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Archive for the 'Danish Children's Songs' Category
Contents
Posts
Help Needed with Two Danish Songs
Monday, March 15th, 2010I got these questions over two days, so I figured I may as well post them together…
1) The first question is from Dr. Mike Mruzik who’s trying to help his Mom:
Hello,
Any assistance (with the question below) would be appreciated… Thanks
-Dr. Mike Mruzik
Here’s the letter from Mike’s mother:
This is what I remember of the song that Mr. Thygeson (originally Mr. Tierson from Denmark) taught Scoot and me, sung to a lovely Danish melody. It could be a nursery rhyme. I first memorized it around 1920 and it was an old classic even then.
It is years since I sung it with my buddy.
Dan an Saxon, Dan skul verdonder,
Fra and a and tilda nonder,
Dad o shay, dad o shay,
Dad o skatlat
Day day shayI apologize if I have butchered this – but it has been a long long time.
Good luck in the translation.
Love, MOM
2) The second question is by Diane McCurdy:
I need some help with a Danish song that my Mom was sung to as a child. My Mom didn’t know any Danish even tho her mother came from Denmark. My grandma died when Mom was only 12. What we have as the song is written as it sounded to her in English, (so it isn’t correct English or Danish spelling). I tried to get it translated and think we may have one line of 6. Here is the song as she wrote down what she how it sounded in English:
1. Hest ver vian sloer in booked ( long e sound on Hest)
2. Leg er der it whosta smooked
3. Leg a mella skava sto ( long a sound on skava)
4. Rooder (Ruder) nee er gangsta smo
5. Owner tagget svaller quethra
6. Solan sinker ousta vethraWe were told that the 2nd line is something like – Ligger der et hus sa smukt ( Lies a house so beautiful)
I’ve searched for several years and couldn’t find anything close to it. I came across your site today and had high hopes! Any help someone can give us would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much for doing such great work.
Cordially,
DianeIf anyone can help with either of these questions – with the original lyrics and/or translations – please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with 2 Danish or Swedish Nursery Rhymes? We Have a Recording of Them!
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009Lori wrote:
Dear Mama Lisa,
I am so excited to find this website because I have been searching for many years to find out about two Danish or Swedish nursery rhymes (you can listen to them by clicking the link). My mother’s beloved grandfather, Lars Christensen, used to bounce her on his knee and recite these rhymes. She then passed them on to me…and neither one of us know what they mean. Lars’ parents were both from Denmark: His father from the Brenderup, Odense, area and his mother from Lynge, Juteland area. So we think the rhymes may be Danish and probably date from the early 1800’s. However, Lars’ wife’s parents were from Sweden: Her father from Vallby, Kirkedinge area and her mother from Sallerup, Malmohus area. So there is a possibility that they are Swedish.
They might be so distorted coming from the mouth of an old Danish man through the memory of a small American girl and passed on to another generation, but I am hopeful that someone may recognize them.
My dear mother’s 80th birthday is coming up and I would love to surprise her with a written version or reading of the original, an English interpretation, or any information about any one of these two nursery rhymes. No matter how silly, they are very important to us because they are a link to our sacred, and loved ancestral roots.
Thank you so much,
Lori
If anyone can help out Lori, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
PS We know the first rhyme is a version of Ride ride ranke, and Lori checked the versions posted on the blog in the past, but couldn’t find it there.
Danish Kids Songs Sites plus a Danish Children’s Song
Thursday, February 19th, 2009Richard wrote to me recommending a Danish kids song site…
Hi
On this web page Rimogremser.dk there are several Danish kids songs with midi files.
Thanks for a good a good web-site ;)
Best regards
Richard
Thanks for the recommendation Richard. The site is nice! It has cool line drawings to go with most of the songs and tunes – though no English translations.
I picked one of the songs on the site that’s in the public domain (possibly 100 years+ old) and tried my hand at translating it. Below you’ll find the lyrics in Danish, the illustration from the site, a link to the midi and my translation…
Når vi sejler op og ned
Når vi sejler op og ned,
ser vi fisken svømme.
Ære, være, du er min.
Lise, Lise, hvor vi elsker dig.Når vi sejler op og ned,
ser vi fisken svømme.
Ære, være, du er min
Michael, Michael, hvor vi hader dig.Midi of Når vi sejler op og ned
Rough English Translation:
When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
Glory, be, you are mine,
Lisa, Lisa, we love you.When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
Glory, be, you are mine,
Michael, Michael, we hate you.I welcome improvements to my translation!
I searched around some more and found another nice Danish site called Dansk Folkemindesamling (the link here is for the kids song section of the site). This one had a different version of the same song (also in Danish only). This one also had a Quicktime recording of children singing it. It’s where I learned that the song goes back to at least 1900. It’s a circle game. One goes “swimming” under the “circles” raised arms. At the end of each verse one joins the circle. One joins them to walk around so that together they form a chain which gets longer and longer.
Here’s the second version of the song…
1 Når vi sejler op og ned
så ser vi fisken svømme
ære være vi er her
for Mia, Mia hvem elsker du?2 Når vi sejler op og ned
så ser vi fisken svømme
ære være vi er her
for Per, Per hvem elsker du?3 Når vi sejler op og ned
så ser vi fisken svømme
ære være vi er her
for Ebbe, Ebbe hvem elsker du?This version is friendlier. Here’s the English translation I came up with:
1 When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
We are honored to be here
For Mia, Mia, who loves you?2 When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
We are honored to be here
For Per, Per, Who loves you?3 When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
We are honored to be here
For Ebbe, Ebbe, Who loves you?Once again, I welcome improvements to my translation!
Mama Lisa’s World also has some Danish kids songs with English, French and Spanish translations and midis. We always welcome more songs if anyone would like to contribute any and also if anyone would like to sing any for us… Feel free to comment below or email me!
Mama Lisa
The Itsy Bitsy Spider Around the World
Monday, October 13th, 2008Shirley emailed me looking for different versions of The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Here’s what she wrote:
I am desperately seeking 3-4-5 versions (songs) of Itsy Bitsy Spider for an around the world float.
Shame on me I left that chore until last and now I am having trouble. I’ve gotten English and Spanish. Please let me know if this is even remotely possible so I can make other arrangements.
Thanks Shirley
These are the ones we have on Mama Lisa’s World (you can click the link to get to the song page and to access the English, French and Spanish translations of the songs):
Denmark – Lille Peter Edderkop – The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Mexico – La pequeña araña – The Little Spider
Mexico – Itzi, bitzi araña – The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Philippines Ilongo – The Itsy Bitsy Spider – And Dutay Nga Damang
Spain – Itsy Bitsy Spider – Araña arañita
USA – The Itsy Bitsy Spider
France – L’araignée Gypsy – The Gypsy SpiderIf you would like to share the version of The Itsy Bitsy Spider from your country, please feel free to post the lyrics in the comments below or email a recording to me.
Thanks!
Lisa
Can Anyone Help with the Danish Song “Hun ska leve”?
Friday, June 22nd, 2007Doug wrote:
Mama Lisa,
I am in USA but our family still sings a song called hun ska leve. This is a traditional Danish song.
Does anyone know where to get lyrics and music for this traditional song? Please let me know.
Thanks,
Doug Hansen
If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
-Lisa
A Song about The Sandman, who is also known as The Dream God and Ole Lukoie
Monday, March 6th, 2006David wrote me looking for a song. In the process of trying to find it, I learned a little about The Sandman. It all started when David wrote me…
I REMEMBER THIS SONG WHEN I WAS A CHILD. ALL I REMEMBER IS:
THE LITTLE OLEY
WITH HIS UMBRELLA
HE COMES ON TIPTOES
THIS FRIENDLY FELLOWTHAT IS ALL I CAN REMEMBER OF IT
DAVID BAUM
After searching a little I was able to discover that “Oley? should really be spelled “Ole?. Ole Lukoie is a character in a Hans Christian Anderson tale. He’s known as the Dream God and also the Sandman.
Next I was able to determine that the song that David was looking for was most likely a Danish song. The name of the song that I believe David is looking for is Den lille Ole med paraplyen, in English it’s called The Little Sandman (Ole) with the Umbrella.
I remembered that this song is on the Mama Lisa’s World Denmark page. Here’s what I found there…
Den Lille Ole med Paraplyen
by Peter Lemche
(Danish)Den lille Ole med paraplyen
ham kender alle småfolk i byen;
hver lille pige, hver lille dreng
han genner skælmsk i sin lille sengThe Little Sandman with the Umbrella
by Peter Lemche
(English)The little sandman with the umbrella
The friend of Snow White and Cinderella
When you are sleepy, he takes your hand
And guides you gently to fairyland.Upon further study, I found that there are more lyrics to this song. It was written by Peter Lemche in 1873 and Ole Jacobsen wrote the melody the same year.
Here are the full lyrics to this song in Danish.
Den lille Ole med paraplyen
(Danish)Den lille Ole med paraplyen,
ham kender alle småfolk i byen,
hver lille pige, hver lille dreng,
han lægger sødt i sin lille seng.Så vil han ud paraplyen brede
og uskylds hygge om lejet sprede,
da vil i drømme den lille fyr
fortælle dejlige eventyr.Han vil fortælle om stjerner klare,
og om den dejlige engleskare,
og om den yndige lille fe,
som alle børn vil så gerne se.Og har om dagen de artig’ været,
og kærlig fader og moder æret,
da kan så glade til sengs de gå,
og drømme smukt om Guds engle små.Og når om morgenen solen skinner,
da vågner de med små røde kinder,
og takke Gud for, hvad de har drømt,
og kysse fader og moder ømt.If anyone could provide an English translation to this song, please comment below, it might help answer David’s question. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
Listen to the tune to this song
Read the Hans Christian Anderson tale about Ole Lukoie
Question about the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Nursery Rhyme “Ride Ride Ranke”
Saturday, December 31st, 2005Pamela wrote me about a rhyme that I’ve been asked about many times. Here’s what she wrote…
Hello,
I am interested in finding a nursery rhyme in the Danish language which I learned as a child and have passed on to my children as well. I hope you can help me locate this rhyme. It is about an alligator or crocodile sneaking up on someone sitting on a log at the edge of a lake. I am probably not remembering the Danish words correctly, and I don’t speak Danish at all, but it sounds something like this:
A rita, rita, runkin
Demile hans hoose,
Devoon yemoon
Kot on a moose
On little wahoon
Syin on a bankin
Slick upon a slick a sow
Woof! Woof! Woof!I have probably completely ruined the rhyme with my bad memory, but I am very interested in learning it correctly. The Woof! Woof! Woof! Part is where the alligator eats the person.
Thank you!
If anyone knows this rhyme, many people out there would be grateful for the corrrect words. Please comment below or email me with the correct version!
Thanks!
Lisa
UPDATE: I posted one Swedish version of Rida rida ranka on my Swedish Song Pages, one Danish version of Rida rida ranke, and 2 Norwegian Versions of Rida rida ranke on Mama Lisa’s World’s Norway pages.
More versions in the comments below…
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