Tumbalalaika

"Tumbalalaika" (טום־באַלאַלײַקע) is a Russian Jewish folk and love song in the Yiddish language. Tum (טום) is the Yiddish word for 'noise' and a balalaika is a stringed musical instrument of Russian origin.

Meaning
While most versions use a shteyn ('a stone') as the answer to "what can grow without rain", some versions use farshteyn ('understanding').

Cultural references and covers

 * The song Over and Over by Nana Mouskouri uses this melody. It followed the singer's french version "Roule s'enroule" (lyrics by Michel Jourdan).
 * The song, "Tumbalalaika (The Riddle)" by Natalia Zukerman is a poetic adaptation of this to English, with the chorus remaining in Yiddish.
 * The Barry Sisters version of the song appears in episode 5, season 2 (“Midnight At The Concord”) of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
 * Benny Hill adapted the melody for one of his own compositions, Anna Marie, which he performed on his first special for Thames Television on November 19, 1969.
 * The film Khrustalyov, My Car! shows a young Jewish boy singing the song in Russian.
 * The song is used in the film Swing by Tony Gatlif.
 * The song is used in the play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner and the film based on this play. It is sung by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg to Roy Cohn, dying of AIDS.
 * The song is used in the film Prendimi l'anima/The Soul Keeper (2002) by Roberto Faenza.
 * The metal version of the song is included in the first Metal Yiddish album AlefBase by Gevolt, released in March 2011
 * A pastiche of the song is used in the play The Hamlet of Stepney Green: A Sad Comedy with Some Songs by Bernard Kops.
 * The song is included in the album Homenatge a Xesco Boix, a tribute to Xesco Boix. The latter used to play in his concerts for children. Also included in Cançons catalanes de Folk in 1976 (Terra Nostra).
 * The song appears in the novel The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros.
 * A vietnamese version "Tình Nồng Cháy" (Passioned love) with lyrics by Anh Bằng, based on the english lyrics of "Over and Over" uses this melody.
 * The Berlin-based electro swing duo, Masha Ray, covered the song in 2023.