Frere Jacques – Brother John with an MP3 Recording in French and English
Kids Songs Around the World with English Translations
or French Translations
or Spanish Translations
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English Nursery Rhymes
Mother Goose in French
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My Tweets
Archive for the 'American Kids Songs' Category
Contents
Posts
Frere Jacques – Brother John with an MP3 Recording in French and English
Saturday, November 14th, 2009Here’s a nice recording of Frère Jacques in both French and English by Ezwa.
Here are the lyrics of the French and English versions of Frère Jacques. The version on the mp3 recording mixes these lyrics…
Frère Jacques,
Frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous?
Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines.
Sonnez les matines.
Ding, ding, dong.
Ding, ding, dong.Are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Brother John,
Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing.
Morning bells are ringing.
Ding, dong, ding.
Ding, dong, ding.Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Ghost of John – Halloween Song with MP3 Recording
Monday, October 26th, 2009My daughter and her friends Marisa and Melisa taught me this Halloween song, which seems to be traditional American. It’s called Ghost of John. Below are the lyrics and two renditions, one by Marisa and one by Melisa, plus a drawing by Melisa.
But first, here’s Marisa announcing it with a Halloween song about Halloween songs…
Halloween is coming soon,
One, Two Three,
If you want a spooky song,
Call on me.Here’s the Ghost of John song…
MP3 of Ghost of John by Marisa
MP3 of Ghost of John by Melisa
Ghost of John
Have you seen the Ghost of John?
Long white bones and the rest all gone,
Ooh, ooh!
Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on?While the girls would sing the song they would all stand in the mirror, looking for the ghost of John. Of course, someone would see part of the ghost… like his ear, in the mirror. Then they would all scream. Finally, they ended the game because they were freaking each other out. I guess that’s what Halloween is all about… ghosts!
Many thanks to Marisa and Melisa for singing Ghost of John for us and to Melisa for the drawing!
Mama Lisa
There was an Old Woman All Skin and Bones – A Hallowe’en Song and Video
Saturday, October 24th, 2009I’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 Am – ://There was an old woman all skin and bones
Ooo oo-oo-oooo
She lived down by the old graveyard
Ooo oo-oo-oooo
One night she thought she’d take a walk
Ooo oo-oo-oooo
She walked down by the old graveyard
Ooo oo-oo-oooo
She saw the bones a-laying around
Ooo oo-oo-oooo
She went to the closet to get a broom
Ooo oo-oo-oooo
She opened the door and…
BOO!Have a spooky-fun Halloween!
Mama Lisa
Two French Goodbye Songs with Recordings
Friday, October 23rd, 2009I was recently asked for a Goodbye Song in French. While looking for a song I found out that some French school teachers use the French version of Auld Lang Syne, “Ce n’est qu’un au revoir”, as a Goodbye Song. It’s a Scout song that’s also called “Le chant des adieux”. When teachers use it as a Goodbye song, they sing the 1st two verses. Here they are in French with an English translation….
Faut-il nous quitter sans espoir
Sans espoir de retour ?
Faut-il nous quitter sans espoir
De nous revoir un jour ?Refrain
Ce n’est qu’un au revoir, mes frères,
Ce n’est qu’un au revoir.
Oui, nous nous reverrons, mes frères,
Ce n’est qu’un au revoir.Here’s a literal English translation by Monique Palomares…
Must we leave each other without a hope
To see each other again some day
Must we leave each other without a hope
A hope of returnIt’s only a goodbye, my brothers
It’s only a goodbye,
Yes, we’ll see each other again, my brothers
It’s only a goodbye.Here you can hear the whole song…
Another Goodbye Song we have here today was written and sung by Alain Le Lait. It’s in French and English. Sit back and enjoy the song by clicking the MP3 below. You can read along with the lyrics in French and English…
Listen to Alain’s French Goodbye Song
Au revoir
by Alain Le LaitAu revoir, good bye,
Now it is time for me to go away.
Au revoir, good bye,
But I wish I could stay with you all day.Thanks for your smiles
And for singing along
I hope to see you again before too long.Au revoir, good bye,
Il se fait tard et je dois m’en aller
Au revoir, good bye,
Mais j’aimerais rester toute la journée
Pour vos sourires et vos bien jolies voix
Je vous remercie et a une autre fois.Au revoir, good bye,
Au revoir, good bye,
Au revoir, good bye.(English Translation of French Verse)
Good bye, good bye
It’s getting late and I must go
Good bye, good bye
But I’d like to stay with you all day
For all your smiles and your pretty voices
I thank you and I’ll see you another time.The French and English lyrics to this “Au revoir” song are © 1994 Alain Le Lait.
Alain Le Lait is a French native who grew up near Paris, France. He moved to the United States in the 1970s and now lives in Colorado. Alain writes and performs easy to learn children’s songs in French, Spanish and English. Check out his site www.Yadeeda.com to hear samples of his music and to buy his CD’s or mp3’s.
Merci Alain & Monique!
Feel free to share any French Hello or Goodbye songs you know in the comments below.
Mama Lisa
PS Here are some other Hello and Goodbye Songs…
Did You Sing the Rhyme “Rubber Dolly”?
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009Ann Marie wrote me looking for information about the “Rubber Dolly” rhyme…
Hi Lisa:
Are you familiar with the rhyme entitled “Rubber Dolly?” It starts out:
My mother told me
If I were goodie
That she would buy me
A rubber dolly . . .These lyrics pop up in an essay I am working on. Specifically, I need to know if this is an American Clapping Song, a Rhyme, a Jump Rope Song, or . . . something else!
Thank for your time.
Best,
Ann Marie
Cleveland, OhioI found information that “Rubber Dolly” was a jump rope rhyme that was popular in the 1950’s.
Here’s a longer version:
My mother told me
If I were goodie
That she would buy me
A rubber dolly.My auntie* told her,
I kissed a soldier,
Now she won’t buy me
A rubber dolly.*Or sister
Some kids also did hand clapping games to “Rubber Dolly”. (I think jump rope rhymes and hand clapping rhymes are often interchangeable.) There’s also a fiddle tune based on the melody of the rhyme. Ella Fitzgerald sang a jazz song based on “My Mother Told Me” too.
If anyone grew up with the rhyme, please share your version if it’s different, also let us know if you played any specific game with it.
Thanks in advance!
Mama Lisa
Gross, but exceedingly catchy… “Great Green Gobs of Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts” with a Video!
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009WARNING: It really is CATCHY!!! You might find yourself singing it all day!
Great Green Gobs of Greasy, Grimy Gopher Guts
Great green gobs of greasy, grimy gopher guts,
Mutilated monkey meat,
Bloody, little dirty birdie feet,
Great green gobs of greasy, grimy gopher guts,
And me without my spoon…But I brought my straw.
I’d love to learn more versions of this song, please post any versions you know in the comments below!
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
ABC’s in New York’s Roads and Buildings
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Rachel Young found all the letters in the alphabet using Google Maps in the buildings and roads of New York. Young was inspired by the idea of Australian graphic designer Rhett Dashwood who made an alphabet of roads and buildings in the state of Victoria, Australia.
I thought the use of Madison Square Garden for "O" in the NY ABC’s was a nice touch…
This shows an important point: there are so many ways to be creative in life… all it takes is an interesting idea!
Enjoy the Alphabet of New York… as a bonus you can hear my daughter sing the ABC’s when you click on the image above!
Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with the Song, “Down in Mexico It’s Sunny”?
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009Ray asked:
Hi,
I learned this song in the 5th grade (in my 60’s now) and wanting to find the lyrics… Here is what I remember of the song…
Down in Mexico it’s sunny
Days are warm and sweet as honey
Children in the lazy weather
Laugh and sing and play together.Mothers… don’t remember…
Weaving long and weaving well…All I recall…
Just hoping you might have some info… would love lyrics and chords (guitar)… if possible…
Thanks,
Ray C
If anyone can help with this song, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Crocodile Tears – A Poem
Saturday, June 13th, 2009"Crocodile Tears" is a poem that could be sung as a song. The expression "Crocodile Tears" means an insincere show of emotions. According to Wikipedia, "The expression comes from an ancient anecdote that crocodiles weep in order to lure their prey, or that they cry for the victims they are eating. They are fake tears."
Here’s the poem called "Crocodile Tears"…
Crocodile Tears
On the banks of the Nile an old crocodile
Lay sunning himself one day,
And he gently did croon an attempt at a tune,
As he watched some small children at play-
At play-
As he watched some small children at play.He pondered awhile, and a hungering smile
Revealed the extent of his jaw;
He was twenty feet long, was uncommonly strong,
And his teeth were arranged like a saw-
Like a saw-
And his teeth were arranged like a saw.He used every wile their hearts to beguile,
As toward them he stealthily stole;
He balanced each scale, and waggled his tail,
Then gobbled those children up whole-
Up whole-
Then gobbled those children up whole.And such is the style of this old crocodile,
He sheds bitter tears o’er his prey;
He was filled with deep gloom when he thought of their doom,
And he wept all the rest of the day-
The day-
And he wept all the rest of the day.Beware of a crocodile’s tears, better yet, beware of the crocodile itself!
Mama Lisa
PS The image is from "Grosses bêtes & petites bêtes", images and text by André-Hellé (Paris, 1912), with a little graphical editing by Mama Lisa.
French Hello Song “Bonjour” with MP3
Monday, June 8th, 2009Hello songs are a wonderful way to help children who are learning a foreign language. It’s also nice for children to always sing the same song at the beginning of a class. Hello songs are great for this.
The song below is called “Bonjour”. It’s a French hello song written and sung by Alain Le Lait. Sit back and enjoy the song by clicking the MP3 below. You can read along with the lyrics in French, followed by an English translation by Alain…
Bonjour
(French Lyrics)Bonjour, bonjour
Comment ça va?
Bonjour, bonjour
Très bien, merci
Je suis content d’être ici
Avec tous mes petits amis
Bonjour, bonjour
Comment ça va?Merci, merci
Merci d’être ici
Merci, merci
Écoutez
Aimez-vous cette chanson?
J’espère que je suis dans le ton
Merci, merci
Merci d’être iciHello
(English Translation)Hello, hello
How are you?
Hello, hello
Very well, thank you
I am happy to be here
With all my little friends
Hello, hello
How are you?Thank you, thank you
For being here
Thank you, thank you
Listen up
Do you like this song?
I hope that I am in tune
Thank you, thank you
For being here.The French and English lyrics to this “Bonjour” song are © 2003 Alain Le Lait.
Alain Le Lait is a French native who grew up near Paris, France. He moved to the United States in the 1970s and now lives in Colorado. Alain writes and performs easy to learn children’s songs in French, Spanish and English. Check out his site www.Yadeeda.com to hear samples of his music and to buy his CD’s or mp3’s. Soon we’ll be posting Alain’s version of Alouette!
Merci Alain!
Mama Lisa
PS Here are some other Hello and Goodbye Songs…
Lyrics to Anna Banana and Hannah Banana with an MP3
Friday, June 5th, 2009A third grader named Marisa taught me a hand clapping rhyme called “Hannah Banana”. It comes from a jump rope rhyme called “Anna Banana”. The lyrics to “Anna Banana” are:
Anna Banana
Plays the piana.
All she can play
Is the Star Spangled Banner.
Anna Banana split.“Hannah Banana”, on the other hand, is a hand clapping rhyme. What’s interesting to me is that “Anna” switched to “Hannah”. We have two theories about why this might have happened. The first is simply is that “Hannah” is now a more popular name in the US than “Anna”. Children on the playground may have heard “Anna” as “Hannah” since the names sound so similar, and switched it. Our other theory is that “Hannah Banana” is somewhat close to “Hannah Montana”, the popular character from the children’s TV show. Children may have switched the rhyme to “Hannah Banana” based on that similarity. We may never know for sure why there’s now a version of “Anna Banana” called “Hannah Banana”, but it’s interesting to speculate.
Here’s the new rhyme “Hannah Banana”, with instructions for playing it and an mp3 of Marisa chanting it…
Hannah Banana
Plays the piana
All she could play
Is split she’s an idiot.
(Repeat)Istructions for Hand Clapping Game:
1st 3 lines of Rhyme:1. Clap your own hands
2. Clap your partner’s hand diagonally
3. Clap your own hands
4. Clap your partner’s other hand diagonally
5. Repeat 1 – 4Last line of Rhyme: Move feet out (like a little split).
Keep repeating the rhyme – each time moving feet out more on the last line – whoever falls over first loses.
Many thanks to Marisa for teaching me this rhyme and for chanting it for us!
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa Banana
A Recording of Don Gato in Spanish with the Lyrics and an English Translation
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009We 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…
El señor don Gato
(Spanish)Estaba el señor Don Gato
Sentadito en su tejado
Miarrau miau miau miau
Sentadito en su tejado.Cuando le vinieron nuevas
Que había de ser casado
Miarrau miau miau miau
Que había de ser casado.Con una gatita parda
Con un pinta en el rabo
Miarrau miau miau miau
Con un pinta en el rabo.El gato de la alegría
Se ha caído del tejado
Miarrau miau miau miau
Se ha caído del tejado.Se ha roto siete costillas
Y la puntita del rabo
Miarrau miau miau miau
Y la puntita del rabo.Le llevaron a enterrar
Por la calle del pescado
miarrau miau miau miau
Por la calle del pescado.Al olor de las sardinas
Don Gato ha resucitado
Miarrau miau miau miau
Don Gato ha resucitado.English Translation
Lord Tom Cat was
Sitting on his roof,
Marrameow meow meow meow
Sitting on his roof.He received news
Saying he had to get married,
Marrameow meow meow meow
Saying he had to get married.With a grey kitty
With a spot on her tail,
Marrameow meow meow meow
With a spot on her tail.From the exuberation, the cat
Fell down from the roof,
Marrameow meow meow meow
Fell down from the roof.He broke seven ribs
And the end of his tail,
Marrameow meow meow meow
And the end of his tail.He’s taken to be buried,
Through the fish street,
Marrameow meow meow meow,
Through the fish street.Smelling some sardines
Lord Tom Cat resuscitated
Marrameow meow meow meow
Lord Tom Cat resuscitated.Many thanks to Élodie Chebat for singing Senor Don Gato for us and for contributing this version of the song!
Check out the Don Gato Song Page for another version of Don Gato in Spanish, with English and French translations, and the sheet music and midi. Check out the Senor Don Gato English version too that’s sung in the US!
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Handclapping Rhyme – Stella Ella Ola and Quack Dilly Oso with a YouTube Video
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009Uly sent me a handclapping rhyme called “Quack Dilly Oso” which she said many people actually know as “Stella Ella Ola”. Here are the words to “Quack Dilly Oso” that Uly sent me:
Quack Dilly Oso
Quack dilly oso, quack quack qua-ack,
Saaaanyorita*, rita rita rita, velo!
Velo! Velo, velo, velo, velo! One two three FOUR.*Uly wrote, “I know the word is senorita, but we never said it that way.”
Here are the instructions Uly sent me to go with the rhyme:
To Play with 2 People: One has their hands on top and the other on the bottom. If you do it right, the person who started on top is the one who ends on top. You just go up and down until the end. On four, the person on top tries to slap the hands of the person on the bottom, and if they succeed, they win.
To Play with More People: You stand in a circle, right hand on top of the left hand of the person to your right and you go around clockwise clapping the hand of the person on your left with your right hand.
Uly wrote, “My sister and I singlehandedly brought this game to the town of Wavre when we were children!”
*****
Here’s the rhyme called “Stella Ella Ola” followed by a YouTube showing how it’s played:Stella Ella Ola
Stella ella ola, clap clap clap,
Say yes, chicko chicko, chicko chicko chap,
Yes, chicko chicko, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello,
Say one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine!In the version in the video, if the person’s hand is slapped after “nine”, they’re out, if they can move their hand out of the way just before being slapped, the other person is out. (Other people are welcome to comment below on their rules for being “out”.)
Here’s another video of “Stella Elle Ola”, where they only clap to 5. It includes a 2 person version (different from the instructions above):
Thanks for teaching that rhyme with us Uly!
If anyone would like to share a different version of either of these rhymes, feel free to include it in the comments below.
Enjoy everyone!
Mama Lisa
Four White Horses – Caribbean Folk Song
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009My 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 SongFour white horses, on the river,
Hey, hey, hey, up tomorrow,
Up tomorrow is a rainy day.
Come on up to the shallow bay,
Shallow bay is a ripe banana,
Up tomorrow is a rainy day.Here’s a YouTube Video so you can see one way to play the hand clapping game (you’ll have to wait to get past the theme song at the beginning of the video)…
Here you can hear a chorus singing it…
Check out our song page of Four White Horses for an mp3 and other info about the song.
Feel free to share any versions you know of this song in the comments below. We also welcome any info about the meaning and history of the song.
Cheers!
Mama Lisa
Bo Bo Ski Waton Taton – Hand Clapping Rhyme with an MP3
Friday, May 1st, 2009Here’s an American hand clapping rhyme with an mp3 recording…
Bo Bo Ski Waton Taton
Hand Clapping RhymeBo bo ski waton taton
Bo bo ski waton taton
Freeze
Please
American Cheese
Please don’t show your eyes* to me.Listen to an MP3 of Bo Bo Ski Waton Taton
*This rhyme can be repeated many times. Each time, use a different part of the face in the last line. Hide that part of your face with your hands and keep it covered while you repeat the next verse. After the first verse play the clapping game by pressing together your elbows. On the last repetition, you end the verse with “Boom”.
Many thanks to Marisa for chanting this rhyme for us and for contributing the lyrics.
Feel free to share other versions of this rhyme with us in the comments below…
Mama Lisa
Check out the Bo Bo Ski Waton Taton Song Page for French and Spanish Translations and other versions!
Eenie Meenie Sicileeny – Hand Clapping Rhyme
Monday, April 27th, 2009My daughter just taught me the version below of the hand clapping rhyme Eenie Meenie Sicileeny…
Eenie Meenie Sicileeny
Eenie meenie sicileeny,
Ooh ah zambalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you,
Take a peach,
Take a plum,
Take a stick of bubble gum,
Not a peach,
Not a plumb,
Not a stick of bubble gum.Saw you with your boyfriend last night
How do you know?
Peaked through the window
Nosy
Didn’t do the dishes
Lazy
Ate all the cookies
Greedy!
Jumped out the window
Must be crazy!
That’s why I call you this!
(Repeat song)My daughter is trying to learn how to play the hand clapping game so she can play it with the other kids in school. If anyone can help out with the actions, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks! Mama Lisa
Check out Mama Lisa’s World for more versions of Eenie Meenie Sicileeny.
Is There a CD with The Hawaiian Alphabet Song on It?
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009Rhonda wrote to me looking for help with the Hawaiian Alphabet Song…
Good Morning Lisa
I have been looking for the Hawaiian Alphabet song and I have searched the internet for it. Are you able to tell me where I can purchase it or the name of the singer or a name of a CD it might be on.
Any information you can provide would greatly be appreciated.
Thank you
Rhonda Schmidt
My friend, Stephanie Baxter, helped with part of the answer to this one:
As I understand it, the song was written by Mary Kawena Pukui, who was quite a famous teacher here in Hawaii, responsible for getting much of the Hawaiian language down in writing, transcribing a lot of the folklore. The song might be available through the Bishop Museum, where she donated a lot of her time. I’ve not heard it sung, but if were anywhere, it would be Kamehameha Schools… only students there have to be native Hawaiian.
The lyrics are:
E nâ hoa kamali`i,
E a`o mai kâkou
I pa`ana`au ka pîâpâ.`Â, `ê, `î, `ô, `û,
Hê, kê, lâ, mû, nû.
`O pî me wê nâ panina
O ka pîâpâ.In English…
O fellow children,
Let us learn together
Til we’ve memorized the alphabet.A, e, i , o, u,
H, k, l, m, n.
P and w are the last two
Of the alphabetThanks for the help Stephanie!
Rhonda – I would contact the Bishop Museum Store and ask them if any of their cd’s have the song on it. Otherwise, I’d contact the school to see if they sell cd’s.
If anyone else knows of any cd’s with this song on it – or where you can find/buy the mp3, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks in advance!
Mama Lisa
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe: How High Can You Do?
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
In my last blog post, I gave a couple of variations of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe that go up to the number twenty. It’s rare that this rhyme goes past that. When it does, it seems to be to play it as a ball bouncing game… how high can you go bouncing the ball?
This whole search for different variations of the One, Two, Buckle My Shoe rhyme, was all inspired by an email I received from Fran. She wrote…
Lisa, We used to do this rhyme up to 40 when we were kids. Have you ever heard the second part? I am trying to find the parts I can’t remember. Thanks, Fran
As I mentioned in my last post, most people know One, Two, Buckle My Shoe up to 10. Some people know it up to 20. Most people don’t know it past that. I myself had a hard time finding versions beyond 20. After some research, the highest I was able to find was 30. Given Fran’s email, there seems to be a version of this rhyme that goes up to forty. Do you know any versions that go that high?
Below are the different versions I found that go higher than twenty…
First are two versions that go up to twenty-four. They’re from Southern California Jump-Rope Rhymes: A Study in Variants by Ray B. Browne (Western Folklore, Jan. 1955). The first one was “Given as a ball bouncing game”…
One, two,
Buckle my shoe.
Three, Four,
Open the door.
Five, Six,
Pick up sticks.
Seven, Eight,
Lay them straight.
Nine, Ten,
A big fat Hen.Eleven, twelve,
Mind your self (or, roast ‘er well).
Thirteen, fourteen, maids are sporting.
Fifteen, sixteen, maids are kissing.
Seventeen, eighteen, maids are waiting.
Nineteen, twenty, maids are plenty.
Twenty-one, twenty-two,
If you love me as I love you
My knife can cut our love in two.
Twenty-three, twenty-four,
Mary at the kitchen door
Eating apples by the score.
One, two, three, four.[Original Source: Nebraska: Sue Hall, "That Spring Perennial-Rope Jumping!" Recreation, XXXIV (March, 1941), 713-716. (verbal changes only, 11. 1-2)]
Here’s a variation Brown gave on the second verse:
Eleven, twelve, in the well.
Thirteen, fourteen, boys are courting.
Fifteen, sixteen, maids in the kitchen.
Seventeen, eighteen, maids in waiting.
Nineteen, twenty, my plate is empty
(and sometimes ends,…
Twenty-four, Mary’s at the cottage door
Eating grapes upon a plate,
Five, six, seven, eight.)[Original Source: Paul G. Brewster, "Rope-Skipping, Counting-out, and other Rhymes of Children," SFQ, III (1939), 173-185. (verbal changes only, 11. 1-2)]
Western Folklore by California Folklore Society (1954) has the ending simply as:
Twenty-one, twenty-two,
If you love me as I love you
My knife can cut our love in two.The book 10,000 reasons for everything; How to win; Why you lost; Folklore supporting our best superstitions (1998), by William Carroll, has the ending as:
Twenty-one, twenty-two,
That will do.Beverly Flanigan, from the American Dialect Society, posted this: “I only know the 4-and-20 rhyme as the ending of ‘One, two, buckle my shoe’ which we chanted while trying to bounce a ball non-stop without grasping it or losing it (I can still do it!)”…
One, two, buckle my shoe
Three, four, shut the door
Five, six, pick up sticks
Seven, eight, lay them straight
Nine, ten, a big fat hen
Eleven, twelve, dig and delve
Thirteen, fourteen, maids a-courting
Fifteen, sixteen, maids a-kissing
Seventeen, eighteen, maids a-waiting
Nineteen, twenty, the larder is empty
Twenty-one, twenty-two, my old shoe,
Dressed in blue, died last night at half-past two,
Twenty-three, twenty-four, last night at half-past four,
Twenty-four burglars came up to my door;
I opened the door and let them in;
I knocked them down with a rolling pin!Finally, here’s an incomplete version of the rhyme that goes up to thirty. It’s from The Counting-out Rhymes of Children by Henry Carrington Bolton (1888). Bolton wrote that it was “Used in Wrentham Mass as early as 1780″…
One, two, buckle my shoe
Three, four, open the door
Five six, pick up sticks
Seven, eight, lay them straight
Nine, ten, kill a fat hen
Eleven, twelve, bake it well
Thirteen, fourteen, go a courtin’
Fifteen, sixteen, go to milkin’
Seventeen, eighteen, do the bakin’
Nineteen, twenty, the mill is empty
Twenty-one, charge the gun
Twenty-two, the partridge flew
Twenty-three, she lit on a tree
Twenty-four, she lit down lower
Twenty-five*,
Twenty-six*,
Twenty-seven*,
Twenty-eight*,
Twenty-nine the game is mine,
Thirty make a kerchy.*Asterisks denote portions forgotten by the aged contributor.
If anyone knows of any other versions of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe that go higher than twenty, please let us know about it in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Illustration from “National Rhymes of the Nursery” (circa 1895), illustrated by Gordon Browne (with a little graphical editing by Lisa Yannucci).
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Most people know One, Two, Buckle My Shoe up to the number 10. Here’s a well-known version…
One Two,
Buckle my shoe.
Three, Four,
Open the door.
Five, Six,
Pick up sticks.
Seven, Eight,
Lay them straight.
Nine, Ten
Do it again.Some people know One, Two, Buckle My Shoe up to 20. Below is the version from Walter Crane’s The Buckle My Shoe Picture Book (1910). I’ve posted his illustrations after the rhyme…
One Two,
Buckle my shoe.
Three, Four,
Open the door.
Five, Six,
Pick up sticks.
Seven, Eight,
Lay them straight.
Nine, Ten,
A good fat Hen.Eleven, Twelve,
Ring the Bell.
Thirteen, Fourteen,
Maids are courting.
Fifteen, Sixteen,
Maids in the Kitchen.
Seventeen, Eighteen,
Maids in waiting.
Nineteen, Twenty,
My plate is empty.
Here’s another version that goes up to 20, from A Gift for All Seasons, edited by Lawrence Lovechild (1847)…
One, two, buckle my shoe ;
Three, four, open the door ;
Five, six, pick up sticks ;
Seven, eight, lay them straight ;
Nine, ten, a good fat hen ;
Eleven, twelve, I hope you ‘re well ;
Thirteen, fourteen, draw the curtain ;
Fifteen, sixteen, the maid ’s in the kitchen ;
Seventeen, eighteen, she ’s in waiting ;
Nineteen, twenty, my plate is empty ;
Please, mamma, to give me some dinner.The Counting-out Rhymes of Children by Henry Carrington Bolton gave this variation of the second part of this rhyme…
9, 10, a good fat hen,
11, 12, roast her well,
13, 14, boys a courtin’,
15, 16, girls a fixin’,
17, 18, maids a bakin’,
19, 20, weddings plenty.Check out more versions of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe on my nursery rhyme site.
Please feel free to post any versions of this rhyme that you know in the comments below.
Mama Lisa
Coming next on the blog: Versions of One, Two, Buckle My Shoe that go past the number 20!
A Couple of Halloween Songs
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008Heather sent me these Halloween songs and the following note:
Hi,
When I was little my Mom taught my sisters and me several Halloween songs. You have one on your website called “Five Little Pumpkins” and “Trick or Treat” that we know. Here is some others I thought you might like to add:
The Halloween Song
H, A, double L, O
W, double E, N
Spells HalloweenJack-o’-lantern
Jack-o’-lantern, Jack-o’-lantern
You are such a funny sight.
As you sit there, at the window
Glowing on at the night.You were once a yellow pumpkin
Growing on a sturdy vine.
Now you are a jack-o’-lantern
Glowing on at the night.I am not sure what the titles are, but I have been searching for these songs on the internet and can’t find either of them. But I sing them to my daughter all the time. We are especially fond of Halloween and we like your website.
Thanks!
Heather
The second song sounds like it’s to the tune of Frère Jacques.
Thanks for sharing those wonderful Halloween songs with us Heather! If anyone else would like to post a song for the holiday, feel free to add it in the comments below.
Happy Halloween!
Mama Lisa
P.S. Thanks to Lila for the Halloween drawing! If anyone else would like to share their kid’s drawing with us, please email me. -Lisa
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Copyright ©2009 by Lisa Yannucci. All rights reserved.
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