Song of the Season Contest: THE WINNERS

Most of the songs mentioned the same themes. There were at least a dozen songs about Zoom learning, lots of choruses featuring overwhelmed parents, and many calls for “Together.”

Since the lyrics were in English, Abie Rotenberg’s songs got the most traction. (We did get at least one Yiddish submission though!) With over 150 submissions, we had a hard time winnowing down the finalists. Some of the qualities we looked for:

• Lyrics that closely matched the rhythm, meter, and structure of the originals — we and/or our families tried singing your lyrics to see how well they fit the tune
• Wit and humor, or drama and pathos, that reflect what we’ve all been experiencing during the pandemic
• A good feel for language, a flair for expression, that extra dash of creativity or perfect word or phrase

Here are our top choices, the finalists who managed to deliver fantastic lyrics that just might replace the ones you’ve been singing until now, along with the comments of two of our judges, Yisroel Besser and Shana Friedman.

But that’s not all… here at mishpacha.com you can watch some of your favorite singers take a turn with the new lyrics. Keep singing!