Italian Children's Songs | Mama Lisa's World Blog

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Can Someone Help with an Italian Kids Song Called “Quand ero piccolino”?

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

I recently received this email below:

I would like to find the words to a children’s song called “Quand ero piccolino”. A couple of the lines are:

Chi, chi qui belle wa, wa, wa
chi, chi qui belle wa, wa, wa
chi, chi qui belle wa, wa, wa
a ventren drai, a ventren drai
qui belle divertimento
a ventren drai, a ventren drai
sa liva su la don

I am trying to remember the words as I remember them from sound so the words may not be spelled correctly at all.

If you might be able to give me a site or the correct words I would certainly appreciate that. Thanks.

A. Wiebenga

If anyone can help with this song, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks!

Mama Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions | 4 Comments »

Can Anyone Help with an Italian Song that Starts, “Cinque e cinquanta” to the tune of “Giro Giro Tondo”?

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Nicholas emailed me asking for help with an Italian song…

My grandmother used to sing me a song, and I learned it but don’t know the correct words. It goes to the melody of Giro Giro Tondo. When I first heard Giro Giro Tondo, I thought perhaps it was another verse to my grandmother’s song which, as I remember it, (and not knowing if the words even make sense) goes:

Cinque e cinquanta,
Michallina canta,
La se la canta,
Case vuole marita.

If anyone knows if this is part of a larger nursery rhyme or song, please let me know.

Nicholas G. Licata

If anyone can also help Nicholas with the words to his song and/or an English translation, please let us know in the comments below.

Thanks in advance!

Mama Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italian Nursery Rhymes, Italy, Languages, Mama Lisa, Midis, Nursery Rhymes, Questions, Readers Questions | 12 Comments »

Does anyone know if the words to “Bella che dormi” in Italian are correct?

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

Vita wrote:

Hi, I remember a song sung to me by my mother and I just want to make sure I have the words correct and have all the verses. It’s a lullaby and she used to rock us while singing it:

Bella che dormi
sul letto di fiori
mentre dormendo
un bacio d’amor
un bacio in fretta
la povera bambina
o poverina
dove sei andata
dalla nonnina
e cosa ta datto
un bacio un bacio la povera bambina!

Beautiful girl sleeping
on a bed of flowers
while sleeping
a loving kiss
a quick kiss
the beautiful girl
o little one (literally poor one)
where did you go?
to grandmother’s
and what did she give you?
a kiss, a kiss
the little one (literally poor one)!

Does anyone know any “fingerplays” in Italian – songs with accompanying actions?

Also, my grandmother in Naples, Italy used to tell us that wearing red underpants on New Years Eve brought good luck – I don’t know if she told us this because it was funny to little kids or because it is actually a custom.

Thank you!
Vita

If anyone can help Vita with the song or if you know about the New Year’s custom of wearing red underwear on New Years Eve for good luck, please let us know about it in the comments below.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Customs, Holidays Around the World, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, New Years, Questions | 1 Comment »

Question about an Italian Song about Weaving

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

Catherine wrote asking about an Italian song:

Ciao Buongiorno! Actually, I’m Greek so I’ll say Tikanis!

I was wondering if you can help me find the title of a song I heard in a commercial from concerned childrens advertisers. It shows a little boy being chased after by 3 little girls trying to kiss him. I know the song in the commercial is in Italian. I’m sorry for my bad spelling but I don’t know how this would be spelt in Italian but it sounds like the words to the song are Loulo filaccio tris dias a cacho fila fila macavo pintar. At least that’s what it sounds like to me.

Does it sound like something you’ve heard before?

If you visit this website http://www.cca-kids.ca/psas/active_living.html, scroll to the bottom, click on the one that says “The Chase”. You’ll see and hear the commercial.

If you know the song title. Please email me back. I would be so appreciative.

Kind regards,

Catherine

I asked Monique at Mama Lisa’s World en français if she could help with this song. Here’s what she wrote:

The song must be “Lungo filaccio, triste sartaccio”, but I couldn’t find anything about it on the internet. This is a proverb. Both words “filaccio” and “sartaccio” end in “accio” which is a pejorative augmentative case (indicating that it’s undesirable). It means long bad thread, sad (in the sense of bad) taylor. In French we have such a proverb that goes “longue aiguillée, mauvais ouvrier” which means that a good taylor /dressmaker knows that if you take too long a thread to sew, it’ll twist and make knots and you won’t often have any better solution than to cut the thread. In Italian, as in French and Occitan, the verb “filare”/”filer”/”filar” means to weave but also to run away. So there’s probably a play on words because of the two meanings of the verb if you consider it in the song and the video. The song is about weaving (or sewing?), it goes:

“Lungo filaccio,
triste sartaccio,
fila fila ma che vuoi filar…?
è duro ma non puoi filar…
ho filato giorno e notte..
giacchetti, pantaloni…
gonellone. pura seta…”

English Translation:
Long bad thread,
Sad bad taylor, weave, weave
But what would you weave…
It’s hard but I can’t weave…
I’ve woven day and night…
Jackets, trousers…
Long skirts… pure silk…”

That’s all that I could catch.

Thanks for your help Monique! If anyone can help with the rest of this song, please let us know about it in the comments below.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Mama Lisa, Questions | 1 Comment »

Can Anyone Help with an Italian Song about a Little Flea?

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Henry wrote:

Hello Lisa:

When I was young, my Italian Grandma used to sing a song about a little flea. The lyrics were… uno, due, tres, quatro, cinque, seis, un saltina sola sullo… something.

It was about the flea jumping on the dog and saying excuse me, etc… Do you know it?

Henry

If anyone knows the lyrics to this song, please let us know about them in the comments below.

Thanks!

Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions | 5 Comments »

Can Anyone Help with an Italian Song That’s Similar to “This Little Piggy”?

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

Susan wrote that she’s looking for the Italian version of “This Little Piggy”, with “Giovanni” instead of the “piggy”. Here’s what she emailed me…

Hi,

I just came across your site and first I have to say it’s absolutely wonderful! I wanted to know if you’d be able to help me. I am looking for a song in Italian, the sound was similar to that of this little piggy went to the market etc. (the American rhyme). My father used to sing the song while doing the same thing you would for the American version on our toes. I don’t remember anything about a pig, but it started with Giovanni. I know my information is quite limited and reaching out to you is a stretch but I’ve searched all over the Internet and cannot find anything.

Thank you,
Susan

If anyone can help out Susan, please let us know in the comments below. She’d be most grateful!

Thanks!

Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italian Nursery Rhymes, Italy, Languages, Nursery Rhymes, Questions, Readers Questions, Toe Rhymes | 3 Comments »

Can Anyone Recommend any Italian Children’s Music CD or DVD?

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

Michelle wrote:

Thank you for your great website.

Can you tell me if there is a website where I can purchase CD’s of Italian Music for children and/or DVD’s?

Thank you
Michelle DeFazio

There are some CD’s on Amazon that you can buy. Here are a couple I found that got good reviews. You can hear musical clips for some of them. The first two have mp3’s you can pay to download directly from the site:

Canzoni Per Bambini, Volume I – CD
Canzoni Per Bambini Vol.II, Italian Songs for Children – CD
Teach Me Italian (Paperback and Audio CD): A Musical Journey Through the Day

Here are two for adults – the first one includes That’s Amore by Dean Martin and Volare by Dominico Mudugno:

Eh, Paisano! 100% Italian-American Classics
Viva Italia! Festive Italian Classics

If anyone knows of any other cd’s or dvd’s or places where you can buy them, please let us know about it in the comments below.

-Mama Lisa

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Posted in CD's, Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions, Recommendations | 6 Comments »

Can Anyone Help with Some Italian Nursery Rhymes and Songs?

Thursday, January 10th, 2008

I get a lot of requests for help with Italian rhymes and songs. It seemed like a good idea to post a few together as the writers may even be able to help each other! Most of these are from the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Italian immigrants to the United States who remember being sung these by their parents, grandparents and great grandparents. These are special memories!

The Italian is mainly written phonetically below. Here are some of the emails I’ve received…

1) Hi Lisa,

My mother and my grandmother used to say a nursery rhyme to me when I was a little girl. They would put me on their lap, facing them like I was riding on a galloping horse. The rhyme is: (Keep in mind my spelling is all wrong)

Ki Ki Ki cavallo,
la mama vien al ballo,
da scarpieta sienna….

And it goes on. My mother and grandmother were from Trieste, so it could be in dialect. I’d just like to figure out the words and meaning of the rhyme to teach my granddaughter. Hope you can help me.

Many thanks,

Sue Henry

2) My great grandmother was from the Abruzzi Region and used to sing us a song that started out (phonetically):

Di say comati….

I don’t remember any of the other words but know that she used to rock us on her lap during the song and then at the end would say ‘di di di di deeeee’ lean over so we would fall back and up-side-down.

I realize that I’m not giving you much to work with! Any help would be appreciated.

3) My mother used to sing an Italian nursery song to my girls when they were young, but now my mother has Alzheimer’s and can’t remember the words to teach my daughter so she can teach them to her girls. It was “mane mane manutsa vene papa, boite gozi sini va….” something to that effect, general meaning: clap hands clap hands, daddy’s coming home and bringing presents…” something like that.

It’s all my daughter has of her grandma to pass on. Please help if you can. My grandmother was from Palermo and very poor, so the words and the dialect would be home Italian versus book Italian.

Thank you.
Nan Juday

4) I would like to know if anyone knows of a song my grandmother used to sing to me. I can only remember it as the Tick Tock Song. One line sounded like:

“Quando se qiere peccina bambina,
mia cuore tica tic, tica toc.”

Mind you, I have no idea if these are the actual words or if they are spelled right! I think it meant “when you need me my pretty baby, my heart goes tick tock. Thanks for your help.

Carmen Akridge

5) Hi

I came across your site while searching for a song my nonna used to sing to me when I was little. She died in 1971 when I was six. I would lay across her lap and she would tap her fingers on my back and sing something like this:

Lena lena
sopa sopa
cuanta pena tena ungoupe
en e mene mah cuanta su

There are sections missing. It was a guessing song. How many fingers do I have on your back… kind of thing. It was such a special memory for me. I wish I could find an accurate version. She was 84 when she died. She emigrated to the US in 1907.

Lisa Sebelle

6) Hello Mama Lisa. I wander if you could help me find this song… do you know who wrote it? or who sang it?

Sorridi alla tua mamma,
amore… sorridi a che te adato il cuor…
nina nana

It’s a very old song that my mother used to sing to me….

Thank you
Marisa

7) Hi,

I have just come across your website and was wondering if you could help me?

I am after an old Italian story that my father and grandfather used to tell us when we were little. I can only remember bits and pieces. Below is some of it in English……

Once upon time there was an old man who swept the church, he found some money…….bought some milk but the mouse drank it and the old man pulled off his tail…the mouse said, give me back my tail and the man said give me back my milk…….

Hope you can help me.

Thanks
Anna

8) I came across your website when trying to look for a song my grandma used to sing and hoped maybe you could help or could post this and maybe someone else would know. It’s an Italian children’s song along the same idea as “this little piggy went to market”, but it talks about a duck and as you pull each finger it says this one catches it, this one cooks it, this one eats it and so on. I can only describe the Italian as it sounds from my memory and I’m not sure of the actual spelling so if anyone could help, it would be greatly appreciated. This is how I would sound it out in my head, but I would really like to know how it really goes.

Rina sta fundanelle
Ghista na ba ba della
Ghistan gop
Ghista schpen
Ghista sta goscha
Ghista sa manga
Chista digz
Bi bi bi bi nu boga min
Bi bi bi bi nu boga min

Thanks,
Dorothy

9) I have been looking for Manzoline de Fiore and can’t find it. Any help = my mother used to sing this song all the time when we were little.

Rose Montagner Bundra

10) Hi, Mama Lisa,

Do you know of an Italian Lullaby song with the words:

“Bolla, bolla,
pane e cipolla.
Cipolla cucinare;
(name) e sudare…”

Literally: “Dance, dance,
bread and onion.
Onion is cooking
and the cook is sweating!

My father-in-law sang it to all our children and we just want to know more information about it. Thanks!

AnnMarie

If anyone can help out with any of these questions, please comment below. Give the number of the question you’re addressing so it’s clear which is being answered.

Thanks in advance!

-Mama Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italian Nursery Rhymes, Italy, Languages, Nursery Rhymes, Questions, Readers Questions | 43 Comments »

Looking for an Italian Song that Takes Place in a Town

Wednesday, September 26th, 2007

Mary wrote:

Does any one know the song beginning with the words “In a town…”, or (phonetically), “in em borgo” – probably from Tuscany or Lugano?

If anyone can help Mary, please comment below or email me.

Thanks!

-Mama Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions | 1 Comment »

Can Anyone Help with an English Song with the line “Shut-up and I’ll tell you the story again” or with the Italian Song “”Farfallina”"?

Thursday, June 7th, 2007

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 hard for me to tell, but I thought you could help me. She was from Naples (if that helps). I remember the end…. “mamma” or something that sounds simular to that. My father seems to think its about a butterfly landing on your lip and it bites it (?) I’m not sure.

This song means so much to me and I would love to have the whole thing how she used to sing it. Please let me know!

Also, she used to sing one about a man behind a mirror…..and the end said something about “Shut-up and I’ll tell you the story again”. Do you know this one?

Thank you!
Lindsay Alfano

If anyone can help with either of these songs, please comment below or email me.

Thanks!

Lisa

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Posted in American Kids Songs, British Children's Songs, Canada, Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, English, Great Britain, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions, USA | 12 Comments »

Can Anyone Help with an Italian Song With the Line “”Trita, bedita…”"

Tuesday, May 15th, 2007

Doug Sapetti wrote:

Mama Lisa

I am writing to see if you know, have heard of, or can translate a nursery rhyme/song that has been sung to kids in my family since I was old enough to remember. The words are Italian, and I don’t know if I am spelling them correctly or not. The song/rhyme goes something like this:

Trita, bedita, kamisine yonka fitea, fite to da mama ting, vidi vidi vidi, cootaling!

Now, I obviously don’t know the correct spelling of each of the words, but have done my best to spell it as I know the words to be pronounced. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. I have known this song since I was a young boy and now sing it to my daughter, but have no idea what it means. My father’s parents were from Torin, Italy in the northwest mountains, if I am correct.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Doug Sapetti

If anyone can help with this song, please comment below.

Much appreciated!

Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italian Nursery Rhymes, Italy, Languages, Nursery Rhymes, Questions, Readers Questions | 1 Comment »

Can Anyone Help with an Italian Kids Song?

Sunday, April 15th, 2007

Nora wrote me:

Hi Lisa,

I stumbled across your blog and wonder if you know of yet another song, one that my grandmother – who grew up near the Via Appia – used to sing to me when I was a kid.

My closest guess as to the lyrics goes something like:

Se tase tolla
[Child's name] que valle scuola
Se porto la segiola
Se porto canno strella
Veno vedi lo vecci tello
La maestra
E fo festa
E lo buto
De la finestra! (at this point, you *gently* toss the child over backwards and onto the floor)

My son is 3 1/2 and loves this song! He’ll ask for my mom or me to sing it to him again and again while rocking him on our laps. I haven’t been able to find the lyrics anywhere (I think they might be in Roman dialect). I was wondering if you or any of your readers know about it.

Thanks for maintaining your blog!!

Nora L. Guy

If anyone can help out with this song, with the Italian lyrics and/or an English translation, please comment below.

Thanks!

Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions | 2 Comments »

Do You Know the Italian Song “Mano Mano Morte” and/or an Italian Version of “Mi Chacra”?

Friday, April 13th, 2007

Robert wrote me:

Hello Mama Lisa. I really enjoy your website. Grazie!
I am an adult learning Italian, and would like an easy Italian children’s song to teach my American students.

I know the song “Come to see my farm” (Mi Chacra) in Spanish, and would LOVE to find it translated into Italian. Do you know of any such translation? If not, I can use the McDonald’s farm translation.

Also, have you any info on “Mano Mano Morte”? My mother, from Salerno region, used to play this with me–shaking my hand, which was “dead,” there was a wolf at the door, etc. Do you have the words?

Grazie,
Robert Di Giulio

We have the Italian version of Old Mc Donald Had a Farm with a literal English translation. You can click the link to get to the song page.

If anyone can help out with “Mano Mano Morte” or “Come to see my farm” (Mi Chacra), please comment below. (I’d also love to be able to post the lyrics to “Mi Chacra” in Spanish and English, if anyone can provide those.)

Thanks!

Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, English, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions, Readers Questions, Spain, Spanish, Spanish Kids Songs | 11 Comments »

An Italian Rocking Song called Staccia minaccia

Thursday, May 25th, 2006

Thomas Tulipani wrote me, asking about an Italian song…

My paternal grandmother had a “rocking” song similar to the one on your blog site but not the same. She would sit us on her lap facing her and holding our hands. Singing the rhyme she would rock us back and forth and at the last line she would rock us all the way back onto her extended legs, simulating falling.

It started like the other rhyme:

Staccia (?) minaccia

But it only had two more lines. All I remember is a phonetic impression of my grandmother’s words that my mother (who never understood Italian) used when she performed the same game.

I asked Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français if she was familiar with this song. Here’s what she wrote…

I found this one in Italian:

Staccia minaccia
il babbo è andato a caccia
a caccia del bubù
il bubù lo buttiamo giù?

Here’s what I’ve been able to piece together in English…

Staccia = sieve, minaccia = threat
Daddy’s gone to hunt,
To hunt the scarecrow.
Do we throw the scarecrow away? (lit. down)

I really don’t know what this Staccia minaccia means, as I can’t figure out how you can sieve a threat, unless minaccia is only to rhyme with staccia and caccia.

Thanks for your help Monique!

I’m wondering if Staccia minaccia could be to get rid of (sift out) a threat, by hunting it down.

If anyone can shed further light on the meaning of this song, please comment below.

Thanks!

Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions, Staccia minaccia | 10 Comments »

Do you know the Italian song “Amberlina, Amberlina”?

Tuesday, May 16th, 2006

Patrizia wrote me…

I am looking for an Italian children’s song entitled “Amberlina, Amberlina”. If you have any leads, please let me know.

I’ve only ever hear one verse – something about smelling the roses. It’s delightful!

Thanks,

Patrizia

If anyone is familiar with this song, please comment below.

Thanks!

Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions | No Comments »

The Italian Song “Sega sega mastro Ciccio”, plus Someone’s Looking for the Lyrics to “Saga, Saga Master Cheech”

Wednesday, March 15th, 2006

Marie wrote me…

Hi,

Have you ever heard of a song that says, “Saga, saga master cheech, this is the casa of san Francesco”?

My mother said it means “Saw, saw master Francisco, this is the house of the lord.”

I would like to hear the song.

Thank you,

Marie

***
I asked Monique, who speaks Italian, and she wrote…

It sounds a little like the Italian song, Sega sega mastro Ciccio…

Sega sega mastro Ciccio
(Italian)

Sega sega mastro Ciccio
una patatina e una salsiccia
la salsiccia ce la mangiamo
e la patatina ce la conserviamo

which literally means in English:

Saw saw, master Ciccio,
A little potato and a sausage
The sausage, we eat it
And the little potato, we keep it.

Thanks Monique!
***

If anyone is familiar with Marie’s song, please comment below. If you’d like to send a midi or recording, please email me.

Thanks!

Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions | 21 Comments »

Looking for an Italian Song called “The Butcher Boy” in English

Monday, March 6th, 2006

Leon wrote me,

HELLO

MY GRANDCHILDREN HAVE BEEN AFTER ME FOR SOME TIME TO FIND THE ITALIAN AND ENGLISH WORDS FOR AN OLD ITALIAN SONG WE USED TO SING AS KIDS CALLED (IN ENGLISH) “THE BUTCHER BOY”.

IT WAS A PEPPY SONG, SET TO THE RHYTHM OF THE ITALIAN TARANTELLA. ANY IDEAS?

THANKS

LEON FRANCISCO

If anyone is familiar with this song, please comment below.

Thanks! Lisa

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Posted in Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Questions | 49 Comments »

In Italy, on January 6th, Befana Comes with Gifts for Kids for the Epiphany

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006

“Befana” is Italian for “Epiphany”. It’s also the name of a character from an interesting legend that strongly influenced the Italian traditions for celebrating this holiday.

On their way to deliver gifts to the baby Jesus, the Three Wise Men came across a woman named Befana. They asked her to come with them, but she refused, saying she had too much housework to do. Later she realized she was wrong. She ran off with her broom in search of the Magi, bearing her own presents for the baby Jesus. But she never caught up to them. It’s said that Befana is still searching for the baby Jesus.

In Italy, it’s Befana, and not Santa Claus, who goes around giving gifts to all the children, in imitation of the Three Wise men bringing gifts to Jesus.

Befana looks like a friendly witch, with a mole on her face and in tattered clothes. She flies on a broom and goes down the chimneys to deliver gifts to all the children.

Here’s a nursery song children chant in Italy for La Befana in Italian and with an English translation…

La Befana vien di notte

La Befana vien di notte
con le scarpe tutte rotte
col cappello alla romana
viva viva la Befana!

The Befana Comes at Night

The Befana comes at night
In worn out shoes
Dressed like a Roman
Long live the Befana!

Happy Befana Day!

Lisa

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Epiphany, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, La Befana Day, La Befana Songs, La Befana vien di notte - The Befana Comes at Night, La Befana vien di notte - The Befana Comes at Night, Languages | 12 Comments »

Italian Christmas Song “Tu scendi dalle stelle” – “You Come Down from the Stars”

Wednesday, December 21st, 2005

Here are the lyrics to Tu scendi dalle stelle from Italy, in Italian and with an English translation…

Tu scendi dalle stelle
(Italian)

Tu scendi dalle stelle
O Re del Cielo
E vieni in una grotta
Al freddo al gelo.
E vieni in una grotta
Al freddo al gelo.

O Bambino mio Divino
Io ti vedo qui a tremar,
O Dio Beato
Ah, quanto ti costò
L’avermi amato.
Ah, quanto ti costò
L’avermi amato.

A te che sei del mondo,
Il creatore
Mancano panni e fuoco,
O mio Signore.
Mancano panni e fuoco,
O mio Signore.

Caro eletto, Pargoletto,
Quanto questa povertà,
Piu m’innamora
Giacche ti fece amor
Povero ancora.
Giacche ti fece amor
Povero ancora.

Here’s a rough English translation of Tu scendi dalle stelle by Monique Palomares…

You Come Down from the Stars
(English)

You come down from the stars
Oh King of Heavens,
And you come in a cave
In the cold, in the frost.
And you come in a cave
In the cold, in the frost.

Oh my Divine Baby
I see you trembling here,
Oh Blessed God,
Ah, how much it cost you,
Your loving me.
Ah, how much it cost you,
Your loving me.

For you, who are of all the world
The creator,
No robes and fire,
Oh my Lord.
No robes and fire,
Oh my Lord.

Dear chosen one, little infant
This dire poverty,
Makes me love you more
Since Love made you
Poor now.
Since Love made you
Poor now.

Many thanks to Monique Palomares at Mama Lisa’s World en français for sending me the lyrics to Tu scendi dalle stelle and for the English translation.

For other Italian rhymes and children’s songs, visit Mama Lisa’s World’s Italy Page!

UPDATE: In a later blog entry, I reposted this song with 2 YouTube videos of Tu scendi dalle stelle. I chose those 2 videos because they’re enjoyable (of course!) and also because their styles widely differ from each other.

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Posted in Children's Songs, Christmas, Christmas Songs, Countries & Cultures, Holiday Songs, Holidays Around the World, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italy, Languages, Tu scendi dalle stelle - You Come Down from the Stars, Tu scendi dalle stelle - You Come Down from the Stars | 40 Comments »

A Grandmother’s Italian Rocking Song

Thursday, September 29th, 2005

Michele Schroeder wrote me…

My grandmother (Noni) Julia Iacobitti Grimani, was from Gioia dei Marsi (East of Roma in the Abruzzi Mountains). She came to America after most of her family was killed in the 1915 earthquake.

Noni sat us on her lap, face to face and rocked us back and forth while singing…

S’taccia, S’taccia

S’taccia, S’taccia (sift, sift)
Pane bianco le faccia (bread white) (make? face?)
Le faccia con la riccota (make with riccota)

Bucca na botta! (hole?) (napotta-cup?)
Bucca na botta!!

S’taccia, Staccione
mi fa camicciola
una bianca, una rosa

Bucca na botta!
Bucca na botta!!

Of course we can only guess at the spelling since it came to us verbally. This is as close as I, my two sisters and my 84-year-old mother could come to the SOUND of the original.

My mother insists that “faccia” (said facce’) does NOT mean “face”, but “make”. She didn’t know what “bucca na botta” meant, but says it’s definitely “na” between the words. When we looked in the Italian dictionary, all we could find was the word “napotta” meaning cup. The closest word to “bucca” we found, was spelled “buco” which means “hole”. The meaning of the phrase then could be “hole in the cup” since they were making bread.

Thank-you for keeping the nursery rhymes alive, I hope this is helpful to others as well. Maybe someone reading your web-site will recognize my grandmother’s little rocking song and be able to help with the translation.

Sincerely,

Michele Schroeder

Please write me if you can help with this song. Thanks! -Lisa

For other Italian rhymes and children’s songs, visit Mama Lisa’s World’s Italy Page!

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Posted in Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Italian, Italian Children's Songs, Italian Nursery Rhymes, Italy, Languages, Questions | 8 Comments »

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Can Anyone Help with Some Italian Nursery Rhymes and Songs?

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Can Anyone Help with an Italian Kids Song?

Do You Know the Italian Song “Mano Mano Morte” and/or an Italian Version of “Mi Chacra”?

An Italian Rocking Song called Staccia minaccia

Do you know the Italian song “Amberlina, Amberlina”?

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In Italy, on January 6th, Befana Comes with Gifts for Kids for the Epiphany

Italian Christmas Song “Tu scendi dalle stelle” – “You Come Down from the Stars”

A Grandmother’s Italian Rocking Song