This Life's an Enchanted Fairy Land…

I came across a wonderful verse today by Robert Burns (1759 – 1796).  He wrote the song Auld Lang Syne.  The verse is from Epistle To James Smith. Original Text in Scots "This life, sae far's I understand, is an enchanted fairy land, where pleasure is the magic wand, that [...]

Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group

We'd love it if you'd join the Mama Lisa Facebook Group. You can post anything you'd like about your culture. You can post your own musical recordings or YouTube videos… Links to culture and musical sites… Photos of your country… Questions about songs or cultural issues… Anything related to World Culture and [...]

Can Someone Help with a Scottish Song with the Line, “My Own Wee House”?

Joan's looking for help with a Scottish song. Here's what she wrote to me in an email… The only thing I can remember is the last line I think goes like this: My own wee house, something something, so dear to me, so dear to me, something, something, so dear to me. The something something are words [...]

The Symbolism of the Egg

As Easter approaches, it's natural to think a little about eggs! In days gone by the egg, due to its shape, was a symbol of the earth. Thanks to its obvious association with the beginning of life, it has also been the basis of many ancient creation stories. It has been a symbol [...]

Searching for a Nursery Rhyme that Begins with Z!

We've been very busy here, redesigning Mama Lisa's House of Nursery Rhymes, which features traditional English Mother Goose. The new design will break down the rhymes alphabetically. Each letter of the alphabet will have its own page – and that page will have all of the rhymes we have that begin with that [...]

Can Anyone Help with a Song with the Line, “”Darling swine will you be mine?”"

I received this email recently: Hi, I'm looking for a children's ditty and have had no luck so far. I think it may be British, because I got it from my mother, who although American herself, had Scottish parents. Here's what I know of the song: Once a lady had a pig, “Honey” said she, “Darling [...]

Spanish Translations of English Children's Songs

Jackie wrote us looking for some Spanish versions of English songs. Online, at Mama Lisa's World, we already have Itzi, bitzi araña, which is the Spanish version of Itsy Bitsy Spider. There's also Estrellita, which is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star in Spanish. You can click on the links for the lyrics in [...]

How to Find Sheet Music, Tunes and MP3's on Mama Lisa's World

In addition to this blog, I also host Mama Lisa's World. Mama Lisa's World is a large collection of children's songs and rhymes from countries all around the globe. Matt, a music teacher from Rhode Island, wrote a question to me, the other day, about Mama Lisa's World: Hey Mama, I love the concept of your site. [...]

Mama Lisa's World News and Multimedia Features

A significant part of the Mama Lisa sites is a large collection of songs and nursery rhymes from around the world. We currently have about 750 songs from around 90 countries and cultures. When you consider how many languages there are in those cultures – that's a lot of information! In order to make [...]

Scottish Gaelic Nursery Rhymes or Songs

Monique, of Mama Lisa's World en français, was nice enough to send me this lovely photo of the Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland, which she visited this past summer. Monique asked me to post the photo with a request for Scottish Gallic nursery rhymes or songs. If anyone knows of any, please send [...]