Artist & Tune
About the Song
In 1942, Woody Guthrie moved to Brooklyn and soon, through his mother-in-law (the renowned Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt), he became involved with the Coney Island Jewish Community. He wrote songs about Hanukkah, about Jewish history and about spiritual life.
After his death in 1967, these songs sat forgotten in archives. “Lost” for almost 30 years, Guthrie’s Hanukkah lyrics were discovered in 1998 by Woody’s daughter, Nora Guthrie. She was so inspired by what she found, she asked the Klezmatics to write new music for the lyrics to songs that did not have melodies like this song.
This is one of the songs that on the resulting Klezmatics' Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah album. This wonderful CD can also be ordered from the Woody Guthrie Store.
Dave Horowitz illustrated this song as a children's book (which includes a copy of the Klezmatics' CD).
It’s Honeyka Hanukah ‘round and around,
Honeycake Hanukah, eat them down,
Latkes and goody things all over town,
It’s Honeyky Hanukah time.
It’s Honeyky Hanukah, shaky my hand,
My candles are burning all over this land,
To light the dark road for the man passing by,
It’s Honeyky Hanukah time.
It’s Honeyky Hanukah, kissy my cheek,
The light in my window it burns for a week
I’ll open my present and take a little peek,
It’s Honeyky Hanukah time.
It’s Honeyky Hanukah, makes me feel glad,
This box for mother and this box for dad,
For sister and brother, nice ribbons I’ll tie,
It’s Honeyka Hanukah time.
It’s Honeyky Hanukah, huggy me tight,
It’s Hanukah day, and it’s Hanukah night,
If you’ve got no money, well, that’s all right.
It’s Honeyky Hanukah time.
It’s Honeyka Hanukah, kiss my some more,
We’ll sing and go dancing around on the floor,
Your kiss is nicer than cakes from the store,
It’s Honeyky Hanukah time.
It’s Honeyky Hanukah, brushy my hair,
Let’s dance a big horah and jump in the air,
You look lots prettier to me every year
At Honeyky Hanukah time.
—Words by Woody Guthrie, Music by Frank London (of The Klezmatics)
© Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. & Nuju Music (BMI). All rights reserved. Contact Publisher - Woody Guthrie Publications/BMG Chrysalis