Tzur mishelo akhlanu

Table songs (zemirot shabbat), poems sung by family and guests after the festive Sabbath eve meal, are a favorite location for musical creativity in most Jewish traditions. The Portuguese Jews in New York City were, according to Rev. Lopes Cardozo, extremely prolific in their zemirot repertoire. The present example, one of the most famous poems in this genre, is inspired by Birkat hamazon (The Grace after Meals). This most famous zemer is set to a simple melody in ternary meter that evokes the tune of a Dutch or German folksong. The strained setting of the text to the melody discloses the foreign origin of the melody.