If anyone has info on the origins of the Papirossen song, I should be interested to know. I have heard a soprano sing the original song, which is the slow and sad song of a poor cigarette seller who cannot get any buyers (papirossen being the Russian, and hence Yiddish, word for a sort of cheap cigarette (also related to the Polish papieros)).
The melody itself is confirmed by ACUM (the Israeli equivalent of ASCAP) as "traditional", but I have found no other information.
My particular setting is much more lively, mainly because I found the tune in an old book and began variations on it before hearing the authentic lament of the soprano, but it seems to work that way :-)
Thanks
David
