Can Anyone Help with a Song with the Line, “Like a Tree, We Would Grow”?
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Readers are asking...
Most recently:
Can Anyone Help with a Czech or Slovak Kids Song?
Lewis Grimm wrote:
Hi. My grandmother used to sing a children's song to me in Czech or Slovak. I believe it is about a little hunter. It went along the lines of (phonetically): Ya simali nissli vechek... Any ideas?If anyone can help Lewis, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks! Lisa ...
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Can Someone Help with an Italian Kids Song Called “Quand ero piccolino”?
Thursday, July 16th, 2009I 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 donI 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
Can Anyone Help with a Song with the Line, “Like a Tree, We Would Grow”?
Monday, July 13th, 2009Alicia wrote:
Dear all,
I have had a friend at home that goes to a Canadian school in Cuba. He sings a song:
Like a tree
We would grow
We’re a family
Don´t you know
We were planted a long time ago
Like a tree we would try
Branches reaching
Towards the sky…Or something like that. He sang it very quickly and I couldn’t write the whole song. I’m searching on the internet for the song, but I can’t find it, and the children travel abroad…
Please, do you know the lyrics of this song?
Thank you very much for your help.
Sincerely.
Alicia Gómez.
If anyone can help with this song, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with a Norwegian Rhyme with the Line, “Kan du gleme gammel Norge”?
Monday, June 22nd, 2009David Russett wrote:
I’m trying to find the words to a Norwegian rhyme or song. The only part I know goes something like:
Kan du gleme gammel Norge?
O vey! Ya, ya, gleme kan!Or it may be:
Kan du huske gammel Norge?
Ove! Ya, Ya, huske kan!Does anyone know the rest of this little rhyme? Some of the old Norwegians when I was a kid knew this and would recite it. I know there is much more to it that those two lines.
If anyone can help David with the Norwegian words and/or an English translation to this song, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with a Rhyme Sounding Like, “Oddly boddlee finga hoof”? It’s Most Likely German!
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009David Stewart wrote:
Lisa, maybe you can help me with a poem my mother (now 78) learned from her grandmother when she was a child. I believe it is German and she has no idea what it means but has asked many people the meaning and has never found out. Your help would be greatly appreciated. It goes something like this (of course the spelling is off):
Oddly boddlee finga hoof
Steck ta bow wow
Also goot
Katch s-mouse
Bow wow schnauzIf anyone can help David with the original words to this rhyme and/or a translation, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Lyrics to Anna Banana and Hannah Banana with an MP3
Friday, June 5th, 2009A third grader named Marisa taught me a hand clapping rhyme called “Hannah Banana”. It comes from a jump rope rhyme called “Anna Banana”. The lyrics to “Anna Banana” are:
Anna Banana
Plays the piana.
All she can play
Is the Star Spangled Banner.
Anna Banana split.“Hannah Banana”, on the other hand, is a hand clapping rhyme. What’s interesting to me is that “Anna” switched to “Hannah”. We have two theories about why this might have happened. The first is simply is that “Hannah” is now a more popular name in the US than “Anna”. Children on the playground may have heard “Anna” as “Hannah” since the names sound so similar, and switched it. Our other theory is that “Hannah Banana” is somewhat close to “Hannah Montana”, the popular character from the children’s TV show. Children may have switched the rhyme to “Hannah Banana” based on that similarity. We may never know for sure why there’s now a version of “Anna Banana” called “Hannah Banana”, but it’s interesting to speculate.
Here’s the new rhyme “Hannah Banana”, with instructions for playing it and an mp3 of Marisa chanting it…
Hannah Banana
Plays the piana
All she could play
Is split she’s an idiot.
(Repeat)Istructions for Hand Clapping Game:
1st 3 lines of Rhyme:1. Clap your own hands
2. Clap your partner’s hand diagonally
3. Clap your own hands
4. Clap your partner’s other hand diagonally
5. Repeat 1 – 4Last line of Rhyme: Move feet out (like a little split).
Keep repeating the rhyme – each time moving feet out more on the last line – whoever falls over first loses.
Many thanks to Marisa for teaching me this rhyme and for chanting it for us!
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa Banana
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
Are There “Correct” Versions of Traditional Nursery Rhymes and Songs?
Thursday, May 28th, 2009People often write to us looking for the correct version of a song or rhyme. Monique Palomares, who I work with on the songs and rhymes that are posted on Mama Lisa’s World wrote the following about this topic…
Until mass media devices were available, songs were mostly passed down through generations by oral transmission. Some of them are known to have authors because we can track them back to a written document mentioning the authors’ names and how they wrote them. But most traditional songs are anonymous. Therefore, there were no set versions. People would adapt the songs to their own surroundings or would forget a word and sing another, swap verses or lines or add a new one. This is why there isn’t such a thing as “THE TRUE version” or “THE CORRECT lyrics”… when talking about anonymous traditional songs.
What seems to be for each of us “the true, genuine, correct…lyrics ” is the version we learned, generally when we were a child. So it’s “always” been that way for us in our heads.
Unless a song has an author who left a copy of his work, when a song/rhyme has variants, there is only a” MOST KNOWN/SPREAD version”. Some songs have tens of versions… so imagine all the nursery rhymes or finger plays that every mom sings to her baby, multiplied by all the mothers out there, multiplied by all the times they may sing them differently according to their sense of humor, the babies’ sense of humor…! (Check out the many versions of Ride Ride Ranke and you’ll see what I mean!)
Monique Palomares has translated most of Mama Lisa’s World into French and Spanish. You can see her translations on Mama Lisa’s World en français and Mama Lisa’s World en español.
Can Someone Help with 2 Danish or Swedish Nursery Rhymes? We Have a Recording of Them!
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009Lori wrote:
Dear Mama Lisa,
I am so excited to find this website because I have been searching for many years to find out about two Danish or Swedish nursery rhymes (you can listen to them by clicking the link). My mother’s beloved grandfather, Lars Christensen, used to bounce her on his knee and recite these rhymes. She then passed them on to me…and neither one of us know what they mean. Lars’ parents were both from Denmark: His father from the Brenderup, Odense, area and his mother from Lynge, Juteland area. So we think the rhymes may be Danish and probably date from the early 1800’s. However, Lars’ wife’s parents were from Sweden: Her father from Vallby, Kirkedinge area and her mother from Sallerup, Malmohus area. So there is a possibility that they are Swedish.
They might be so distorted coming from the mouth of an old Danish man through the memory of a small American girl and passed on to another generation, but I am hopeful that someone may recognize them.
My dear mother’s 80th birthday is coming up and I would love to surprise her with a written version or reading of the original, an English interpretation, or any information about any one of these two nursery rhymes. No matter how silly, they are very important to us because they are a link to our sacred, and loved ancestral roots.
Thank you so much,
Lori
If anyone can help out Lori, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
PS We know the first rhyme is a version of Ride ride ranke, and Lori checked the versions posted on the blog in the past, but couldn’t find it there.
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
Does Anyone Know a Swedish Lullaby That Sounds Like “Tsat tun lit and forglit and paratntray”?
Thursday, May 21st, 2009Leslie wrote:
My grandmother is dying of cancer. When I was little she used to sing a Swedish lullaby to me about a little bird and sweet milk. It goes something like this:
Tsat tun lit and forglit and paratntray…
quilint and vockor lisit…….spornot mot, ….reset…sit and milk made sovary
silk and sank till savory…daiska lilla …mot
por into por reseMy mom has asked me to track this down so we can sing it to her. She may not have long to live…days.
Please help me if you can. Does anyone know what this song is?
Much love!
LesleyIf anyone can help Leslie, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks so much!
Mama Lisa
Does Anyone Know a Short Poem or Rhyme about Spring?
Wednesday, May 20th, 2009Rebeca Garcia Mendoza wrote
Hi! I’m a Spanish girl who is preparing resources to teach English to Spanish children. I’m looking for rhymes about seasons and I have a problem. I cannot find a short one of Spring.
If anybody knows one, please, tell me!
Thanks.If anyone can help out Rebeca, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
PS FYI I did find this nursery rhyme riddle about all the seasons:
In Spring I look gay,
Decked in comely array,
In Summer more clothing I wear;
When colder it grows,
I fling off my clothes,
And in Winter quite naked appear.Scroll down for the answer..
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
A tree!
Can Anyone Help with Two Finnish Sayings?
Friday, May 15th, 2009Paul Gogojuice asked the following question on the Mama Lisa’s World Facebook Group:
Hi all. My grandmother is full Finnish and as a child she always had 2 different sayings that she’d say to us. I don’t know how to spell them or anything, but I’m going to do my best to explain them.
The first one was about a bird coming to get you. It sounded like “Keeva kava, asa houka toula. Skoopy skoopy skoopy”.
The second was about a pastor coming for dinner and sounded like “poplien appel poppel dopple” or something like that.
Any help would be amazing and would make my 10 siblings VERY happy. Thanks so much.
If anyone can help Paul, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
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
Can Someone Help with Some Hungarian Children’s Songs?
Monday, May 11th, 2009Gabrielle wrote to me:
Can someone please help me find some Hungarian children songs?
My grandmother was Hungarian, she use to sing me many children songs. I do not speak Hungarian so I will write it as it sounds to me.
1) Gimbelem mogulbulum momeliyam
2) -Sárga csikó, csengő rajta
3) meyogudus, meyogudus conisraro
Konisraro, konisraro fogisbayo
El le lila, mashinistac
Qui agudus qui agudus tszikotzistaThank you so much
Gabrielle Atherton
If anyone can help Gabrielle, please comment below or email me at lisa@mamalisa.com -Thanks
Mama Lisa
Does Anyone Know a Rhyme about Moving on Different Days of the Week?
Sunday, May 10th, 2009AFG wrote to me:
Have you any knowledge of a rhyme which includes each day of the week and has to do with “Moving House” ?
i.e…
Move on Monday and . . .
Move on Tuesday and . . .
Move on Wednesday and . . .
etc. etc
AFG.
If anyone can help out with this rhyme, please comment below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Does Anyone Know a Song or Rhyme with the Line, “Zumba zumbita, gala gazita”?
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009Judith Gallanda Schmitt wrote:
Has anyone ever heard of a song, nursery rhyme, etc. that starts with ‘zumba zumbita, gala gazita’? Forgive the spelling.
I’d be curious to know what language it’s in too and what country it’s from.
If anyone can help out Judith, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with Any Songs from Honduras, Guatemala and/or Belize?
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009I received these two notes below on the Mama Lisa’s World Facebook Group and was wondering if anyone could help?
1) Juanita Edington wrote…
“Love all of the resources on mama lisa’s world regarding songs of countries around the world. I needed songs from various Central and South American countries and found many to use at school with the only ones that I still needed were Honduras, Guatemala and Belize.”
Here’s another one…
2) Laura Gurdo wrote…
Hi, I need traditional songs or rhymes from Argentina for a preeschool project. I have read Giddy up, Little bull and Little Kolla Boy….
Thanks . LauraIf anyone can help Juanita or Laura with songs from any of these countries, please let us know in the comments below. Even if the songs are only in the original languages, that would still be great!
Thanks in advance.
Mama Lisa
Eenie Meenie Sicileeny – Hand Clapping Rhyme
Monday, April 27th, 2009My daughter just taught me the version below of the hand clapping rhyme Eenie Meenie Sicileeny…
Eenie Meenie Sicileeny
Eenie meenie sicileeny,
Ooh ah zambalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you,
Take a peach,
Take a plum,
Take a stick of bubble gum,
Not a peach,
Not a plumb,
Not a stick of bubble gum.Saw you with your boyfriend last night
How do you know?
Peaked through the window
Nosy
Didn’t do the dishes
Lazy
Ate all the cookies
Greedy!
Jumped out the window
Must be crazy!
That’s why I call you this!
(Repeat song)My daughter is trying to learn how to play the hand clapping game so she can play it with the other kids in school. If anyone can help out with the actions, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks! Mama Lisa
Check out Mama Lisa’s World for more versions of Eenie Meenie Sicileeny.
Can Someone Help with a Ukranian Kids Song?
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009Paula wrote to me:
My grandmother used to sing me a Ukrainian Childrens song about a train. It went something like this….
Trena, Trena, Zoita Kia mena, ona, douca, Toot, Toot, Toot
If you know the song I’m refering to, please send me the words in English or Ukrainian please send them to me.
ThanksPaula Zronik
I asked my Ukranian friend and she thought this sounds like it’s in a mixture of 3 different languages. If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below. Thanks!
Mama Lisa
________
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