Lyrics in English:

It’s hard to be a real human being
Truly difficult, my dear Yosl Ber
It’s hard to be a real human being
Truly difficult, my dear Yosl Ber

You’re supposed to give grandmothers respect
Rather than throw them out of their homes
You’re not supposed to murder any children
You can’t even blind them

You can’t make and spread
Plague, and the chains of hunger
You’re not allowed to destroy a hospital
Not even just one!

Sometimes it’s hard to remain (behave like) humans
Especially when we are miserable and suffering
But there’s only one choice, my dear boy
If you don’t wish to be a swine

Yosl Ber
Serves in the military
Yosl, Yosl, Yosl Ber
Serves in the military

Words by @[email protected] with Annie Cohen, music by Geoff Berner. Berner is a Jewish Canadian protest singer who places himself somewhere between folk, punk, and klezmer.

Yosl Ber is a man serving in the military in an old Yiddish song (cover version here) by Itzik Manger. Lyrics with translation are available here. In the current context, it's hard not to think of Yosl Ber as a person recruited to the IDF as part of Israel's mandatory military service.