[1][2][3] The original version of the song tells the story of ten brothers, each of whom dies from starvation as the narrative progresses until there is only one left.
The earliest transcription of Tsen Brider was published in the Russian Empire by Jewish ethnologists Saul Ginsburg and Pesach Marek in 1901.
[5] The song features a regressive structure, similar to Ten Little Indians, with each verse reducing the number of characters by a factor of one.
In his book, Coopersmith noted that "the Jews in Europe were denied permission to practice professions, enter into business or cultivate the land, hence they had to earn a living in areas which others disdained.
[6] A German-language[4] adaptation of Tsen Brider, titled Jüdischer Todessang, was composed by Jewish musician and Socialist activist Martin Rosenberg prior to his deportation from the Sachsenhausen concentration camp to Auschwitz in 1942.