Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

The song below is called “Bonjour”. It’s a French hello song written and sung by Alain Le Lait. Sit back and enjoy the song by clicking the MP3 below. You can read along with the lyrics in French, followed by an English translation by Alain…

MP3 of Bonjour

Bonjour
(French Lyrics)

Bonjour, bonjour
Comment ça va?
Bonjour, bonjour
Très bien, merci
Je suis content d’être ici
Avec tous mes petits amis
Bonjour, bonjour
Comment ça va?

Merci, merci
Merci d’être ici
Merci, merci
Écoutez
Aimez-vous cette chanson?
J’espère que je suis dans le ton
Merci, merci
Merci d’être ici

Hello
(English Translation)

Hello, hello
How are you?
Hello, hello
Very well, thank you
I am happy to be here
With all my little friends
Hello, hello
How are you?

Thank you, thank you
For being here
Thank you, thank you
Listen up
Do you like this song?
I hope that I am in tune
Thank you, thank you
For being here.

The French and English lyrics to this “Bonjour” song are © 2003 Alain Le Lait.

Alain Le Lait is a French native who grew up near Paris, France. He moved to the United States in the 1970s and now lives in Colorado. Alain writes and performs easy to learn children’s songs in French, Spanish and English. Check out his site www.Yadeeda.com to hear samples of his music and to buy his CD’s or mp3’s. Soon we’ll be posting Alain’s version of Alouette!

Merci Alain!

Mama Lisa

PS Here are some other Hello and Goodbye Songs…

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

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 Chris

Here’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

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

Radio France has French news podcasts that are spoken a little slower than normal for people who don’t speak French as a first language.  I found them reasonable to understand.  Check it out if you know some French and would like to practice!

If you’re fluent in French, up to a challenge, or just want to listen to their music, check out Radio France’s podcast directory page, featuring music and news.

To whom it may concern:

I was wondering if you had a CD available to purchase of the children’s nursery rhymes… I was looking for Los pollitos especially..

Thanks!
Adrinel

Below are some CD’s and MP3’s from Amazon I found with Los Pollitos on them. I’m giving the links below to buy the cd’s as regular cd’s (but you can download the whole disc in mp3 form if you’d like). You can listen to samples of all of them before buying…

CD’s to Buy from Amazon with Los pollitos:

Los Merenguitos: Canciones Infantiles
¡A Bailar! Let’s Dance! (Spanish learning songs for kids/Canciones infantiles)

MP3’s of Los pollitos – You can also buy single mp3’s of the song:

Los Pollitos (The Little Chicks) by Elizabeth Mitchell – I like this one a lot!

Los Merenguitos: El Barquito – El Cartero – Los Pollitos – Patito Patito – MP3 Download for .99 cents
Los Pollitos (The Little Chicks) – from ¡A Bailar! Let’s Dance! – MP3 Download for .99 cents

If anyone would like to recommend any other versions of Los pollitos, feel free to in the comments below.

Mama Lisa

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

Hi

On this web page Rimogremser.dk there are several Danish kids songs with midi files.

Thanks for a good a good web-site ;)

Best regards

Richard

Thanks for the recommendation Richard. The site is nice! It has cool line drawings to go with most of the songs and tunes – though no English translations.

I picked one of the songs on the site that’s in the public domain (possibly 100 years+ old) and tried my hand at translating it. Below you’ll find the lyrics in Danish, the illustration from the site, a link to the midi and my translation…

Når vi sejler op og ned

Når vi sejler op og ned,
ser vi fisken svømme.
Ære, være, du er min.
Lise, Lise, hvor vi elsker dig.

Når vi sejler op og ned,
ser vi fisken svømme.
Ære, være, du er min
Michael, Michael, hvor vi hader dig.

Midi of Når vi sejler op og ned

Rough English Translation:

When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
Glory, be, you are mine,
Lisa, Lisa, we love you.

When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
Glory, be, you are mine,
Michael, Michael, we hate you.

I welcome improvements to my translation!

I searched around some more and found another nice Danish site called Dansk Folkemindesamling (the link here is for the kids song section of the site). This one had a different version of the same song (also in Danish only). This one also had a Quicktime recording of children singing it. It’s where I learned that the song goes back to at least 1900. It’s a circle game. One goes “swimming” under the “circles” raised arms. At the end of each verse one joins the circle. One joins them to walk around so that together they form a chain which gets longer and longer.

Here’s the second version of the song…

1 Når vi sejler op og ned
så ser vi fisken svømme
ære være vi er her
for Mia, Mia hvem elsker du?

2 Når vi sejler op og ned
så ser vi fisken svømme
ære være vi er her
for Per, Per hvem elsker du?

3 Når vi sejler op og ned
så ser vi fisken svømme
ære være vi er her
for Ebbe, Ebbe hvem elsker du?

This version is friendlier. Here’s the English translation I came up with:

1 When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
We are honored to be here
For Mia, Mia, who loves you?

2 When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
We are honored to be here
For Per, Per, Who loves you?

3 When we sail up and down,
We see the fish swim.
We are honored to be here
For Ebbe, Ebbe, Who loves you?

Once again, I welcome improvements to my translation!

Mama Lisa’s World also has some Danish kids songs with English, French and Spanish translations and midis. We always welcome more songs if anyone would like to contribute any and also if anyone would like to sing any for us… Feel free to comment below or email me!

Mama Lisa