Escalerica l'hizo di oro y de cristal, que venga nuestro novio, para la berah . Morenica y graciosica sos, morenica y graciosica y ojos verdolís. Morena a mí me llaman los marineros, si otra vez me llaman, me vo con ellos. Morenica y graciosica sos... Escalerica l'hizo di oro y de marfil, que venga el nuestro novio para los qedosín. Morenica y graciosica sos... Morena a mí me llama el hijo del rey, si otra vez me llama, yo me vo con él. Morenica y graciosica sos... Decild' a la morena si quere venir, el barco tengo 'n velas, que ya va a partir. Morenica y graciosica sos...
A little stairway he made her,
of gold and crystal,
that our bridegroom may come
for the blessing (berah). You are dark and graceful,
dark and graceful, with green eyes. They call me Dark One (morena)
the sailors do;
if they call me again,
I will go with them. You are dark and graceful... A little stairway he made her,
of gold and ivory,
that our bridegroom may come
for the betrothal (qedosín). You are dark and graceful... Dark One he calls me the son of the king
if he calls me again,
I will go with him. You are dark and graceful... Tell the dark maiden
if she wishes to come —
the ship has its sails raised,
for it is about to depart. You are dark and graceful...
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y 5737a/9 Referenced and notated in: El ciclo de la vida, pg. 240, Editorial Alpuerto, 2013 Susana Weich-Shahak. This wedding song weaves together several recurring themes: A symbolic ladder made of precious materials representing the spiritual elevation of the groom as he prepares to bestow upon his bride the kedoshim - sanctified blessings of marriage, the image of a ship setting sail, and the call of the King’s son to the bride. Morenica - Dark One, is a reference to Song of Songs, Chapter 1: “Do not gaze at me because I am dark, for the sun has darkened me.” As a cantiga, the song does not follow a strict narrative sequence, but its verses are grouped in thematic pairs. Although not present in this particular version, a common additional theme is the bride’s attire and adornment. In this version, the dark one (Morenica) has green eyes.
This website was created by Orit Perlman with the collaboration and blessings of Dr. Susana Weich-Shahak in 2025