Sometimes a hit song or a great concert idea just falls into your lap. Sometimes it takes months to get a song right. The song “Someday We Will All Be Together” was one of those songs that took a while but as we all know it became one of the favorite classic songs in Jewish music. The song was written by Dina Storch (Kaluszyner at that time). She submitted it to JEP as they were in the midst of recording their fourth album. My brother Rabbi Yosef Chaim Golding along with Moshe Hauben who were the JEP record producers fell in love with the song immediately. They recorded the song using arrangements by Yisroel Lamm with the intention that it be sung by the JEP choir with a child soloist.
At that time Suki and I were recording the V’chol Ma’aminim album with Mordechai Ben David. My brother asked me if I thought MBD would agree to sing the song for JEP. I told him he never sings on other people’s albums but in this case it being such a great song and the profits going to tzedakah it was worth a try to ask him. So my brother approached MBD and played him the song. Mordechai was blown away. There was one problem though. The music had originally been recorded in a child’s key. I told my brother not to worry — we would begin recording in two days and we’d redo the song in MBD’s key.
When Yisroel Lamm rearranged the song he added the intro that is now probably the most famous intro today. Suki played it on his synthesizer. It sounded awesome. Two days later I was in the studio when MBD came to sing “Someday.” Now you must understand that the original words to the second high part are: “Avraham Avinu will be there to greet us Yitzchak will stand by and smile Moshe Rabbeinu will lead us once again…”
When MBD came to those words he stopped and said “What about Yaakov?” Someone in the studio said no big deal it’s okay. But MBD said “It is a big deal. Give me two minutes.”
He sat down at the piano with a pen and paper and jotted something down. About three minutes later he smiled and said “I got it.”
“What is it?” my brother asked him.
MBD replied “Push the record button and listen.” And so the lyrics became Avraham and Yitzchak will be there to greet us Yaakov and his sons will stand by and smile…” And so that’s how the song we all know and love became the song we all know and love.
The song is over 30 years old and yet it’s still a standard. People often ask me “What is it about the song that makes it so great and we never get tired of it? There are so many songs about Mashiach — why does this specific one seem to resonate with so many people?” I think the answer is that everyone we know goes through hardships at one time or another. We’ve all lost friends and relatives we loved… and the promise that someday we will all be together comforts us on a daily basis.
About ten years later MBD bumped into my brother and remarked how “Someday” is the number one requested song of his entire career. My brother responded “I guess that’s the zechus you get for doing that song without pay and with your whole heart.”
MBD answered “Believe me Hashem paid me back many times over….” We pray for a time with the coming of Mashiach when we’ll have to change the lyrics again.
(Originally featured in Mishpacha Issue 681)
