Rachel wrote…
Hi there Lisa,
I was hoping you (or someone on your site) could help me. I’ve been trying to find the translation and/or the rest of the lyrics to a Norwegian lullaby my Grandpa used to sing to me. Pardon the lack of correct spelling, but it sounds like:
Be a lulla barna
Papa nesta garna
Mama sing a lullabru
Be a lulla barnaAny help would be appreciated. Thanks so much for your time.
Warmly,
Rachel
If anyone can help Rachel, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks in advance!
Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 8:12 pm and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, English, Languages, Lullabies, Mama Lisa, Norway, Norwegian, Norwegian Children's Songs, Norwegian Lullabies, Questions, Readers Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
8 Responses to “Can Anyone Help with a Norwegian Lullaby That Sounds Like “Be a lulla barna”?”
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January 27th, 2010 at 7:18 am
Yes, you are into the stuff norwegian lullabies are made from.
However, there is not one version that is the correct one, lullabies are made up on the go, different from family to family. If the child falls asleep, your singing is a success!
If I tidy your text up to contemporary standard spelling, it would run something like:
Bya lulla barnet
Pappa nøster garnet
Mamma synger lullaby
Bya lulla barnet
Where Bya lulla is nonsense words,
barnet=the child,
nøster garnet=making the newly spun wool into a thread ball,
Similar texts often also contains the sentence
Gryta henger i jarnet=the kettle is hanging in the iron (that is, over the fire)
The very most typical start of a Norwegian lullaby would be byssa, byssa barnet, byssa meaning a rocking movement.
Folk singer Unni Løvlid has made a beautiful CD with traditional children songs:
http://www.musikkonline.no/shop/displayAlbum.asp?id=27974
Greetings
Liv Skoglund
January 27th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Thank you Liv! That CD is available for download at Amazon too. The link is So Ro Liten Tull by Unni Løvlid.
February 18th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Thanks Liv! Your help is much appreciated :o)
March 5th, 2010 at 3:05 am
Can Anyone Help with a Norwegian Lullaby That Sounds Like “OOOhha Ooohha barna, nooska barna sofe”?
October 26th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
This is what my mother and grandmother sang to me:
Byssa byssa barnet
Mamma noster garnet
Papa gar i ville skog
og jaeger bukken og bjornet
Sorry, I had to use all English letters.
May 28th, 2013 at 12:26 pm
I have been looking for years for a lullaby that sounds like this
Byssa Byssa Bonna
Mama nes a gonna
Papa lof a lunda voo
siva bonna neis sku
neis sku a spenda
sova bonna langa
My norwegian uncle used to sing it to me all the time
May 28th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
forgot to check the email response box. Thanks to any one who can help
May 13th, 2017 at 6:43 pm
Siri wrote:
I believe the Norwegian lullaby goes like this:
First version:
Bya, bya, barnet
Mamma nøster garnet.
Pappa går til Langebro,
kjøper barnet nye sko.
Nye sko og spenner.
Så sover barnet lenger.
”Bya” can be used instead of the more widely used ”byssan”.
This verse translates into:
Lulla lullay child.
Mommy is winding/twisting the yarn (into a ball/skein/hank/bundle).
Daddy goes to Langebro (Long bridge)
Buys the child new shoes.
New shoes and buckles.
Then the child will sleep longer (for a longer period of time)
You can listen to a recording of Bya bya barnet here.
Second version:
Byssan lull mitt lille barn!
Mor hun sitter og nøster garn.
Far han går på Langebro,
kjøper barnet nye sko,
nye sko og spenner,
så sover barnet lenger.
You can listen to a recording of Byssan lull mitt lille barn here.
Danish version:
Visselul, mit lille barn!
Mo’er sidder og vinder garn,
fa’er går på Langebro,
køber barnet nye sko,
nye sko med spænder, –
så sover barnet længer.
Best regards,
Siri Randem