Julie wrote: My granny sang a song about a fat goose I think it may have been called “Ho Nellie Ho”: My father had an old grey goose ho Nellie ho. My father had an old grey goose ho Nellie ho. He put her up and he fattenned her ho Nellie ho, etc,...

I 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...

Louise wrote me: Hello, I’ve been trying to find the lyrics and author of a favorite childhood song that begins: “The bees gave a party and invited all they knew. A wasp and some hornets and a few mosquitoes too…” Do you know what it is? Thanks, Louise Ciampi If anyone can help with the lyrics to this song, or any...

In 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...

Meg 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...

People 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,...

Lindsay wrote asking about Hello Lisa, I need help! I’m in search of a song that my grandma used to sing to me. It is “Farfallina” but I looked at all the versions of Farfallina you have on your website and none of them look like a match to me. I don’t speak Italian so its...

Margaret wrote: Dear Mama Lisa Please can you help? My daughter learned a song in school 30 years ago and is now anxious to trace the lyrics for her four little boys. The only lyrics we can remember are as follows: Near / In / Down Wookey Hole in days gone by, were three unlucky men, The first fell...

Kelley 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...

Felicia 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...

Lois wrote me: I have a song I’d like to find – I remember my mother singing it to me (with many other songs) in the car on long drives but I haven’t been able to find it. It’s in the pattern “I sold my ….. and bought me a ….” (I remember ’sold horse/ bought cow’)...

Patricia wrote: Hi: My granddaughter has been singing a song with limited lyrics. It is in a singsong format that goes something like this (don’t know if the spelling is correct!): A vee kadavey won’t you be my baby It is driving me crazy trying to find the song so that I can get the lyrics and we can...

Eileen 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 Maryland If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below. Thanks! Lisa

I’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...

I received this question recently: I am wondering if anyone knows the origin of this little ditty. My English mother used to sing it; A Chicken, a Chicken, a Crane, a Crow A chicken, a chicken, a crane, a crow, Went down to the brook to wash his big toe, And when he got there the chicken was dead, With...

Jackie 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...

Megan 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...

I’ve been discussing the origin of the phrase “The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out”. Yesterday, I posted the old nursery rhyme “There Was a Woman All Skin and Bone”, which contains the phrase. Here’s another version of There Was a Woman All Skin and Bone, this one a song, (sung by me!). ...

Since it’s the Halloween time of year, and I know that a lot of people out there are interested in the line, “The worms crawled in, the worms crawled out”, I’m going to talk a little more about the earliest sightings of this line in print. In my last blog entry, I mentioned that a similar...