In the 1770’s, a poem called, Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman (Ah! Will I tell you, Mother), was set to the Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star tune and printed. The poem was a melodramatic love poem.

Later, a parody of the love song developed. It was also called Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman. This one is still loved by French children today:

Listen to Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman

Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman
(French)

Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman
Ce qui cause mon tourment ?
Papa veut que je raisonne
Comme une grande personne
Moi je dis que les bonbons
Valent mieux que la raison.

Ah! Will I tell you, Mommy
(English)

Ah! Will I tell you, Mommy
What is tormenting me?
Daddy wants me to reason
Like a grown up person
Me, I say that sweets
Are worth more than reason.

In 1781-2 Mozart wrote his Variations on “Ah vous dirais-je, Maman”. Many people think he wrote the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. He didn’t! He just created a wonderful piece based on the tune.

We have to travel over to England in 1806 to find the origins of the lyrics of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. That’s when Jane Taylor and her sister Ann published their second book of poems for children, called Rhymes for the Nursery. Jane wrote the poem, The Star, for the book. This is the poem the song is based on:

The Star

The Poem by Jane Taylor

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveler in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.

In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,-
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

It’s a bit of a mystery when the poem and the tune came together to form the wonderful song Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It seems like the first time they’re seen in print as a song was in 1838, in a book called The Singing Master. Here’s the song as children sing it in English today:

Listen to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!

The wonderful song has traveled around the world in many languages. You can find it in Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Turkish and many other languages. If you’d like to share a version from your country, please email me.

Many thanks to Isa Santoveña for the midi tune, to Monique Palomares for the translation of Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman, and to Tiphaine Woerth for singing Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman for us!

-Lisa

Children and adults were invited to play.

I think this is a lovely idea. It’s a nice Mother’s Day tradition. It gives children and adults a chance to show off the hard work they’ve been doing throughout the year. It also bridges the gap between school and home – so children are playing the songs they learn on their instruments in a variety of settings.

I think of what Vince Bates talks about on his blog Musicing – about how learning music in school needs to be more a part of the child’s whole life. This approaches it from the other direction and says that the things the child is doing in school can be brought home and enjoyed by the student with his or her friends and family.

At the end of the concert, everyone was invited to join in together and play and sing, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. This gave even the littlest kids, and anyone who didn’t play an instrument, a chance to be involved. I recorded it for you! It’s a bit cacophonous – but it was a lot of fun! Click the link below to hear it, and come join in singing!

MP3 of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Here are some other posts about Mother’s Day, including some poems:

MP3 of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,
How I wonder what you are,
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,
How I wonder what you are.

Enjoy!

-Lisa