rocky montenegro : with a wink and with a grin

with a wink and with a grin

I remember many years ago, when I was very small
In a neighborhood of old Italian men
These men were telling stories that would make them laugh out loud
'til they saw me getting close to them, and then

They switched into a language that I did not understand
With each syllable they uttered they would wave around their hands
Then one would end his story with a wink and with a grin
And those old Italian gentlemen would slap their knees, and then
They'd go ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha, haaa

Just around the corner from the building where I lived
Was a place where mama went to wash our clothes
It was run by Chinese women who would chatter all the time
But whatever they were saying no one knows

They only spoke a language that I did not understand
With each syllable they uttered they would wave around their hands
Then one would end her story with a wink and with a grin
And those Chinese women, sure enough, would slap their knees, and then
They'd go ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha, haaa

Every year at Rosh Hashanah we would make a great big meal
That we shared with all the relatives we knew
All my aunts and all my uncles would be drinking purple wine
Telling stories that couldn't possibly be true

Then they switched into a language so I would not understand
With each syllable they uttered they would wave around their hands
Then one would end his story with a wink and with a grin
And sure enough my aunts and uncles slapped their knees, and then
They'd go ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha, haaa

After many years of this I felt I'd had enough
Of not understanding what those grown-ups said
Then one year, at Rosh Hashanah, all my relatives showed up
And a little idea popped into my head

My Uncle Saul was speaking words I shouldn't have understood
He waved his hands with every word and it sounded pretty good
Then he finished up his story with a wink and with a grin
And, boy, were they surprised when I slapped my knee, and then
I went ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha, haaa

My Uncle Saul was horrified, his wife, Aunt Anna, shocked
And everyone was stunned by what they heard
They were all ashamed a little boy had understood their jokes
But the truth was I didn't understand a word

Then they switched into a language that I clearly understood
And they cleaned up all their stories, though they still were pretty good
And sometimes they would end them with a wink and with a grin
And everyone, including me, would slap their knees, and then
We'd go ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha, ha ha, ha ha, haaa