Archive for the 'Dutch Children's Songs' Category
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Can Anyone Help with a Dutch Children’s Song?
Thursday, May 14th, 2009Mrs. Brein from Argentina is looking for two Dutch songs that her father sang to her when she was a child. Here is what they sounded like -the spelling is phonetical
1. Traláreche: Traláreche, traláreche, oh my muther so fader chessen, eisi bebirj, eisi bebirj, oh my muther so fader cheseen. (It was sung while turning the hands from side to side, in place).
2. Oh Susana: Oh Susana, oh Susana, evarescas liver vonder shen, oh Susana evarescas liver shein. Sjeimen ofen drepken, sjeimen ofen drepken, has das kleinen esen trepken, Sjeimen ofen drepken, sjeimen ofen drepken, has das kleinen esen trepken (sung faster and faster).
If anyone can help Mrs. Brein, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Traditional Dutch Children’s Songs from 1895
Thursday, February 26th, 2009Peter pointed out an online collection of traditional Dutch songs published in 1895. The site is only in Dutch. Some of the songs may have archaic language. But it may be interesting for those of you who speak the language.
Thanks for letting us know about this site Peter!
-Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with a Dutch or Frisian Children’s Song?
Saturday, June 7th, 2008Chris sent me this email:
Greetings! Google led me to your website when I was looking for help. I hope this request doesn’t end up being too difficult!
I’m not a fluent Dutch speaker (in fact, I know very little Dutch at all beyond the basics). But my grandmother is the daughter of a Dutch immigrant, and she was raised as an “American Dutch girl” in Iowa.
She just celebrated her 94th birthday, and we’ve seen a decline in her mental faculties over the last decade or so. But one thing she still remembers – are the old children’s songs that she heard as a girl from her father. She remembered the song well enough that she could even sing it to my two-month-old daughter when we came to visit!
Unfortunately, because of her mental condition, she would not be able to write the song down. But she dictated the original words (along with what I think is a non-literal English translation) to my mother, who did her best to write down the Dutch sounds phonetically. We have no idea if her phonetic words are even close to the original Dutch words.
Another complication: the language might not actually be Dutch, but Frisian, since her father came to Iowa from Ternaard, in Friesland. But if it’s possible, I’d like to find the original words to the song, as well as a more literal English translation. Here goes our best attempt at writing down the song:
Original Dutch (?):
Suza nona Popkin
Kelta lyin gropka
Mam in huis Sofear van hoos
See caneet verrupkeEnglish gloss:
Just a little calf, there
Lying in the straw there
Mother and father so far from the house
They can’t hear him crying.Thanks in advance for any direction you can provide!
Best regards,
:Chris
If anyone can help out Chris, please comment below.
Thanks in advance!
Lisa
Does Anyone Know a Dutch Children’s Song the Title of which Sounds like “Saitcha Fara”?
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008Elyse wrote:
Does anyone know anything about an old Dutch children’s song about girls and boys picking flowers, drinking tea and sweet milk with honey, giving chickens water, and the clock striking ten? My grandmother sang it to me years ago. The title sounds like “Saitcha Fara” though no such Dutch words with those spellings exist in my dictionary. I’ve never seen the song or the title in writing.
Elyse
If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with a Dutch Song that goes “”In the Vintertime when the vind blows…”"?
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007Gail wrote me:
Greetings Lisa,
I am wondering if you have ever heard of a Dutch children’s song that starts out: “In the Vintertime when the vind blows…” some of the other words were vindowpane and vestibule. It goes something like:
In the wintertime when the wind blows (and something) then frost forms on the windowpane… (something else) and then a phase containing – in the vestibule.
Thank you so much for your assistance. My grandmother used to sing it to me and I don’t remember the words. I having been trying to find out about this little ditty for around 30 years. With your help, I may finally get an answer.
Thank you so much!
Gail E. Mann
If anyone can help with this song, in Dutch and/or English, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Does Anyone Know the Dutch Song “”Het Maria Klokje”"?
Sunday, July 15th, 2007Lorraine simply wrote, regarding “Het Maria Klokje”:
Do you know this song? Thanks Lorraine from Ontario Canada
If anyone knows the lyrics to this song, please comment below or email me. If you can possibly provide an English translation, that would be great too.
Thanks!
Lisa
Does Anyone Know a Song, Possibly from Spain, called “Chichiwa”?
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007Sarah wrote:
My father-in-law came back from Spain singing this song called “Chichiwa”, and my 5 year old son loves it, but none of us know the words. Can anyone help? I’ve been trying to find it on the internet and there are references to it on a couple of Dutch websites, but no lyrics.
Hope someone can tell us more about it!
Sarah
If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Lisa
UPDATE: Maxine wrote to me that this song is in Spanish. She heard it while on vacation in Majorca. She wrote…
It starts off:
Compania (Hands go around head)
Brassand dah (Arms go outstretched)I then do not know the rest of the words, but the arms are then in a position to become some sort of creature… where the verse is Chichiwa, chichiwa, chichiwa wa wa
I’ve written to the holiday company on the hope they can help!!
Does Anyone Know the Dutch Song, “”Klap eens in je handjes, blij blij blij”"?
Monday, March 19th, 2007Nancy wrote:
Dear Lisa,
Do you know this Dutch song? My mother used to sing it to our children in the 1960’s:
Klap eens in je handjes, blij blij blij…
Appreciate if you can let me know the rest of it and any background history you may have.
Thanks,
Nancy Reimers
If anyone can help out with this song, and an English translation if possible, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Can Anyone Help with an Bahasa Indonesian Translation of a Little Song Called “Cat’s Head”?
Sunday, March 18th, 2007We have a special circumstance where we’re looking for a Bahasa Indonesian translation of a song called Cat’s Head. The song is originally Dutch. We were able to get an English translation of it. If anyone can translate it into Bahasa Indonesian from either language, we would greatly appreciate it. Both versions are below:
Cat’s Head
(English)It was the birthday of the cat’s head.
His little legs were celebrating
His little tail could not join the party,
It recently has been ill,
He just came out of the hospital
And he has such a pain in his throat
All the dancing and jumping
Is too much for him.Kat Kop
(Dutch)De kop van de kat was jarig
zijn pootjes vierden feest
het staartje kon niet meedoen
dat is pas ziek geweest
het kwam pas uit het zieken huis
en had zo’n pijn in z’n keel
en al dat dansen en dat springen
dat was hem veel te veel.If you’re able to provide a translation, please comment below or email me.
Thanks in advance for your help!
-Lisa
St. Nicholas Arrives in Holland on a Steamboat with his White Horse
Sunday, December 4th, 2005Kirsten Kerkhof wrote me the following about St. Nicolas Day in Holland…
“In the Netherlands, Christmas is not as important for children as Sint Nicolaas (Saint Nicholas) on December 5th. It’s on this day that children get their presents, instead of on Christmas Day. Sint Nicolaas is the patron saint of children. He is said to come from Spain, although the real Sint Nicolaas came from what is now Turkey.”
In November St. Nicholas arrives on a steamboat from Spain, with his helpers and his white horse. Children go to watch his arrival.
Here’s a song they sing in Dutch, with an English translation…
Zie Ginds Komt de Stoomboot
(Dutch)Zie ginds komt de stoomboot,
Uit Spanje weer aan.
Hij brengt on Sint Nicolaas,
Ik zie hem al staan.
Hoe huppelt zijn paardje,
Het dek op en neer,
Hoe waaien de wimpels,
Al heen en al weer.Zijn knecht staat de lachen,
Hij roept ons reeds toe.
Wie zoet is krijgt lekkers,
Wie stout is, de roe.
Oh, lieve Sint Nicolaas,
Kom ook toch bij mij,
En rijd toch niet stilletjes,
Ons huisje voorbij.Look, There is the Steamboat
(English)Look there is the steamboat
From far-away Spain.
It brings us Saint Nicholas,
I can see him, waving.
His horse is a-prancing
On deck up and down,
The banners are waving,
In village and town.His servant is laughing
And tells everyone,
The good kids get candy,
The bad ones get none.
Oh, dearest Saint Nicholas,
If Pete and you would,
Just visit our house,
For we all have been good.Here’s a version of Look, There is the Steamboat from Belgium…
Zie Ginds Komt de Stoomboot
(Dutch)Zie ginds komt de stoomboot,
uit Spanje weer aan.
Hij brengt ons Sint-Nikolaas,
ik zie hem al staan.
Hoe waaien de wimpels,
al heen en al weer.
Hoe huppelt zijn paardje,
het dek op en neer.
Zijn knecht staat te lachen,
en roept ons reeds toe:
“Wie braaf is krijgt lekkers,
wie stout is de roe.”See There Arrives the Steamboat
(English)See there arrives the steamboat,
From Spain again.
It brings us Saint Nicolas,
I see him standing there already.
Look how the flags,
Flutter back and forth.
Look how his little horse,
Hops up and down the deck.
His servant stands there, laughing
And he shouts at us:
“Who’s good, gets sweets,
Who’s bad, gets the whip.”Here’s another St. Nicholas song from Belgium…
Hoor de Wind Waait
(Dutch)Hoor de wind waait door de bomen,
hier in huis zelfs waait de wind.
Zou de goede Sint wel komen,
nu hij ‘t weer zo lelijk vindt?
nu hij ‘t weer zo lelijk vindt?Hoor wie stapt daar kinderen?
Hoor klopt daar kinderen?
Hoor wie tikt daar zachtjes tegen ‘t raam?‘t Is een vreemdling zeker?
Die verdwaald is zeker?
Ga maar vlug eens vragen naar zijn naam!Sint Nikolaas! Sint Nikolaas!
Breng mij vanavond ook een bezoek!
en strooi dan wat lekkers in een of d’andere hoek!Hear How the Wind Blows
(English)Hear how the wind blows through the trees,
Even here inside the house the wind blows.
Will the good Saint come,
When the weather is that bad?
When the weather is that bad?Listen, who’s stepping there children?
Listen, who’s knocking there children?
Listen, who’s tapping, softly at the window?Must be a stranger, I’m sure?
Who lost his way, I’m sure?
Quickly, go and ask his name!Saint Nicolas! Saint Nicolas!
Please visit me too, tonight!
And throw some sweets in this or that corner!Many thanks to Kirsten Kerkhof for contributing the version of Zie Ginds Komt de Stoomboot from Holland and for her helpful comments, and to Rudy Welvaert for the Belgian songs. Dank u wel!
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Netherlands Page for more Children’s Songs from the Holland and…
The Mama Lisa’s World Belgium Page for more Belgian Children’s Songs.
Happy Sint Nicolaas!
Lisa
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