An Amish Children’s Song to the Tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”
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Archive for the 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' Category
Contents
Posts
An Amish Children’s Song to the Tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”
Thursday, September 20th, 2007Previously, I wrote about how my family and I toured the Amish country in Pennsylvania. While there, I was lucky enough to be put in contact with a young Amish lady (she may have been in her late teens) who was willing to give me an Amish song for Mama Lisa’s World, my site of children’s songs from around the world.
The Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch, a dialect of German. They reject much of modern technology and they live somewhat apart from the outside world. They are a very private people, and I wasn’t sure how much it was appropriate for me to ask for.
The lady asked if I wanted a song like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (which I’ll refer to herein as TTLS). I said that was exactly the type of song I was looking for. She said they had a song in Pennsylvania Dutch that’s to the tune of TTLS, but that is not a translation of it.
I told her that was not unusal. TTLS is well known all over the world. Some versions are direct translations from English, but some have totally different lyrics. For instance, the version from Spain is about a bell. Her eyes lit up and she was very interested.
I also told her how Mozart wrote classical music to the tune of TTLS. But she wasn’t familiar with Mozart.
Then the lady told me that the Amish learn their version in school. It’s in a little brown book they use. She asked me how many verses I’d like for her to write down. I told her as many as she’d like.
Well I admit I was a little nervous about scaring her away, as I’ve never engaged in a long conversation with an Amish person. I wanted to be honest about where I was using the song, how I was going to put the song on my web site. That led to an interesting little conversation about the web. Did she know about the internet? Yes she did. Had she ever been on it? No she hadn’t. But she was interested. I was afraid of saying too much. She did work with non-Amish people so she must have been somewhat used to people talking about the rest of the world. But I didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.
Finally, I told the lady that I usually thank people on my site for contributing songs. Would she like me to thank her, even using only her first name? Otherwise, I could post it from anonymous. She chose to remain anonymous. I’m still grateful for the experience of having spoken with her and that she spent the time with me and shared an Amish song with all of us on the internet!
Click the following link if you’d like to see the Amish Children’s Song that the young lady gave me.
-Mama Lisa
Mozart’s Piano Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Monday, July 9th, 2007Recently I wrote about the history of the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Many people think Mozart wrote it. He didn’t – he just wrote a wonderful piece for piano based on its tune – Variations on “Ah, vous dirais-je, Maman” (a French song).
Below you can watch 11 year old Vi playing Mozart’s Variations…
Many thanks to Vi for letting me embed his video, thus helping us continue exploring variations on the theme of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
-Mama Lisa
You can check out Vi’s YouTube page to view other videos of him playing the piano.
The Tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in Classical Music
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007In my last blog post I talked about how the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star was originally from France. Mozart was the first composer to set the tune to a classical piece of music in his 12 Variations (K. 265). It was written in 1781-82. Mozart weaves the tune throughout the 12 movements.
Recently, Gerard Raiti at Disney sent me a disc of Variations on a Nursery Tune by Ernő Dohnányi. This is another classical piece that plays with the Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star tune. Dohnányi’s Variations is much more complex than Mozart’s. It refers to several other classical works, including pieces by Brahms, Wagner, and Debussy. There are 13 variations. You might have to listen through this piece several times to start getting a handle on all of its nuances.
Here’s a link that gives an outline of the Variations.
-Lisa
Many thanks to Gerard Raiti for introducing me to the Variations on a Nursery Tune by Ernő Dohnányi!
The Origin of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Monday, June 18th, 2007People all around the world are familiar with the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It’s at least 245 years old! The tune is originally from France and it was first seen in print in Paris in 1761 – though the current song, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star didn’t exist back then.
In the 1770’s, a poem called, Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman (Ah! Will I tell you, Mother), was set to the Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star tune and printed. The poem was a melodramatic love poem.
Later, a parody of the love song developed. It was also called Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman. This one is still loved by French children today:
Listen to Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman
Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman
(French)Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman
Ce qui cause mon tourment ?
Papa veut que je raisonne
Comme une grande personne
Moi je dis que les bonbons
Valent mieux que la raison.Ah! Will I tell you, Mommy
(English)Ah! Will I tell you, Mommy
What is tormenting me?
Daddy wants me to reason
Like a grown up person
Me, I say that sweets
Are worth more than reason.In 1781-2 Mozart wrote his Variations on “Ah vous dirais-je, Maman”. Many people think he wrote the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. He didn’t! He just created a wonderful piece based on the tune.
We have to travel over to England in 1806 to find the origins of the lyrics of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. That’s when Jane Taylor and her sister Ann published their second book of poems for children, called Rhymes for the Nursery. Jane wrote the poem, The Star, for the book. This is the poem the song is based on:
The Star
The Poem by Jane Taylor
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.Then the traveler in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,-
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.It’s a bit of a mystery when the poem and the tune came together to form the wonderful song Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It seems like the first time they’re seen in print as a song was in 1838, in a book called The Singing Master. Here’s the song as children sing it in English today:
Listen to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!The wonderful song has traveled around the world in many languages. You can find it in Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Turkish and many other languages. If you’d like to share a version from your country, please email me.
Many thanks to Isa Santoveña for the midi tune, to Monique Palomares for the translation of Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman, and to Tiphaine Woerth for singing Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman for us!
-Lisa
Hold a Concert in Your House – Another Way to Make Music a Part of Your Family’s Life
Friday, May 11th, 2007Last Sunday evening I went to my friend Rae’s house, where she held a concert. It’s a tradition she started with her husband, Mike, a few years back. Every year, just before Mother’s Day, they invite their friends and family to gather together to play songs on their instruments for each other. The concert is in honor of both of Rae and Mike’s mothers who passed away.
Children and adults were invited to play.
I think this is a lovely idea. It’s a nice Mother’s Day tradition. It gives children and adults a chance to show off the hard work they’ve been doing throughout the year. It also bridges the gap between school and home – so children are playing the songs they learn on their instruments in a variety of settings.
I think of what Vince Bates talks about on his blog Musicing – about how learning music in school needs to be more a part of the child’s whole life. This approaches it from the other direction and says that the things the child is doing in school can be brought home and enjoyed by the student with his or her friends and family.
At the end of the concert, everyone was invited to join in together and play and sing, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. This gave even the littlest kids, and anyone who didn’t play an instrument, a chance to be involved. I recorded it for you! It’s a bit cacophonous – but it was a lot of fun! Click the link below to hear it, and come join in singing!
MP3 of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Here are some other posts about Mother’s Day, including some poems:
Spanish Translations of English Children’s Songs
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007Jackie wrote us looking for some Spanish versions of English songs.
Online, at Mama Lisa’s World, we already have Itzi, bitzi araña, which is the Spanish version of Itsy Bitsy Spider. There’s also Estrellita, which is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star in Spanish. You can click on the links for the lyrics in Spanish with English translations.
Monique, at Mama Lisa’s World en français, and I will be working on a Spanish version of Mama Lisa’s World this year. It will feature children’s songs from around the world in the original languages with Spanish translations. Monique’s already translating some of the songs into Spanish.
Since Jackie was also looking for a Spanish version of Lavender’s Blue, Monique translated it for her. So, as a preview of Mama Lisa’s World en español, here’s Lavender’s Blue, the old English song, with an mp3 of the tune and a Spanish translation (it’s a literal translation of the English version)…
MP3 of Lavender’s Blue – Piano Recording of the Tune
(Performed by Susan Pomerantz)Lavender’s Blue
(English)Lavender’s blue,
Diddle diddle,
Lavender’s green,
When I am king,
Diddle diddle,
You shall be queen.Call up your men,
Diddle diddle,
Set them to work,
Some to the plow,
Diddle diddle,
Some to the cart.Some to make hay,
Diddle diddle,
Some to cut corn,
While you and I,
Diddle diddle,
Keep ourselves warm.Lavender’s green,
Diddle diddle,
Lavender’s blue,
If you love me,
Diddle diddle,
I will love you.La lavanda es azul
(Spanish)La lavanda es azul
Diddle diddle
La lavanda es verde
Cuando sea rey
Diddle diddle
Serás reina.Llama a tus hombres
Diddle diddle
Mándalos a trabajar
Algunos al arado
Diddle diddle
Algunos a la carreta.Algunos a hacer heno
Diddle diddle
Algunos a cosechar trigo
Mientras tú y yo
Diddle diddle
Nos mantenemos al calor.La lavanda es verde
Diddle diddle
La lavanda es azul
Si me quieres
Diddle diddle
Yo te querré.¡Aprovechen! (Enjoy!)
-Lisa
Many thanks to Susan Pomerantz for the piano recording and to Monique Palomares for translating Lavender’s Blue ahead of schedule.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Song with MP3
Thursday, November 2nd, 2006At my daughter’s 5th birthday party, the kids sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Now you can hear them sing it…
MP3 of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,
How I wonder what you are.Enjoy!
-Lisa
________
Copyright ©2009 by Lisa Yannucci. All rights reserved.
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