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Archive for the 'Czech Republic' Category
Contents
Posts
Can Anyone Help with a Czech or Slovak Kids Song?
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009Lewis Grimm wrote:
Hi. My grandmother used to sing a children’s song to me in Czech or Slovak. I believe it is about a little hunter. It went along the lines of (phonetically):
Ya simali nissli vechek…
Any ideas?
If anyone can help Lewis, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Can Anyone Help with a Czech Rhyme that Sounds Like “Hou-py, hou-py, hou-py”?
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009Anna wrote:
Do you know the nursery rhyme that begins:
Hou-py, hou-py, hou-py,
Ko-cka sue-dla krou-py
Do-cour hruchI’ll try my best to write this poem-rhyme out for you. Of course, I will not be able to add the correct accent marks, punctuations marks, etc. The writing I have to copy is very small, so I hope my letters are accurate! Here goes!
Hou-pa-cka
hou-py, hou-py, hou-py!
ko-cka sue-dla krou-py,
ko-cour hrac
na ka-mnach;
ko-la-la se hue-va-ly,
ze jim ta-ky ne-da-ly.
hou-py, hou-py, hou-py!
by-ly vsec-ky hlou-py.A friend of mine gave me a beautiful framed gift of this rhyme… he says his grandfather would sing it to him. But he doesn’t know what it means.
My mother is Czech, Vlasta, but she no longer can help me with this.
Your help would be very nice.
Thank you, Anna Vdolek Bratney
If anyone knows the correct spelling of the rhyme and/or if you can provide an English translation, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks in advance!
Mama Lisa
Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009We’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 Music…
Click on the icon below to access the group. If you have a Facebook account already, you just need to click on “Join the Group” to join. If you’re not a member, you simply have to sign up for free to become a member and then you can join the Mama Lisa Group…
Looking forward to seeing you in Facebook!
Mama Lisa
Good King Wenceslas – A Carol with a Video – Come Hear it Performed!
Thursday, December 4th, 2008Good King Wenceslas was written in 1853 by the Englishman John Mason Neale. The tune is from “Tempus Adest Floridum”, a spring carol from the 13th Century. I’ve posted these lyrics before. Since then, there’s been an explosion of videos on YouTube. It seemed like a good time to post this wonderful song again, with a video rendition for the holiday season.
Good King Wenceslas has become a Christmas song, even though it sings about St. Stephen’s Day, which is the day after Christmas.
Wenceslas was born in 907. He was actually the Duke of Bohemia, not a king. Bohemia is now an area of the Czech Republic.
The story of “King” Wenceslas is a sad one. When he was 13 his father was killed in battle. His mother, Drahomira, became the ruler of Bohemia. She seems to have been a pagan. His grandmother taught Wenceslas Christian ideals. His mother was threatened by this and had his grandmother killed. Two years later she was deposed in an uprising, and King Wenceslas became the ruler of Bohemia. He was said to be an honest, kind man. He even allowed his mother to move back into the castle with him. Unfortunately, his evil brother Boleslav murdered him in 929.
King Wenceslas eventually became a saint.
This song shows his hospitality to a poor stranger on a harsh, cold winter evening.
Here’s video rendition of Good Kind Wenceslas, followed by the lyrics…
Here are the lyrics to Good King Wenceslas…
Good King Wenceslas
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gathering winter fuel.“Hither, page, and stand by me
If you know it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?”
“Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes’ fountain.”“Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
You and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither.”
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind’s wild lament
And the bitter weather.“Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer.”
“Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread you in them boldly
You shall find the winter’s rage
Freeze your blood less coldly.”In his master’s steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
You who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing.Here’s a midi of Good King Wenceslas, if you’d just like to hear the tune.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with a Children’s Song (that’s possibly Czech)?
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008Dave wrote:
Hello!
I came across your website and it’s fantastic! There is a kid’s song that I’m dying to find out if 1) it’s Czech and 2) if you’ve heard it and know what it actually means.
It would be amazing if you could help me with this one.
Here is the phonetic version, please don’t be offended:
pompovali dvapa nazi
polo mali
poom poom
ponzterosta coka zokna
sprafte meeteh
poom poomThats all I have. If you know ANYTHING I’d be super happy.
Thanks!
Dave Scharf
If anyone can help out Dave, please comment below. We’d also love to have the correct spelling of this song.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
The Symbolism of the Egg
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008As 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 of fertility, rebirth and the cycle of life. These latter symbols are so close to what Springtime is all about that it’s no wonder it’s been an important part of Spring celebrations since pre-Christian times.
As Europe became Christian, eggs became a symbol of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus. In the past, Christians gave up eggs for Lent (the 40 days before Easter when it’s customary to give up different types of food). But even though people didn’t eat them, the hens kept laying them! So people would hard boil and decorate them. This would help preserve them longer and serve as part of the holiday festivities.
The egg is also part of the Jewish Passover holiday that takes place in the Spring. The egg is placed on the Seder plate and is a symbol of sacrifice and loss. Yet to some it also symbolizes the full cycle of life, and therefore hope and rebirth. (The egg is a more recent addition to the Seder plate compared to the other symbolic items that are found there and its symbolic meaning seems to be more open to interpretation.)
In China, red eggs are given out at the one month birthday of a new baby. It’s customary to hold a Red Egg and Ginger Party at this time. Once again, the source seems to be the egg’s role as a symbol of fertility and the beginning of life.
So here we come full circle (or oval) with the egg as a wonderful symbol of birth, renewal and rebirth. This is something wonderful to consider as Springtime approaches in the northern hemisphere, where the Earth will soon come back to life!
Feel free to let us know about any special symbolism of the egg in your culture in the comments below.
Elaborately Decorated Eggs for Easter In Eastern Europe
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008Guest Blogger, Ed Gawlinski, has been involved in many cultural organizations throughout his life. Here, he discusses Easter traditions in several Eastern European cultures.
A common custom is to color hard boiled eggs for Easter. We usually colored them on Good Friday, while eating hot cross buns…
Hot cross buns,
Hot cross buns,
one ha’ penny,
two ha’ penny,
hot cross buns.If you have no daughters,
give them to your sons,
one ha’ penny,
two ha’ penny,
Hot Cross BunsIn Eastern Europe (Poland, Ukraine, Czech, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Russia, Bulgaria, etc.) coloring Easter eggs is a highly developed folk art. In the Polish language there are several different words for colored Easter eggs, each indicating a different technique. The style I know best is called Pisanki. In this you use a stylus to draw on the egg with melted wax. After you draw, you put the egg in the dye. After it dries, you draw some more and then put the egg in a different colored dye. The wax keeps that part of the egg from being dyed. It’s a process similar to batik. Intricate and beautiful patterns are made by skilled artists. I am not a skilled artist, so my eggs were never works of art. But I did have fun trying.
Another style is called Kraszanki. We had an exchange student from Switzerland whose family colored eggs this way. They put onion peels in the water they used to boil the eggs. The eggs came out brown. You could use oak bark or walnut shells to make the eggs black. You could use Marigold flowers to make the eggs yellow.
The opposite approach to pisanki is drapanki. These eggs are first died and then, using a sharp tool, you scratch off the dye to make your designs.
Although elaborately decorated eggs are part of the tradition of all Eastern European countries, each one has its own tradition as far as the patterns used to decorate these eggs.
Can Someone Help with a Czech Rhyme?
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007Jennifer wrote:
My husband’s aunt always does a little hand rhyme/song with my children that goes something like, “smudgala mischka krukeelaka….” I know I’m butchering the spelling and I’m trying to find the correct words and the meaning of this Czech rhyme in English. My daughter wants to share it with her class for a cultural sharing day.
Please help! Thank you.
Jennifer Sedivy
If anyone can help Jennifer, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Lisa
Looking for an Old Czech Rhyme
Saturday, January 20th, 2007Julie wrote:
I’m looking for the old czech rhyme/finger play ditty my grandma used to play with me. It was about an insect-spider who crawls up (your arm) finds a hole (ear) and crawls in (tickle ear). It phonectically sounds like “broczech leza pludla meza daya jerka tomza leza”.
Ideally, I would like the actual translation to English as well as the Czech words.
Thank you so much, Julie
If anyone can help, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
How to Find Sheet Music, Tunes and MP3’s on Mama Lisa’s World
Saturday, January 6th, 2007In 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. It’s been exciting to watch it grow. My only frustration is not being able to find either written (preferably) or audio music to accompany the lyrics. How do I find the tunes for all these great lyrics?
Matt
Music Teacher, Rhode Island, USAHere’s what I wrote back, I’m sharing it with you, in case it helps you too…
Hey Matt,
Thanks for writing!
We’ve just added basic sheet music to a lot of songs on the Germany, France, Hungary, Spain and Mexico pages – plus many others.
We’re now in the process of converting the whole site to a database. We’re halfway through. Hopefully by the summer we’ll have a feature that will let you do a search on songs that have sheet music, midis or mp3’s. Midis play the tune of a song. MP3’s are recordings – usually of someone singing the song.
But for now, the songs on the countries that are in the database are working on a simple system. On the country pages they have symbols next to the song if they have special features. Here’s the key…
KEY TO SYMBOLS
– this song has sheet music
Midi – this song has a Midi tune
MP3 – this song has an MP3 recording
– this song has a Video recording
If there’s anything in particular you’re looking for, you’re welcome to ask – in case I know if we have it or not – I may be able to guide you to the right place to find what you’re looking for.
And, of course, we’re always looking for more sheet music, midi’s and mp3’s, so if you’d like to contribute any from your culture, we’d be thrilled!
I hope this helps!
Mama Lisa
Mama Lisa’s World News and Multimedia Features
Thursday, November 30th, 2006A 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 it easier to access all of the songs, we are in the process of converting the sites to a database. The database allow our visitors to search for songs on the site by language, by songs with sheet music, recordings, etc.
While we’re putting the songs into the database, we’re trying to obtain as much information as possible about each song. So if we can find the tune, we’ll include a midi tune and sheet music. If we find a recording of the song on the internet, we’ll provide a link to the recording. Sometimes we’ll make a recording ourselves. Anything we can do to help you know everything possible about that song.
If you happen to see any songs on the site that are missing a tune or recording and you know it, we’d be very pleased if you could help us get the tune. We’re able to make midis from sheet music, if that’s what you can send. We’re also happy to post recordings if you’d like to sing the song, play it on an instrument, or even hum it. Really, anything to help others get an idea how to sing or play the song.
Once the database is complete Mama Lisa’s World will have 98 countries and cultures and over 850 songs. How great is that!
-Lisa
UPDATE: The Database is now complete! We have 100 countries and cultures. We’re now working on a Spanish version of Mama Lisa’s World which will feature children’s songs, folks songs and nursery rhymes from around the world with Spanish translations.
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