The exact origins and authorship of Zum Gali Gali is unknown. While the song is associated with the Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek it is possible that it was composed elsewhere. It may have first been performed as part of a play. The first publication of the song was in 1939 by the Hebrew Publishing Company (NY, USA), indicating it was popular among American Jews at the time. Subsequent publications, such as a 1948 recording by Meir Lokitz, recorded as part of The Stonehill Collection: Recording of Holocaust survivors and Jewish immigrants to the United States, contains alternate verses with the standard refrain. The song was first performed in a non-Jewish context by the German instrumentalist Bert Kaempfert.
