Mama Lisa's Books

Can Anyone Help with the Caribbean Song "Emma Let Me Lone"

We've been asked for help finding the full lyrics to a Caribbean song called, "Emma Lemme (Let Me) Lone".  Here's the info we have so far: Beau wrote: "...looking for a song that I sang in Elementary School – it's a Caribbean song I think, goes something like "Emma [...]

Does Anyone Know a Song about Leroy and a Papaya Tree?

Angelica wrote: We use to sing a song in school (1940s) with lyrics that went like this....”Leroy Leroy my boy be careful what you do, the tall papaya tree is much too high for you....so bring your basket down before you get a fall...” Have you heard of it? I sure would like it on [...]

Looking for a Bahamian Song with the line, “Morning, good morning, how are ya this morning?”

Diana wrote: Mama Lisa, I vacationed in the Bahamas in the summer of 2005 in Freeport and I kept hearing this song and in the lyrics the artist sang about children's nursery rhymes. There were also children singing in the background of these tunes. The only words I can remember from the song are [...]

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 [...]

Can Anyone Help with a Cuban Rhyme/Finger Play that starts with “Chiquitica así”?

Jeannie Backer wrote to us for help with a Cuban Finger Play. Here's her note... My mother from Cuba used to sing a song/rhyme to usthat I only partially remember, maybe you have heard something similar. It's not a song as much as a cute thing that a child says to adult to ask for

The [...]

About the Song “Cooma Lotta Veesay”

We received the note below with the song “Cooma Lotta Veesay”. Many variations of this song exist, including “Kumala Vista”. It also shares lyrics with the action song called “Flee, Fly, Flo“. Here's the email: “In the late 1950s, we lived near a [...]

Does anyone know this version of Catalina Matelina?

Dennis Lytle wrote to us asking for information about a rhyme: “Any info on the rhyme my parents taught us would be appreciated... I tell you bout vat girl of mine vat looks so sveet and dress so fine, vat come from Dootchland on the Rhine a couple of veeks ago. Her eyes are blue [...]

Make a Dragon Card for The Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is on February 10th this year. It's the year of the Dragon! The dragon symbolizes power, nobility and ambition. Since dragons are so cool, I decided to make homemade cards featuring them. Fortunately, there's a free tutorial online showing how to draw one. You can purchase [...]

Most Popular Christmas Cookies by State in the USA

Google Trends has released a map of the Christmas cookies most searched for by state. It's interesting how popular Italian Christmas cookies are along the east coast. There's more variety in the westward states. Though interestingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the favorite cookies in New Mexico [...]