Jade wrote asking for help with an Italian song from Toritto.  Here’s her email: Hey. Love your site. I was looking for a song my nonna used to sing to me as a child. She was from Toritto, a small town outside Bari. It’s in dialect. I’m probably going to butcher the spelling but this is...

Marlena wrote asking for help with a Spanish kids song or lullaby.  Here’s her email: Hi,  I am looking for a song with the refrain "soongee, soongee, soongee" that is sung to infants.    The song is in Spanish.  My grandparents were originally from Mexico.  My family has sung that song to babies ever since I can...

In English, when you don’t understand something, you say "It’s all Greek to me".  In French you say either, "C’est de l’hébreu" (It’s in Hebrew) or "C’est du chinois" (It’s in Chinese).  In Spanish you say, "Me suena a chino" (Sounds like Chinese to me). It would be interesting to learn what other languages people...

Grant wrote asking for help with a rhyme he learnt from his grandmother.  Here’s his question: Hi, My grandmother’s parents were from Yugoslavia and she taught us a nursery rhyme from them which I would love to know the meaning. I am typing this as if the rhyme is in English. Any help would be great....

Debra wrote asking for help with a Yiddish rhyme: The following has been passed down through the ages (at least 150 years) by my mothers family, though we can only guess what the words mean now or the correct spelling of the words. I am hoping you may recognize it or be able to decipher it...

Jeff wrote asking for help with a Yiddish song.  Here’s his email: Hi, I grew up reciting a Yiddish rhyme or song where we pinched the skin on the back of each others hands and bobbed them up and down while saying something like (and I’m just writing what it sounded like): "Sipicle sipicle amadal, kimsimir and kamadal,...

Rachel wrote looking for help with an Italian song: My Italian grandmother used to sing to me a song that went something like. Peter peter pastela. canavane canela canela cususi felule mascule di...

Peter wrote asking for help with a song his grandmother sang him.  Here’s his email: Hello, I was hoping you’d be able to help with a song my grandmother sang to us when we were kids. It seems nobody can remember the whole thing but it starts like this: "There was a young man who lived on...

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,...

Jen wrote to me looking for help with a childhood rhyme.  Here’s her email: I stumbled onto your site while looking for an answer to an age-old family question. When I was a little girl, my grandma and grandpa, both of whom were Portuguese, used to recite a rhyme to me in Portuguese while...

Bonnie wrote asking for help with a Swedish lullaby.  Here’s her email: Hello!  I just discovered your lovely site when looking for more words to a Swedish lullaby my father (85) tried to remember all his adult life.  We only have this little bit: Ro, ro sharen Placka biben baren Do you know any more?  We would love to...

Cristina wrote asking for help with a childhood song her grandma sang to her.  Here’s her note: Mama Lisa, I am trying to figure out the name of a song my Nonna used to sing to me as a baby. She is from Bari and I cannot find the song anywhere. It went something like “chic de...

Debbie wrote asking fro help with a childhood song her Irish grandmother sang to her son.  Here’s her email: Hi, My grandmother came here from Ireland at 14. She died in 1971 and was 85. She used to sing to my brother when he was a baby in the carriage and my son the same. It was...

Ed wrote asking for help with a Cuban Kids Song.  Here’s his letter: Dear Mama Lisa, As a child I heard my father sing a song that he said was sung by Cuban children when he lived there in the 1930’s. The refrain was “Curi, Curi Canga, malamalamalanga” and, ultimately, was the only part of the song that...

Peter wrote asking for help with some Ukrainian rhymes.  Here’s his email: I wonder if anyone can help me with some verses my father use to recite, all I have is some of the words, and the basic ideas behind the verses. One involved fish and vegetables dancing: Пастернак (Parsnip) Риба (Fish) The second involved a father sitting on a...

Mike wrote asking about a Hungarian song.  Here’s his email: My Hungarian mother would sing a song to us as children …. The first line of the song started “PeePee Madar …” I know the first line is pronounced: Peepee Madar; (wee bird) … ‘jetta ega’ ‘hosa’, ‘volta moldra’ ‘kesh kasemba’ ‘hosa’, …. , ‘aba kolba, aba kolba’...

Jody wrote: Do you know this tune?  I don’t recognize it.  I found you on the internet.  Thanks for your help. Jody B If anyone can help with the tune, please comment below. Thanks! Mama Lisa

Melissa wrote: Hey I love your site! My grandmother, from Scotland, would always recite a poem to me about a chick hatching from an egg….”3 weeks I lived inside that egg, slowly, slowly getting bigger every day”.  I cannot find any mention of it anywhere on the internet, please help? Thank you, Melissa O’Leary If anyone can help...

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...