Kids Songs Around the World with English Translations
or French Translations
or Spanish Translations
Mama Lisa's World Blog
English Nursery Rhymes
Mother Goose in French
Wizard of Oz Audiobook
Poetry for Kids
ML Reviews
Mama Lisa's Hub
This is the Australian Kids Songs Archive Page
Categories
- 1512 (1)
- Arts and Crafts (21)
- Books (56)
- Children's Songs (432)
- Countries & Cultures (912)
- Customs (42)
- Folk Lore (6)
- Folk Songs (76)
- Food & Nutrition (4)
- Games (40)
- Gardens (2)
- History of Nursery Rhymes (8)
- Holiday Calendar (1)
- Holiday Songs (154)
- Holidays Around the World (340)
- Languages (723)
- Learning (37)
- Lullabies (40)
- Mama Lisa (422)
- Movies & TV (23)
- Music (63)
- Nursery Rhymes (161)
- Parenting (72)
- People (18)
- Photos (27)
- Podcasts (29)
- Poetry (96)
- Proverbs (20)
- Questions (309)
- Quotes (7)
- Recipes of the World (74)
- Recommendations (62)
- Recordings of Nursery Rhymes (19)
- Recordings of Songs (101)
- Rhymes by Theme (42)
- Seasonal (29)
- Songs by Theme (69)
- Teaching (41)
- Traditional Songs (2)
- Traveling (35)
- Video (23)
- Words & Phrases (16)
- YouTube (70)
My Tweets
Archive for the 'Australian Kids Songs' Category
Contents
Posts
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).
Can Anyone Help with a Song about an Acorn, most likely from Britain, with the line, “A little Brown Baby Round and Wee”?
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008Brenda wrote to me from Australia…
Dear Mama Lisa,
I am trying to find the words of a song our mother sang to us, and then to my children and I would like to sing to my grandsons about “A little Brown Baby Round and Wee”. It is a song about an acorn who fell down thru’ the treetops right to the ground but he wasn’t hurt at all. I can only remember bits and pieces of this song, I am not sure of its origin possibly English because of it being an acorn from the Oak Tree?
Hope one of your readers can help?
Brenda Taylor
Australia
If anyone is familiar with this song, please let us know about it in the comments below.
Thanks in advance!
Mama Lisa
Does Anyone Know a Song about Putting Something in a Box in Your Pocket?
Friday, January 11th, 2008Janice wrote:
Hello,
I was wondering if you could help me find the children’s song I am looking for. I don’t know the name of it just some of the lyrics… Putting something in a box and putting it in your pocket to keep it safe. If you could help me I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
Janice
If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Can Someone Help with a Song about Swinging with the Line: “”Who wants to ride up to tree top land?”"
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007I received this email:
I just came across your web site and thought maybe you could help me. We used to sing a song as a child, that I am now trying to teach my little grandchildren but I can’t remember all the words. It was a very sweet song. We would sing it as we were swinging. It went in part like this:
Who wants to ride up to tree top land?
Who wants to join in the dolly band?
Who wants to ride like a bird on the wing?
Come with me now, let’s swing.Up we go, to and fro,
Swinging, swinging, swinging,
Wild and free like a bird are we,
?If you are able to help me, I would be grateful.
Sincerely,
L. Van GorpIf anyone can help with the lyrics to this song, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Lisa
Is Anyone Familiar with a Song with the Line “”Rubin, Rubin, I’ve been thinking, what cruel world this would be”"
Wednesday, June 20th, 2007Meg wrote:
Good afternoon.
I recently had a little boy and, I have been singing to him different songs from my childhood. I am hoping that you can help me track down lyrics to a song that mother used to sing to me. The song goes…
Rubin, Rubin, I’ve been thinking, what cruel world this would be, if the boys were all transported, far beyond the Northern Sea.
To be honest, I’m not even entirely sure that lyrics are 100% correct. Let me know if you can help.
Thank you,
Meg
If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Lisa
Does Anyone Know a Song About a Pancake Tied to a Man’s Bum, Bum, Bum?
Friday, May 18th, 2007Kelley wrote:
Dear Lisa,
I was wondering if you could help me. My mum used to sing a song to my children about a man running through a paddock or field with a pancake tied to his bum, bum, bum.
This is the only bit of the song I can remember and I wondered if you had ever heard of it or knew of its origins. I haven’t been able to find it on any Nursery Rhyme Websites as I don’t know the name of it.
Hoping you can help.
Kind Regards,
Kelley Carter
If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Does Anyone Know a Song with the Line “”There was a little mouse who lived on a hill”"?
Friday, May 11th, 2007Felicia wrote:
Dear Mama Lisa,
I found your website while I was looking for the lyrics to a song my dad used to sing to me when I was a little girl driving down the road. It starts out like this…
There was a little mouse who lived on a hill, uh-huh, uh-huh
There was a little mouse who lived on a hill, uh-huh, uh-huh
There was a little mouse who lived on a hill he was rough and tough like buffalo bill, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh
The song then goes on to tell a story about the little mouse meeting a girl mouse and getting married under a sycamore tree etc. If you could help me with the lyrics, if you know them, I would be very grateful.
Thanks for any help you can give me,
Felicia Saathoff
If anyone can help with this song, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Are You Familiar with a Picnic Song with Catsup in it?
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007Eileen wrote:
Dear Lisa,
I am looking for the words to a picnic song that was sung on the very, very old program, The Breakfast Show.
The song was Going on a picnic… did you bring the catsup, catsup…
Thank you so much for any help.
Eileen in MarylandIf anyone can help out with this song, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Spring Chicken Song
Tuesday, April 10th, 2007I’ve established a page where I post questions people have about songs and nursery rhymes. It would be great if you’re able to help answer any of our readers questions.
Occasionally the questions are about songs that are related to current events. Here’s one such question. The song is about Spring!
Hi my name is Vicky and when my daughter was younger she used to sing a song called Spring Chickens, however we can not remember the words. I was hoping you could help me.
Some of the words were:
I’m a real spring chicken and I’m yellow and small,
My feathers are fluffy and they’re keeping me warm.
My legs are not long, so I’m not very tall,
But I’m a real spring chicken and I’m having a ball,
I’m a chicken, I’m a chicken and I’m having a ball.Many thanks,
Vicky
If anyone can help with the lyrics to this song, please comment below.
Thanks and I hope you’re enjoying your Springtime!
Lisa
Do You Know the Lyrics to “Tell Me a Story Before I Go to Bed”?
Monday, January 8th, 2007Megan wrote to me looking for the lyrics to a song:
Hi my name is Megan I was hoping u might be able to help me with a song that my mum has been singing to me. The words I do know are:
Tell me a story tell me a story
tell me a story before I go to bed
u promised me u said u would
u better give in and I’ll be good
so tell me a story and then I’ll go to bedI do believe there are more words to the song if u would b able to help that would b great thanks!
I’ve only been able to find these slightly different lyrics:
Tell me a story, tell me a story
Tell me a story before I go to bed;
You promised me, you said you would,
You gotta give in ‘cause I’ve been good,
Tell me a story before I go to bed.If anyone can help with additional lyrics, or information about this song, or if anyone would like to send in a recording, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Lisa
Looking for an Australian Nursery Rhyme about “Ollie, Ollie, Bumper Pants”
Thursday, October 19th, 2006I received this email this morning…
Hi….Years ago heard a nursery rhyme from Australia with the words “ollie, ollie, bumper pants” ….we can’t remember any more of it and are not even sure it is a nursery rhyme but we think it is….have you ever heard of this?…would appreciate any help..thanks. J
If anyone knows about “ollie, ollie, bumper pants”, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Timbuktu and “The Sailor Went to Sea”
Wednesday, July 26th, 2006The other day I posted a question about a children’s song that mentioned Timbuktu. We found it! It’s the Australian version of The Sailor Went to Sea.
Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français saw the post. She sent me this interesting photo. The sign says “Timbuktu 52 Days” in French. Here’s what she had to say about it…
About Timbuktu, we French spell it Tombouctou. In the South of Morocco, there’s the village of Zagora, which is also known as “The Desert Gate” or “The Sahara Gate”. In Zagora there’s a signpost saying “Tombouctou 52 Jours”, meaning 52 days of camel travel from Zagora to Timbuktu. Everybody going there takes a photo of it. Here’s a photo…
Zagora is called “The Desert Gate” because it’s one of the last towns in Morocco before the start of the Sahara Desert. Camel caravans used to stop at Zagora before going to Timbuktu. It would take 52 days to get there!
It seems that many people in France are familiar with that sign and French tourists who visit that part of Morocco are sure to take pictures beside it. But, as far as I know, most people in the US have never even heard of the sign. I find it interesting that a landmark can be famous in one country and yet almost totally unknown in another!
“Going to Timbuktu”… Where is Timbuktu Anyway?
Saturday, July 22nd, 2006Nurcan wrote in looking for a song about going to Timbuktu. Here’s what Nurcan wrote…
Hi,
I found your website and it’s very interesting, learning a lot I didn’t know, in terms of where certain songs come from. However can you assist me? I am trying to work out a song about Timbuktu. It’s not the American version either. I believe it’s possibly old English or Australian. From memory it’s about a voyage and they’re going to Timbuktu, but it never really says where Timbuktu is, as they are always looking for it. I am Australian, heard this song in around grade 1, am 28 now but can’t remember and it’s driving me batty, lol.
Hope you can help. Thank you.
Cheers, Nurcan
This sounds very familiar to me, yet I can’t find it anywhere.
I do know that To go to Timbuktu, means to travel to the ends of the earth, or the most distant place you can imagine.
Timbuktu is a town in Mali in west Africa, on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. It was the one meeting place of the people of north Africa and the south.
It was established around 1100 AD by the Tuareg, a nomadic people of the Sahara. The name Timbuktu comes from the dialect they spoke, also called Timbuktu. It’s a dialect of a Berber language called Tamasheq.
Timbuktu was a major trading center for gold, salt and slaves, from the year 1200 AD, until at least the second half of the 16th century.
If anyone is familiar with the song Nurcan is looking for, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
UPDATE: Nurcan wrote me again and posted the song in the comments below. It’s the Australian version of “The Sailor Went to Sea”.
The Australian Version of “Jingle Bells”
Tuesday, December 6th, 2005This song is particularly good for all you people out there in warm climates in December, or those who wish they were! Here are the lyrics to the Australian Jingle Bells…
Jingle Bells
(Australian Version)Dashing to the beach
With my boogie board and towel
Look at all the waves
Hear the surfers yell, YEE HAA
Put your sunscreen on
Don’t forget your hat
Because you will get sun burnt
If you don’t remember thatChorus
Summer time, Christmas time
Mosquitoes, bindies*
BBQ’s, sausages
Tomato sauces and fliesJump into the pool
With your flippers on
Watch the dog catch flies
Sing a Christmas song
Christmas in Australia
Is very, very hot
So snow and sleighs and jingle bells
Is what we have not gotChorus x2 (music to Jingles bells)
*Bindies are prickly nettles or burrs that grow in the grass in the summer in Australia. They often get stuck to barefeet and hurt. So watch out if you visit Australia in the summertime!
This is sung to the tune of Jingle Bells.
Many thanks to Ellen Partridge for contributing this song.
Come visit Mama Lisa’s Australia Page for more Australian Songs!
The Australian “Twelve Days of Christmas”
Sunday, November 27th, 2005Here is the Australian version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. All 12 are animals…
On the First Day of Christmas
(Australian Version)On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me…
1. An emu up a gum tree.
2. Two pink galahs.
3. Three jabirus.
4. Four kookaburras.
5. Five kangaroos.
6. Six platypuses.
7. Seven koalas climbing.
8. Eight possums playing.
9. Nine wombats working.
10. Ten lizards leaping.
11. Eleven numbats nagging.
12. Twelve parrots prattlingMany thanks to Andrew for sending me this song.
Here are some links to see photos of these animals…
Unique Australian Animals Photos
Australian Photographs – Click on “Animal Photos”
Come visit The Mama Lisa’s World Australia page for more Australian Songs.
More Christmas Songs from Around the World Coming Soon!
Recording of Botany Bay
Sunday, October 2nd, 2005I always consider it a good day in Mama Lisa’s World when I get a recording of a song I’ve never heard before. This weekend Michael Kunta was kind enough to send me his rendition of Botany Bay from Tasmania, Australia. I’ve had the lyrics to the song on my Australia page for a couple of years now. To finally hear it totally changes the song for me. I’m grateful to Michael for making Botany Bay come alive to everyone who’s listening out there!
Click to hear the MP3 version of Botany Bay…
For the lyrics to Botany Bay and other Australian rhymes and songs, please visit Mama Lisa’s World’s Australia Page!
________
Help Support
Mama Lisa's World!
$5, $10, $25
or any amount welcome!
