Online resources for Passover recordings, lyrics, sheet music and more.
Singing is traditionally a major part of the Passover seder, and it certainly makes for a more festive and participatory celebration. But what if your repertoire of Passover songs is lacking or you can’t remember the lyrics or melodies even for classics like “Dayenu” or “Chad Gadya”? Or what if you have an urge to accompany the singing on guitar (or some other instrument) this year?
Whatever the situation, we can help. Below (and in no particular order) are the best online resources we could find. Are we missing something great? Leave a comment below and we’ll consider your suggestions.
Zemirot Database
Zemirot Database (“zemirot” is the word for songs sung around a holiday table) is also a great place to find songs for Shabbat and other holidays. The site provides free printable lyrics, in Hebrew, English and transliteration, for more than 20 Passover songs. Most songs also have recordings embedded for streaming.
Haggadot.com
Haggadot.com is set up to help you to create your own Haggadah. But even if you don’t want to make a whole Haggadah, you can use the site, which is free but requires registration, to search for Passover music and other content. Search the site’s clip library for songs and other content. You can search by media type (ie. Text, audio or video) and also by section of the seder.
Chabad
This site features more than 15 Passover songs with streamable audio (plus links directing you to places where you can purchase the songs), and printable song sheets/lyrics in Hebrew, English and transliteration. One unique offering is “Mah Nishtanah” (The Four Questions) in Yiddish.
YouTube
If you know what song you’re looking for and just want to listen to the melody, this is a great resource to search. You can also do a search for “Passover Songs” and browse the results. Videos vary dramatically in quality, of course—but a number of them include lyrics and transliteration, sometimes presented karaoke style. In addition to traditional songs, here you’ll find a wide range of modern parody songs, including myriad versions of “Let It Go” (generally changed to “Let Us Go”). We’ve embedded an example below:
JewishMusicStream.com
You can access all kinds of Jewish music that is streaming online and even put in requests for different ones you’d like to hear.
Another option if you want the notes, as well as the lyrics, is to purchase a book on Amazon.com or at your local Judaica store or bookstore.
