Original Song by: Camila Cabello, Eric Frederic, Ed Sheeran, Scott Harris, Edgar Barrera, and Cheche Alara
Performed by: Listen Up!
Arranged by: Steve Singe
Listen Up! Lyrics by: Freddie Feldman
Sevivon Sov Sov
If you are looking for some more Hanukkah music you might enjoy “Sevivon Sov Sov,” an adaptation of the popular song “Bam Bam.” The Listen Up! version tells the story behind the celebration of Hanukkah.
Like the original “Bam Bam” song, the “Sevivon Sov Sov” music is very upbeat and fun. The song talks about a bad king who interrupted Jewish worship and defiled the temple and how the Maccabees fought to put the Jewish people back in control. It also mentions how there was no oil to be found, but God provided from a small jar that lasted many days.
The chorus of the song celebrates the freedom to dance and light candles. When written out, the refrain “Sevivon Sov Sov Sov Sov Sov, Sov” repeats 8 times, like the eight nights of Hanukkah:
| Just sing along with me, |
| We light the lights baby, |
| We were barely standin, |
| But now we’re dancing, |
| At last we are free, |
| Sevivon Sov Sov Sov Sov Sov, Sov |
| Sevivon Sov Sov Sov Sov Sov, Sov |
| Sevivon Sov Sov Sov Sov Sov, Sov |
| Sevivon Sov Sov Sov Sov, |
| Sevivon Sov Sov Sov Sov Sov, Sov |
| Sevivon Sov Sov Sov Sov Sov, Sov |
| Sevivon Sov Sov Sov Sov Sov, Sov |
| Sevivon Sov Sov Sov Sov, |
In case you are wondering, “sevivon sov sov sov” means “dreidel, spin, spin, spin.” A dreidel is a traditional toy used in a game traditionally played during Hanukkah. You might win candy or other prizes, depending on what side of the top the dreidel falls on after a player spins it.
The dreidel game is rooted in a legend that -- when children were not allowed to learn Torah during the time the Jews were being oppressed by Greeks -- they would defy the law by studying anyway. But whenever the Greek authorities would come, the kids would put their Torah lessons away and bring out the spinning top, so it looked like they were just playing a game.
Today the dreidel top is marked with a different Hebrew letter on each of its four sides. The letters are nun, gimmel, hey and shin. These are the first letters in Hebrew of the saying “A Great Miracle Happened There,” with “there” referring to what happened in Israel. However if you are living in Israel, the dreidel maker may replace the letter shin with peh for the word po in Hebrew, so the abbreviated saying is that a great miracle happened “here” instead (What Is A Dreidel?).
References:
-- "What Is A Dreidel?" from My Jewish Learning
