared with me a story 
         Eb                 Gm
that has changed my view of life:

[Chorus]:
           Bb                 Gsus2       
"We danced round and round in circles 
           Bb                C
as if the world had done no wrong
     Bb            Gsus2       
From evening until morning, 
        Bb               Am
filling up the shul with song
          Bb             Gsus2  
Though we had no sifrei Torah 
    Bb                  C
to clutch close to our hearts
         Bb                 Gsus2    
In their place we held the future 
     Bb            Dm
of a past so torn apart

[Verse]:
  C              F    
I remember liberation, 
        C               Am
joy and fear both intertwined
          C             F   
Where to go and what to do, 
            G             Bm
and how to leave the pain behind?
   G                 Am     
My heart said 'go to vilna', 
       F             Dm
dare I pray yet once again
         Gm              F         
For the chance to find a loved one, 
      Eb               C
or perhaps a childhood friend?

        C              F         
It took many months to get there, 
           C                 Am
from the late spring to the fall
       C       F      
And as I, many others, 
          G           Bm
close to four hundred in all
    G                 Am     
And slowly there was healing, 
          F                    Dm
darkened souls now mixed with light
     Gm              F          
When someone proudly cried out, 
    Eb               Gm
'simchas Torah is tonight!'

[Chorus]:
           Bb                 Gsus2       
"We danced round and round in circles 
           Bb                C
as if the world had done no wrong
     Bb            Gm       
From evening until morning, 
        Bb               Am
filling up the shul with song
          Bb             Gsus2  
Though we had no sifrei Torah 
    Bb                  C
to clutch close to our hearts
         Bb                 Gm    
In their place we held the future 
     Bb            Dm
of a past so torn apart

[Verse]:
   C          F                
We ran as one towards the shul, 
      C           Am
our spirits in a trance
       C              F         
And we tore apart the barricade, 
        G             Bm
in defiance we would dance
    G                Am      
But the scene before our eyes 
 F              Dm
shook us to the core
   Gm              F            
Scraps of siddur, bullet holes, 
 Eb                C
bloodstains on the floor


    C          F             
Turning to the eastern wall, 
   C            Am
we looked on in despair
        C             F              
There'd be no scrolls to dance with, 
    G            Bm
the holy ark was bare
 G                Am               
Then we heard two children crying, 
   F                Dm
a boy and girl whom no one knew
        Gm              F        
And we realized that no children 
       Eb               Gm
were among us but those two

[Chorus]:
           Bb                 Gsus2       
"We danced round and round in circles 
           Bb                C
as if the world had done no wrong
     Bb            Gm       
From evening until morning, 
        Bb               Am
filling up the shul with song
          Bb             Gsus2  
Though we had no sifrei Torah 
   Bb             C
to gather in our arms
         Bb                   Gm        
In their place we held those children, 
    Bb                   Dm
the Jewish people would live on

           Bb                 Gsus2       
"We danced round and round in circles 
           Bb                C
as if the world had done no wrong
     Bb            Gm       
From evening until morning, 
        Bb               Am
filling up the shul with song
          Bb             Gsus2  
Though we had no sifrei Torah 
    Bb                C
to clutch and hold up high
         Bb                   Gm       
In their place we held those children, 
Bb          Dm
am yisrael chai"


           Bb                 Gsus2       
"We danced round and round in circles 
           Bb                C
as if the world had done no wrong
     Bb            Gm       
From evening until morning, 
        Bb               Am
filling up the shul with song
          Bb             Gsus2  
Though we had no sifrei Torah 
   Bb             C
to gather in our arms
         Bb                   Gm        
In their place we held those children, 
    Bb                   Dm
the Jewish people would live on
F          Eb
Am yisrael chai
    Bb                   Dm
The Jewish people would live on
           Am     F         Eb
The Jewish people WILL live on