Kids Songs Around the World with English Translations
or French Translations
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This is the Music Archive Page
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Archive for the 'Music' Category
Contents
Posts
We Now Have 100 Languages on Mama Lisa’s World!
Thursday, November 19th, 2009This week we added two languages to Mama Lisa’s World of International Songs, bringing us up to a hundred languages on the site!
We added a song from West Sumatra in Indonesia where they speak Minangkabau.
We also added a Frisian Lullaby in the West Frisian language. The Frisian language is the closest language to English (after Scots – which some consider to be an English dialect as opposed to a separate language).
Here’s a link to our Languages A to Z Page – to access all of our languages.
We now feature 116 countries and cultures. Here’s a link to our Countries and Cultures A to Z Page – to access all of our songs and rhymes by country/culture.
Once again I would like to thank Monique Palomares’ tireless work in France helping me with the material and all the countless people out there who have contributed songs and time to the sites… also to my husband Jason Pomerantz for his technical support, to my kids for speaking quietly when I’m in the middle of a difficult translation (they’re very patient with me) and to my relatives who generally understand when I don’t call back right away because I’ve been lost in my work for hours or days. Merci à tous!
Can Anyone Help with a Croatian Song that Sounds Like, “Kille killi jakasaka okoama bum”?
Monday, October 19th, 2009Michael wrote:
Hi Lisa,
We just returned from a vacation in Croatia. We are German and have 3 little girls. They learned a song from a “mini disco”. I hope you can tell me the name of the song.
From what we understood it sounds like this:
Kille killi jakasaka okoama bum (repeats) Olee mal jole…….
Do you know how this song is named and what the lyrics are?
Thanks in advance for any information.
Regards,
Michael Andres
If anyone can help Michael, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Chanda Mama – “Moon” Video by Playing for Change
Friday, October 2nd, 2009Chanda Mama is a song from India about the moon. Different versions exist in the various languages of India. This one is in the Telugu language, a language mainly spoken in southern India.
Playing for Change made the Chanda Mama video with musicians around the world. Playing for Change creates music all over the world to make money to build music and art schools in communities that are in need of inspiration and hope. Music and art can have meaning across cultures and be appreciated by people of all economic classes and educational backgrounds. What better way to improve the world!
The lyrics to the Playing for Change version of Chanda Mama (in the video) are something like this…
Chanda maama chanda maama raavayyaa
nannu yettukoni muddulaadu kovayyaamaaraalu nenenni cesinaa gaaraalu nive cupinaa
maaraalu nenenni cesinaa gaaraalu nive cupinaaChanda maama chanda maama raavayyaa
nannu yettukoni muddulaadu kovayyaaIf anyone can help with the meaning of these lyrics (and/or if you can verify or correct the original lyrics), please let us know in the comments below.
We have another version of Chanda Mama which is a Telugu children’s rhyme, with an mp3. You can click the link to hear it and to read the lyrics in Telugu with an English translation.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds – It’s Really about a Kid’s Drawing!
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009I clearly remember being seven years old and listening to Elton John’s rendition of the Beatle’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds in my suburban backyard… Looking up at the sky and imagining a girl there, possibly me, floating with diamonds, a rainbow in the background (I guess due to the colorful imagery in the song), and clouds, in a jungle of tall flowers.
That’s the image I saw in my head every time I heard the song… until years later, when I became a teenager, it was dashed to the ground, and shattered upon being told that the song was about drug use. Somehow that tainted the song for me and made it less interesting… somehow mundane… not of a person’s own, pure imagination, but drug induced.
Today, my childhood image has been redeemed. I learned that the song actually came from a childhood drawing by John Lennon’s son Julian. You can see the drawing below. When John asked his son what the drawing was about, Julian said, “It’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” Lucy was Julian’s playmate in school.
The song “Lucy in the Song with Diamonds” was also influenced by Lewis Carroll. Paul McCartney said, “We did the whole thing like an Alice in Wonderland idea, being in a boat on the river, slowly drifting downstream with those great cellophane flowers towering over your head. Every so often it broke off and you saw Lucy with Diamonds all over the sky.”
That is a much more interesting origin of this song! What’s more, it lets me remember my original conception of it… and feel like that’s what it was really about… the feeling of the innocent, colorful, originality of childhood.
Oh happy day! To regain a childhood perspective!
Hattip: Steve Bunche’s Blog
*****
On a sadder note, the real Lucy Vodden (née O’Donnell), Julian’s playmate, recently passed away from Lupus at the age of 46.
Birds on the Wire Video
Saturday, September 12th, 2009Two New Mozart Pieces Found and Played for the 1st Time
Sunday, August 2nd, 2009Two new Mozart piano pieces were found in a French library in January. The pieces are the first movement of the concerto in G, molto allegro, and a prelude in G. They were most likely composed when Mozart was 7 or 8.
The pieces were played for the first time to a modern audience on Sunday, in Austria, in a house Mozart lived in, on Mozart’s very own piano! You can hear part of the concert in the YouTube video below.
Ah, to be young and a genius! Nice!
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
UPDATE: You can hear the performances of Mozart’s two new compositions that were recently discovered (by clicking the link). The full pieces should be available to hear at The Mozart Foundation Site soon (if you can’t hear them all now).
Link of Spanish Kids CD’s
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009I stumbled upon this page today: a list of some musicians who have recorded children’s music in Spanish.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with a Ghanaian Song “Be Be Be Lay Bo”?
Friday, June 5th, 2009Susan Gerber Berning wrote:
Hi Lisa. I’m looking for the Ghanaian words to the song that sounds like this “Be Be Be lay bo, Eiyhah yay ah yay,” I remember it as a song they used to pull boats into the shore. Help!? Tough one, I know. It’s a Ghana traditional song– everyone seemed to know it. Thanks!
If anyone can help out Susan with the lyrics and/or an English translation, and/or identifying the language, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Raffi Lyrics and Musical Arrangements
Sunday, May 31st, 2009Many children love Raffi’s music! I’ve just discovered something wonderful on his site… Raffi’s Lyrics and Scores – which include his specific arrangements to many of the songs he sings.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Songs from Right After the Slaves Were Freed in the US
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009The US government did a series of interviews with former slaves in the 1930’s. Project Gutenberg, has posted some of the interviews. They’re called “Slave Narratives – A Folk History of Slavery in the United States – From Interviews with Former Slaves”.
I found some songs in one of the the interviews that I thought were interesting. Below you can read excerpts from the interview, plus the songs. It was done in February 1937 with Mrs. Fannie Berry, Ex-slave from Petersburg, Virginia. The first part of the excerpt is about what happened to Mrs. Berry after the slaves were freed…
Now, Miss Sue, take up. I jes’ like to talk to you, honey ’bout dem days ob slavery; ’cause you look like you wan’ta hear all ’bout ‘em. All ’bout de ol’ rebels; an’ dem niggers who left wid de Yankees an’ were sat free, but, poor things, dey had no place to go after dey got freed. Baby, all us wuz helpless an’ ain’t had nothin’.
I wuz free a long time ‘fo’ I knew it. My Mistess still hired me out, ’til one day in talkin’ to de woman she hired me to, she, “God bless her soul”, she told me, “Fannie yo’ are free, an’ I don’t have to pay your Master for you now.” You stay with me. She didn’t give me no money, but let me stay there an’ work for vitals an’ clothes ’cause I ain’t had no where to go. Jesus, Jesus, God help us! Um, Um, Um! You Chillun don’t know. I didn’t say nothin’ when she wuz tellin’ me, but done ‘cided to leave her an’ go back to the white folks dat fus own me…
Here Mrs. Berry told some songs. The first one I found interesting because it has the “kemo kimo” sound that we find in some versions of Froggie Went a Courtin (which has Ki-Me-O in it)…
…here’s another one we use to sing. ‘Member de war done bin when we would sing dese songs. Listen now:
SONG
Kemo, Kimo, dar you are
Heh, ho rump to pume did’dle.
Set back pinkey wink,
Come Tom Nippecat
Sing song Kitty cat, can’t
You carry me o’er?(2)
Up de darkies head so bold
Sing song, Kitty, can’t you
Carry me O’er?
Sing Song, Kitty, can’t yo’
Carry me home?Here Mrs. Berry talked about the war and mentioned a song from the end when the slaves were finally free…
I wuz at Pamplin an’ de Yankees an’ Rebels were fightin’ an’ dey were wavin’ the bloody flag an’ a confederate soldier wuz upon a post an’ they were shootin’ terribly. Guns were firin’ everywhere.
All a sudden dey struck up Yankee Doodle Song. A soldier came along [and] called to me, “How far is it to the Rebels”, an I honey, wuz feared to tell him. So, I said, “I don’t know”. He called me again. Scared to death [I was]. I recollect gittin’ behind the house an’ pointed in the direction. You see, ef de Rebels knew dat I told the soldier, they would have killed me.
These were the Union men goin’ after Lee’s army which had don’ bin ‘fore dem to Appomattox.
The Colored regiment came up behind an’ when they saw the Colored regiment they put up the white flag. (Yo’ ‘member ‘fo’ dis red or bloody flag was up). Now, do you know why dey raised dat white flag? Well, honey, dat white flag wuz a token dat Lee, had surrendered. Glory! Glory! yes, child the Negroes are free, an’ when they knew dat dey were free dey, Oh! Baby! began to sing:
Mamy don’t yo’ cook no mo’,
Yo’ ar’ free, yo’ ar’ free.
Rooster don’t yo’ crow no mo’,
Yo’ ar’ free, yo’ ar’ free.
Ol’ hen, don’t yo’ lay no mo’ eggs,
Yo’ free, yo’ free.Sech rejoicing an’ shoutin’, you never he’rd in you’ life.
Yes, I can recollect de blowin’ up of the Crater. We had fled, but I do know ’bout the shellin’ of Petersburg. We left Petersburg when de shellin’ commenced an’ went to Pamplin in box cars, gettin’ out of de way. Dem were scared times too, cause you looked to be kilt any minute by stray bullets. Just before the shellin’ of Petersburg, dey were sellin’ niggers for little nothin’ hardly.
Junius Broadie, a white man bought some niggers, but dey didn’t stay slave long, cause de Yankees came an’ set ‘em free.
If you’re interested in reading more interviews, go to Project Gutenberg and look up “Work Projects Administration”.
Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with a Russian Childrens Music CD?
Friday, May 22nd, 2009Chris 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 miracle kids). she has adopted many handicapped children and is currently going through the process of adopting a 7 yr old boy from Russia. he has severe handicaps that have been complicated over the years by medical experiments gone wrong. she’s a great mom and truly has a heart for these kids. she leaves soon for her first trip to meet him.
Since i have my hands full with my family, i can’t contribute much to her, but would like to show my support for what she is doing. i would love to have a CD of Russian kid’s songs for her to take with her so she can start working at bonding with her new son.
I lack the knowledge of how to obtain such a CD and am looking for help. Your page off google was the best I’ve seen and it really got my hopes up that i can do what I’m looking to do. please help me.
Thank you,
D ChrisHere’s what I found so far…
I found one cd on Amazon of Russian kids songs at:
Children Songs – Constellation of the Hits vol. 2 (in Russian)
If anyone can recommend any other Russian kids cd’s, or if you can help out D., please let us know in the comments below…
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Four White Horses – Caribbean Folk Song
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009My daughter taught me Four White Horses yesterday. She recently learned it in her music class. It’s a Caribbean Folk Song and a hand clapping game all wrapped up into one!
Here are the lyrics…
Four White Horses
Hand Clapping SongFour white horses, on the river,
Hey, hey, hey, up tomorrow,
Up tomorrow is a rainy day.
Come on up to the shallow bay,
Shallow bay is a ripe banana,
Up tomorrow is a rainy day.Here’s a YouTube Video so you can see one way to play the hand clapping game (you’ll have to wait to get past the theme song at the beginning of the video)…
Here you can hear a chorus singing it…
Check out our song page of Four White Horses for an mp3 and other info about the song.
Feel free to share any versions you know of this song in the comments below. We also welcome any info about the meaning and history of the song.
Cheers!
Mama Lisa
Spanish Wrangler: Great Music for Exposing Kids to Spanish
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009The Spanish Wrangler sings really fun music for kids! The songs are mainly in English, but they’re peppered with Spanish words and phrases. Most of the songs tell a story – which children love. What a great way to expose kids to the Spanish language!
The Wrangler’s music is cool. You feel like you’re sauntering in a Western town. I thought it had a bit of a bluesy feel to it. So I asked the Spanish Wrangler how he would classify his music. He said, “a word I’ve seen used (and sometimes use myself) to describe my stuff is ‘roots-based.’ I think that signals that the songs are blues & country with some folk thrown in…” The folk is where the stories come from.
Check out the Wrangler singing in the song below (he’s great with the children!). You can see how he teaches Spanish words…
You can hear the whole song, plus others, on his site at Spanish Wrangler.
Here’s a link to buy the Spanish Wrangler’s CD’s.
Thanks to Wil Thomas aka the Spanish Wrangler for sharing his music with us!
Mama Lisa
There Are Many Ways to Be Creative
Friday, March 27th, 2009Never forget, creativity is only limited by your own imagination. One guy played all these parts…
blue and yellow from edison on Vimeo.…Important to remember with children too!
Thanks to Andrew Sullivan for pointing out this cool video!
Mama Lisa
Beaker’s Ninth Symphony
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
Sing or Rap to Make Your Job More Fun
Sunday, March 15th, 2009Life can and should be more like a musical.
So the next time you’re bored on your job, why not break out into a song?!
The #1 Song on This Date in History
Friday, March 13th, 2009
At ThisDayInMusic.com you can find out the #1 song on different dates in time… when you were born, when someone you know was born, on an anniversary, etc. You can check for the top songs on different dates in the US, UK and Australia.
The #1 song today, March 13th 2009, is Right Round by Flo Rida.
If you’d like to know the top ten hits for the day you’re reading this post, check out Billboard’s Hot 100.
Blog about Living in New Orleans
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009Check out the Toulouse Blog about life in New Orleans.
Here’s an excerpt of what he had to say approaching the Mardi Gras…
When one is called to Carnival, the first question will always be: what do I wear?
…You must simply find or make a mask, one that calls you to wear it, that dictates the costume that accompanies it, that leads you to surrender yourself to the spirit of the mask.
It need not even be a mask. My “mask” this year is a tri-corner, Asian-styled hat. I do not have the costume, but I already see the costume. When you can see the character in the object, when you can see yourself in the character, you will have found the one.
Without that mask, you can only be The Tourist. We see them at Carnival common as sparrows, and the camera is their mask. They come, take Carnival’s blurry picture and go home with fabulous hangovers… If you come do not choose to be The Tourist. Carnival is an occasion to be the spirit you know inside you. So take on your mask,… and enter through the gate The Tourists never pass, down the carriageway that opens into the courtyard at the heart of Carnival. It is filled with masks and spirits.
If reading the Toulouse blog gets you in the New Orleans mood, head on over to Home of the Groove to listen to some New Orleans music – (including some songs typically played in the Mardi Gras parade). You’ll feel like you’re in the heart of New Orleans. Bon voyage!
Mama Lisa
Traditional Scottish Music Downloads
Thursday, February 12th, 2009Ashley wrote to me looking for some Scottish songs to download. Here’s what she wrote…
Hi Lisa,
I came across your website while I was looking for some traditional Scottish songs for my primary two class, your website is great!
I was just wondering if you knew of anywhere I could download music to go with the lyrics?
I’m looking for music for;
Three Wee Craws
Ally Bally
Murder Murder Polis
The Big Ship Sails
My Girl’s a Corker
I’ve a Laddie in America
Dance to your DaddieIf you know of any websites to download traditional Scottish music, please let me know!
Thanks,
Ashley
We have lyrics to traditional Scottish songs on Mama Lisa’s World. a couple of them have mp3’s to download.
I’ve been able to find the following songs to download from Amazon (clicking the link will bring you to the download page – most downloads are .99 cents per song):
Ally Bally – MP3 Downloads
The Big Ship Sails – MP3 Downloads
My Girl’s a Corker – MP3 DownloadIf anyone knows where you can download the other songs, or if you’d like to sing any of them for us, please comment below or email me.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Listen to a Lovely Guitar Solo
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009Here’s a simple guitar solo in a sort of Renaissance style (in Dorian and Ionian modes), composed and performed by David W Solomons….
If you’re interested in performing this piece yourself, you can purchase the score at a very reasonable price.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
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