Abanibi, Eurovision Song Winner in 1978, is Still Popular Around the World

It's been 46 years since A Ba Ni Bi, a seemingly nonsensical song, won first prize for Israel in the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest. In 2010 we noted that the song has taken off and found expression in many languages and in many venues that are surely surprising original singer Izhar Cohen, composer Nurit Hirsh, and songwriter Ehud Manor.

It's still a feature in the Jewish camp scene where it's a staple of the song and dance fesitvals that are focal points of the camp season.

A Ba Ni Bi is actually not nonsensical, at least when sung in Hebrew. It gets a little weird when it's sung in Chinese, Spanish, Thai, and other languages. 

It's cleverly written in S'fat HaBet (B Language,) an Israeli variation of Pig Latin.  The phrase Aba Nibi Obo Hebev Obo Tabach is simply Ani Ohev Otach (I Love You) with the suffixes ba, bi, bo, and beh appended to each syllable.  If it were sung in English, the words would be Iby Lubuve Youboo.  But nobody sings it that way.

We found a new version by Chilean singer Ariel Toro, recorded earlier this year in his studio.

Enjoy!

A Ba Ni Bi, 1978 Israeli Eurovision Winner, Resurfaces in an Online a Cappella Version

It's been 13 years since A Ba Ni Bi, a seemingly nonsensical song, won first prize for Israel in the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest. In 2010 we noted that the song has taken off and found expression in many languages and in many venues that are surely surprising original singer Izhar Cohen, composer Nurit Hirsh, and songwriter Ehud Manor.

It's still a feature in the Jewish camp scene where it's a staple of the song and dance fesitvals that are focal points of the camp season.

A Ba Ni Bi is actually not nonsensical, at least when sung in Hebrew.  It gets a little weird when it's sung in Chinese, Spanish, Thai, and other languages. 

It's cleverly written in S'fat HaBet (B Language,) an Israeli variation of Pig Latin.  The phrase Aba Nibi Obo Hebev Obo Tabach is simply Ani Ohev Otach (I Love You) with the suffixes ba, bi, bo, and beh appended to each syllable.  If it were sung in English, the words would be Iby Lubuve Youboo.  But nobody sings it that way.

And even in the world of COVID-19, the song manages to survive in socially distanced performances. Here's a version we discovered as performed last year by Makela Kala, a Tel Aviv based Pop-a cappella group, conducted by Erez Tal.

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.  

 

Here's a little nostalgia -- the original prize winning performance at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest. Enjoy!

 

Just Published - "Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places." Get the e-Book Edition Free Now Through Sunday!

Among the more than 1,800 video clips that we've shared with you on Jewish Humor Central, there are about 150 video examples of Jewish life and music that appear in places you wouldn't expect them to. 

This week we published the collection in a new book, Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places (and Unexpected Traces in Jewish Places). It's available now from Amazon.com in paperback and in a Kindle (e-book) version that you can read on any device with free Kindle reader software from Amazon.

The paperback version sells for $9.95, and when you buy it, Amazon will offer you a free Kindle download. So when you receive the paperback version you can give it as a gift and keep the Kindle version for yourself.

For the next 5 days (Wednesday, January 20 through Sunday, January 24) you can get the Kindle version free of charge directly from Amazon.com by clicking here. 

The book presents anecdotes and associated video clips that reveal the myriad ways that Jewish culture, religion, humor, music, song, and dance have found expression in parts of the world that, at first glance, might not seem supportive of Jewish Life. 

It includes 50 videos of Hava Nagila being performed from Texas to Thailand, from India to Iran, and from Buenos Aires to British Columbia. 

Also highlighted are 34 international versions of Hevenu Shalom Aleichem, Adon Olam, Abanibi, and Tumbalalaika. Whether you’re reading the print version and typing in the video URLs or reading the e-book version and clicking on the links, you’ll have access to 150 video clips totaling more than 10 hours of video.

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places is also the title of a popular lecture that Al will be presenting in South Florida in February and in the Berkshires in July. If you're interested in information about Al's lectures and Jewish humor programs for your organization, you can reach him at akustan@gmail.com. 

Here are the videos shown on the cover. There are 146 more videos that you can link to in the book.

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)

Adon Olam with Leaping Brazilian Dancers



Sh'ma Yisrael in Papua New Guinea


Chabad Wins World Cup Soccer in South Africa


Are the Japanese the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel?

Jewish Traces in Unexpected Places: Abanibi Is Still a Big Hit.....in Thailand

A Ba Ni Bi, a seemingly nonsensical song that won first prize for Israel in the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest, has taken off and found expression in many languages and in many venues that are surely surprising original singer Izhar Cohen, composer Nurit Hirsh, and songwriter Ehud Manor.

The song was the subject of an article in Tablet magazine, in which Marjorie Ingalls reflects on the song's explosion onto the Jewish camp scene where it was and still is a staple of the zimriah and rikudiah (song and dance festvals) that are focal points of the camp season.

A Ba Ni Bi is actually not nonsensical, at least when sung in Hebrew.  It gets a little weird when it's sung in Chinese, Spanish, Thai, and other languages. We have posted previous versions of the song performed in Spain, Malaysia, and Singapore.

As Ingalls, points out, It's cleverly written in S'fat HaBet (B Language,) an Israeli variation of Pig Latin.  The phrase Aba Nibi Obo Hebev Obo Tabach is simply Ani Ohev Otach (I Love You) with the suffixes ba, bi, bo, and beh appended to each syllable.  If it were sung in English, the words would be Iby Lubuve Youboo.  But nobody sings it that way.

Here is a version of the song performed recently in Thailand. The singers can't pronounce the words in the refrain correctly. The verses are either in Thai or in English. Either way, we can't figure them out. If you can, please let us know in your comments.

Just below, we're sharing the original Hebrew version that won the 1978 Eurovision song contest for Israel. Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)   

Abanibi, Israel's 1978 Eurovision Winner, Is Alive And Well On Spanish Reality TV Show

Last July we started a series on the re-emergence on the world scene of Abanibi, Israel's prize-winning song in the 1978 Eurovision contest.  We posted a video of the original winning performance by Izhar Cohen and a swinging version at a wedding dinner in Malaysia.  Then in August we posted a video of another swinging version at a festival in Singapore.  

Now the song has gotten a new lease on life as a result of its being featured on a Spanish reality show called Gran Hermano, the Spanish version of the Big Brother reality show that's been showing on prime time TV in almost 70 countries, including Israel and the U.S., where the 13th season will be broadcast on CBS this summer.

The show's premise is that a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash prize by avoiding periodic evictions from the house.

A new wrinkle in the show is a swap, where participants from two countries change places, traveling from their home country to another one. Part of this exchange last month between Spain and Israel involved a song contest between the players from both countries, with the Israeli team singing a Spanish song, Bandido, and the Spanish team singing (you guessed it) Abanibi.

So, after that long introduction, you finally get to see the talented Spanish team giving an energetic performance of this silly song.  As we pointed out in previous posts, the song is cleverly written in S'fat HaBet (B Language,) an Israeli variation of Pig Latin.  The phrase Aba Nibi Obo Hebev Obo Tabach is simply Ani Ohev Otach (I Love You) with the suffixes ba, bi, bo, and beh appended to each syllable.  If it were sung in English, the words would be Iby Lubuve Youboo.  But nobody sings it that way. 

Enjoy!

P.S.  Did you wonder why the men have those Afro/Isro hairdos or wigs and why they're all wearing white outfits?  Check out the original Eurovision video with Izhar Cohen, his Afro/Isro hairdo and the group Alphabeta in their white outfits.