If I Were a Rich Man - Fiddler on the Roof - MP3 instrumental karaoke

Certain songs are embroidered on the fabric of popular culture, transcending their original context. Such is the case of "If I Were a Rich Man," a klezmer-style number originally included in the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof. Written by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, the song is performed by Tevye, the musical's main protagonist, and it reflects on his ambitions of wealth and glory. Inspired by the Sholem Aleichem 1902 monologue Ven ikh bin Rothschild (If I were a Rothschild), "If I Were a Rich Man" makes extensive use of numerous Jewish slang and commonplaces and also introduces the main character to the audience. In the years after its debut, the song was covered by numerous artists including Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Chaim Topol, and Frankie Vaughan. It was also sampled by trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack on "Daydreaming" (1991) and was later remade into Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl"(2004), based on Louchie Lou & Michie One's 1993 version.