En Joan petit quan balla
This song goes back to the Middle Ages.
There's also a French version, an Occitan version and a Spanish version of this song.
En Joan petit quan balla
When Little John Dances
Children's Song
Children's Song
(Catalan)
(English)
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla, balla, balla
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla amb so dit
Amb so dit, dit, dit
Així balla en Joan petit
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla, balla, balla
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla amb sa mà
Amb sa mà, mà, mà
Amb so dit, dit dit
Així balla en Joan petit
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla, balla, balla
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla amb so colze
Amb so colze, colze, colze
Amb sa mà, mà, mà
Amb so dit, dit dit
Així balla en Joan petit
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla, balla, balla
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla amb so peu
Amb so peu, peu, peu
Amb so colze, colze, colze
Amb sa mà, mà, mà
Amb so dit, dit dit
Així balla en Joan petit
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla, balla, balla
En Joan petit quan balla
Balla amb sa (cama, so genoll, so cap, sa panxa, so cul...)
When little John dances,
Dances, dances, dances,
When little John dances
He dances with his finger,
With his finger, finger, finger,
This is how little John dances.
When little John dances,
Dances, dances, dances,
When little John dances
He dances with his hand,
With his hand, hand, hand,
With his finger, finger, finger,
This is how little John dances.
When little John dances,
Dances, dances, dances,
When little John dances
He dances with his elbow,
With his elbow, elbow, elbow,
With his hand, hand, hand,
With his finger, finger, finger,
This is how little John dances.
When little John dances,
Dances, dances, dances,
When little John dances
He dances with his foot,
With his foot, foot, foot,
With his elbow, elbow, elbow,
With his hand, hand, hand,
With his finger, finger, finger,
This is how little John dances.
When little John dances,
Dances, dances, dances,
When little John dances
He dances with his (leg, knee, head, belly, bottom…)
Game Instructions
The beginning of this song is sung dancing in a ring, and when singing "amb so dit, dit, dit", the children touch the ground three times with their finger. Then they turn round on "així balla Joan petit". Each part of the body is pointed to when mentioned. All the parts of the human body can be added to make the children aware of their body parts.
Comments
Tomàs wrote to us about this song, "I must say that the song 'Joan Petit' should be 'Jan Petit'. In fact, it comes from Occitan. Many Catalan people nowadays sing 'Joan' instead 'Jan' because they are very similar and the song is really fast but the real one is 'Jan'."
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Irene Comas for contributing this song and translating it into Spanish. Many thanks to Monique Palomares for contributing the score and the midi music.
Moltes gràcies
