Last year we launched Kveller’s first ever Passover parody contest with this winning Taylor Swift song, so we’re thrilled to announce that the first Taylor Swift Hanukkah parody of the Hanukkah season is finally here, just in time for the Festival of Lights, which starts on the evening of December 7.
Does it compare to Sadie and Sunny Sandler’s “Lover” Hanukkah parody? I don’t think any cover ever will, but it will definitely land pretty high on our unofficial ranking of the best Hanukkah parodies.
Y-Studs, the Yeshiva University a cappella group, just released their version of Taylor Swift’s 2009 hit “You Belong With Me” called “You Can Light With Me (Y-Studs Version).”
The video, of course, has the obligatory reference to Taylor’s current beau, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce. One of the members of the group wears his jersey and draws possible plays on a white board, though other band members opted to play basketball in the living room where the video was shot and not football, probably for safety reasons.
It also pays tribute to Israel, the currently embattled land where the revolt of the Maccabees took place. The video incorporates images from IDF Hanukkah celebrations and of the Western Wall while the men of the group sing, “Oh, I think about/ The forces in the dark, extinguishing our light / I give my gratitude, to those fighting for what’s right.” The band already gave us a moving rendition of “Avinu Shebashamain,” the prayer for the state of Israel, back in October.
The song starts with the line, “You’re on the phone with your bubbe / she’s upset,” while said angry bubbe appears in the video to remind us to light the Hanukkah candles. There’s gelt, a dreidel competition, crunchy latkes and juicy sufganiyot, a quick retelling of the Hanukkah story, cute kids celebrating Hanukkah, an oil menorah, a joke about Greek yogurt (vanilla flavored Chobani is delicious on latkes, though) and togas fashioned out of white sheets to represent the ancient Greeks.
All in all, it’s a pretty great parody video that may even make you shed a tear or two. Happy Hanukkah to all!
Lyrics to “You Can Light With Me:”
You’re on the phone with your Bubby she’s upset
She’s wondering why you haven’t lit your candles yet
Cause she’s waited all day long just to see you
We’re in the room – not a typical Tuesday night
We’re setting up all of the candles we’re gonna light
We start to tell the story in Hebrew
Al hanisim v’al ha’purkan
Spin the dreidel – nes gadol haya sham
Mi chamocha – our faith is defined
By a miracle that would last for all time
If you could see the latkes frying in the oil
Taste sufganiyot filled with jelly
Come and light with me
You can light with me
Antiochus issued multiple decrees
He wanted us to do everything like the Greeks
Saw the army of the Jews – they were really few
Said: “This’ll be easy!”
But Judah and his crew wouldn’t bow to that man’s crown
Beat all the Greeks and then they knocked their idols down
Destroy our faith? – You know we’re better than that
We won’t be bullied by an autocrat
We searched for pitchers that weren’t defiled
The holy space had become pretty wild
Rededicate ourselves in a way that’s sublime
‘Cause what we’re looking for has been here the whole time
If you could see the latkes frying in the oil
Taste sufganiyot filled with jelly
Come and light with me
Candle lights are glowing in the window
Share a sign of hope for all to see
Come and light with me
You can light with me
Oh, I think about
The forces in the dark, extinguishing our light
I give my gratitude, to those fighting for what’s right
I won’t let what is wrong interfere with all my dreams
Feeling pride where I belong cause I know what it means
If you could see the latkes frying in the oil
Taste sufganiyot filled with jelly
Come and light with me
Candle lights are glowing in the window
Share a sign of hope for all to see
Come and light with me
You can light with me
You can light with me
Connect with our history
You can light with me
You can light with me
