Dreidel Song Variations

I'm resurrecting my long-dormant blog to share some Chanukah frivolity at a time when frivolity is in short supply.

I first encountered humorous variations on the familiar dreidel song at the boisterous Chanukah service at my synagogue in the early '00s. (One congregant described the house band as "garage klezmer," and the rabbi referred to the area where the kids were dancing as the mosh pit.) The rabbi said he found the lyrical variations on the internet, which I found easily enough. The quality varied, so my family picked the best ones and wrote some of our own, which we happily sing every Chanukah. The original page is lost to the annals of time.

(All start with “I had a little dreidel” (IHALD))

IHALD, I made it out of bread,
It looked so very yummy
I ate it up instead

IHALD, I made it out of glass,
My mom days I can spin it,
but only on the grass.

IHALD, I made it out of snow
I baked it in the oven...
Where'd my dreidel go?

IHALD, I carved it from a log
And when I threw it on the floor
it nearly killed the dog

IHALD, I made it out of plastic
I put a gimel on every side,
that dreidel is fantastic!

IHALD, I made it out of soap
I carved a shin on every side
Boy, am I a dope!

IHALD, I made it out of felt
I put a hay on every side,
so I get half the gelt.

IHALD, I made it out of flooring
I put a nun on every side
That dreidel is quite boring

IHALD, I made it out of glue
The baby tried to spin it,
and now she's spinning too!

IHALD, I made it from cement

And now our lovely hardwood floor 

has a nasty dent

IHALD, I made it out of meat

I can't stand to be near it

It smells just like my feet

IHALD, I made it out of brass

I brought it in to Sunday school 

and showed it to my class

IHALD, I made it out of sand,

but when I went to spin it, 

it crumbled in my hand

IHALD, It came from the UK.

It wrote a little poem, 

and then it shied away

IHALD, I made it from a broom

I think I'll try to talk it into 

cleaning up my room.

IHALD, made from gefilte fish

My mother served it for Shabbat, 

but it spun right off my dish!

IHALD, I made it out of lox

it tastes good on a bagel, 

but it smells worse than my socks

IHALD, I made it out of straw

It went 80 miles an hour, 

and broke the speeding law