Articles about 'Folk Songs'
June 2nd, 2010
Teru-teru-bōzu is a doll Japanese people make and hang in the window when they want to wish for nice weather. This tradition is very old.
Ayako Egawa wrote from Japan about teru-teru-bozu…
“Teru teru bozu” is a doll made of white cloth or tissue. People, especially kids, make it when they wish it will be sunny...
April 23rd, 2010
Puppet theater is an important part of the Mali culture. Both masks and puppets are used. The puppets are often made of wood and a rod construction is used with strings. The puppets are anywhere from 1 to 6 feet high.
Some of the shows are sacred, some have their roots in folklore and others are...
April 20th, 2010
Marianne wrote asking about the melodies for the Haitian songs on Mama Lisa’s World:
Bonju!
My name is Marianne Kuiper Milks and I am a musician/music teacher (forever and ever…). I visit Haiti frequently and want to start a small music program (let it grow by itself :-) around Saint Marc, Gwo Jan and on...
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April 2nd, 2010
Monique Palomares, who works with me on the French version of Mama Lisa’s World, wrote the following post about Carnival in Occitania, a region of southern France. Monique speaks Occitan, the language of the troubadours, and has shared many songs in Occitan on Mama Lisa’s World.
Carnival in Southern France
Carnival in Southern France
Carnival celebrates...
March 12th, 2010
Ai vist lo lop, lo rainard, la lèbre (I saw the wolf, the fox, the hare) is an old Occitan song. Occitan is the language of the troubadours. It’s still spoken in southern France, parts of Spain and Italy. Some sources believe the wolf, the fox and the hare in this song...
November 19th, 2009
This week we added two languages to Mama Lisa’s World of International Songs, bringing us up to a hundred languages on the site!
We added a song from West Sumatra in Indonesia where they speak Minangkabau.
We also added a Frisian Lullaby in the West Frisian language. The Frisian language is the...
November 17th, 2009
Dan wrote,
I went to school in Chilton (England) when I was six (1972), in California now, and my class sang this song, but that is the only line I can recall, I even recall the melody…
“And when the journey was all over /
The ship sailed for the /
White Cliffs of Dover.”
Anybody? Was it...
October 24th, 2009
I’ve posted several versions of this great Halloween song in the past… It’s called There Was an Old Woman All Skin and Bones.
Here’s yet another version below from Matt Vaughan and his friend Pam. They explain how to make it spookier for Halloween!
Here are the chords from Matt…
Am – Dm Am / Am Dm...
October 10th, 2009
Sharon wrote:
Hi Lisa,
This is really a shot in the dark, but I’m wondering if you know of a song, which I believe is Maori. A friend of mine taught it to me, but she doesn’t know the translation or anything else about it. I’m wondering if you’ve heard of it, and if so,...
October 2nd, 2009
Chanda Mama is a song from India about the moon. Different versions exist in the various languages of India. This one is in the Telugu language, a language mainly spoken in southern India.
Playing for Change made the Chanda Mama video with musicians around the world. Playing for Change creates music all...
May 31st, 2009
Many children love Raffi’s music! I’ve just discovered something wonderful on his site… Raffi’s Lyrics and Scores – which include his specific arrangements to many of the songs he sings.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
May 28th, 2009
People often write to us looking for the correct version of a song or rhyme. Monique Palomares, who I work with on the songs and rhymes that are posted on Mama Lisa’s World wrote the following about this topic…
Until mass media devices were available, songs were mostly passed down through generations by oral transmission....
May 27th, 2009
The US government did a series of interviews with former slaves in the 1930’s. Project Gutenberg, has posted some of the interviews from Virginia. They’re called “Slave Narratives – A Folk History of Slavery in the United States – From Interviews with Former Slaves”.
I found some songs in one of the the...
May 26th, 2009
We recently received a new recording of Don Gato wonderfully sung in Spanish by Élodie Chebat. You can click the mp3 link below to hear it. While listening, you can read the lyrics in Spanish below, followed by an English translation…
MP3 of El señor don Gato
El señor don Gato
(Spanish)
Estaba el señor Don...
May 2nd, 2009
My daughter taught me Four White Horses yesterday. She recently learned it in her music class. It’s a Caribbean Folk Song and a hand clapping game all wrapped up into one!
Here are the lyrics…
Four White Horses
Hand Clapping Song
Four white horses, on the river,
Hey, hey, hey, up tomorrow,
Up tomorrow is a rainy day.
Come on...
April 7th, 2009
When the Cherry Blossoms bloom in Japan it’s traditional to go to the park to view the blossoms and have a picnic. Cherry Blossom viewing is called called Hanami. Ayako Egawa generously shared her photos of this years cherry blossom viewing.
Ayako wrote, "We walked under the flow of cherry blossoms in the park. It...
March 24th, 2009
I was inspired to post De colores now because of a drawing my daughter created the other day – it made me think of All the Colors! The song is a celebration of the colors of Spring!
This song is originally from Spain. The first translation below was done to fit the tune, so you...
March 11th, 2009
This is a protest song and it is traditionally sung at funerals. It was important during the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. Senzenina means “What have we done” with the implication “what did we do to deserve this?” (Also spelled “senzeni na”.)
Here you can see the original lyrics, with an English translation...
March 5th, 2009
Heather wrote asking for help with a Chinese folk song…
Lisa,
I’m not sure if you can help me but I am searching for the lyrics for a children’s folksong in Mandarin that is about a little boy who carries a backpack on his back and doesn’t want to disappoint his father. I sang this about 13...
January 8th, 2009
Guest blogger, Monique Palomares works with me on Mama Lisa’s World en français. Monique grew up speaking the Occitan language in southern France. Occitan was the language spoken by the troubadours – largely in southern France – but also in parts of Spain and Italy.
Recently, Peter emailed us asking about the lyrics of...
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