Kim wrote asking for help with a Russian song.  Here’s her email: I believe this is a Russian folk song I learned at school many years ago.  I am unable to remember the last verse, but I do remember the tune.  I would appreciate any help to fill in the blanks  I believe it ends with,...

Theresa wrote asking for help with a childhood rhyme that’s possibly of Russian or German origin: Greetings from WA State. My grandfather passed away years ago, and when I was a small girl, I remember him sitting little ones on his knee and bouncing them to a familiar sing-song.  I DO NOT have any idea what...

Florent is looking for a Russian rhyme or kids song pre-dating 1892.  Can anyone help?  If so, please comment below or email me. Thanks! Mama Lisa

Caroline sent a lovely Russian lullaby with a story about her childhood: I like your site Russian songs for children. I don’t have a Cyrillic keyboard so I’ll do my best to transliterate. Bayou-bayoushkji-bayou, Seedjit kotjik na kriyou, On nje bedjin nje bahat, Oo njevo yestj m’noho rebjat Vcje pah lallichkum seedjatj Kashou smasljetsum yedjatj. Bayou-bayoushkji-bayou. English Translation: Hush-a-bye, Hush-a-bye, Sits a kitty...

Gilbert wrote: Hi, I would be grateful if someone could help. I am trying to find the Russian lyrics for a children’s song about a bear (Mischa) who goes into the woods and gets a cone dropped on his head… does anyone know the words in Russian? Thanks G If anyone can help Gilbert with the original Russian lyrics...

Chris wrote: Hi my name is D. I’m on a mission to find Russian children’s songs. I found your page on the web and liked what I saw. I’m looking to make a CD of Russian children’s songs for personal use. I’ll explain why. My mom is a foster mom for medically fragile kids (wheelchair and medical...

Mikel is looking for the lyrics of a Russian song. This song is in the family but they don’t know what the lyrics mean. What they sing sounds like “chisi-chisi ietil uil napanta le vozkutpil”. If anyone could provide the proper spelling in Russian and/or a translation, that would be great. Feel free to write...

Martin wrote: Hello from a sunny but quite COLD New York City! I am wondering if anyone knows the answer to this. Not being too knowledgeable about the Belarusian language, I’m assuming that this song my maternal grandmother used to sing to me when I was in my single digits was in Russian or...

We just added a recording of the Russian finger play Magpie-Magpie – Сорока-Сорока to Mama Lisa’s World’s Russian Song Pages. Click the link for the lyrics, translations and mp3 recording. Mama Lisa

Sue sent us this question: Does anyone know a Russian child’s finger play that goes something like this: saroka verona na pripchke sidela …. …. (with each finger): tsmudila, tsmudila, tsmudila; tsmudila: aye tsmudila My grandmother used to play this with me and I’d like to pass it on to my granddaughter. Thanks. If anyone can help Sue out, please comment below or email...

My friend Marijka, whose family is from Ukraine, is looking for the full words to a childrens song that her grandmother used to sing to her when she was young. It’s about a butterfly. She’s not sure if it’s originally Ukrainian or Russian. Marijka recorded for me the part she knows. ...

I’ve been asked twice in the past week for free multilingual books. Here’s a link I found called Books in Multiple Languages. They have English children’s books with translations in Spanish, French, Polish, Italian, Romanian, German, Chinese, Finnish, Swedish, Maori, Greek, Dutch, Farsi (Persian), Afrikaans, Croatian, Turkish, Russian, Japanese, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hebrew,...

Sharon wrote: Hi, I am hoping that someone out there remembers an old game that mothers, grandmothers, aunts and friends used to play with little ones. I think the rhyme is either Russian or Yiddish. The baby’s hand is held palm up and the mother points her finger into the middle of the child’s hand...

Edie Rosen wrote: Does anyone know the history of the lullaby, My Pigeon House? I would suspect it’s Russian… my grandmother sang it to us when we were little, and she would be way past 100 yrs old today. I sang it to my kids and we are now singing it to my grandchildren. ...

I recently received this email: My mom who was an orphan remembers her dad (from the Ukraine) singing a song that sounds like “estonya monya ti la zuka; estonya monya lo bi…” can anyone relate? If anyone can help with this song, please comment below, or email me. Thanks! Lisa

Christine Clemmons wrote me… I have a friend, Renee, who is Russian-American. She is pregnant and due in June. She has told me a few times a story about her Great-Grandfather, who was Russian. He used to sing/say to her when she was a baby something like… Russian Transliteration “Huts-ka, Huts-ka Naya Huts-ka” English Translation “Tiptoe through the strawberry...