The recording was done by recording a phone call over the internet. Thanks to Nyango Melissa for calling and singing this morning! She made my day! Now you can enjoy her singing too! Just click the mp3 link below and read along with the lyrics. Enjoy!

MP3 of Good Morning to You

Good Morning to You
(In English, French, Hausa, Mbonge & Swahili)

Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
In English, I speak
In English, I speak
Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
In English, in English I speak.

Bonjour Mesdames,
Bonjour Messieurs,
En français, je parle
En français, je parle
Bonjour mesdames, bonjour messieurs
In French, in French I speak.

Salam alekum
Alekum sala
In Hausa, I speak
In Hausa, I speak
Salam alekum
alekum sala
In Hausa, in Hausa I speak.

O-we-li-ni-e
O we li ni e
In Mbonge, I speak
In Mbonge, I speak
O we li ni e
O we li ni e
In Mbonge, in Mbonge I speak.

Hujambo bwana,
Hujambo bibi
In Swahili, I speak
In Swahili, I speak
Hujambo bwana
Hujambo bibi
In Swahili, in Swahili I speak!

It’s the 2nd time we were able to easily use this technology of recording a phone call. If anyone else would like to sing a traditional (non-copyrighted) song for us, or recite a rhyme, please email me at lisa@mamalisa.com for directions.

Nyango has sent us many songs from Cameroon over the past couple of years. It’s great for everyone to finally hear her voice! She recorded 6 songs today. You can find them on the Cameroon Pages at the link just above. They’re the ones with the MP3’s.

Many thanks to Nyango Melissa Nambangi of the Minnesota African Women’s Association for contributing and singing these songs for us!

Mama Lisa

*****

Minnesota African Women’s Association has products available that were stitched by their sewing group. They’re available for purchase online at Etsy. They have beautiful pillows, dolls dressed in traditional and contemporary African fashions, tote bags, hats and more!

Faut-il nous quitter sans espoir
Sans espoir de retour ?
Faut-il nous quitter sans espoir
De nous revoir un jour ?

Refrain
Ce n’est qu’un au revoir, mes frères,
Ce n’est qu’un au revoir.
Oui, nous nous reverrons, mes frères,
Ce n’est qu’un au revoir.

Here’s a literal English translation by Monique Palomares…

Must we leave each other without a hope
To see each other again some day
Must we leave each other without a hope
A hope of return

It’s only a goodbye, my brothers
It’s only a goodbye,
Yes, we’ll see each other again, my brothers
It’s only a goodbye.

Here you can hear the whole song…

Another Goodbye Song we have here today was written and sung by Alain Le Lait. It’s in French and English. Sit back and enjoy the song by clicking the MP3 below. You can read along with the lyrics in French and English…

Listen to Alain’s French Goodbye Song

Au revoir
by Alain Le Lait

Au revoir, good bye,
Now it is time for me to go away.
Au revoir, good bye,
But I wish I could stay with you all day.

Thanks for your smiles
And for singing along
I hope to see you again before too long.

Au revoir, good bye,
Il se fait tard et je dois m’en aller
Au revoir, good bye,
Mais j’aimerais rester toute la journée
Pour vos sourires et vos bien jolies voix
Je vous remercie et a une autre fois.

Au revoir, good bye,
Au revoir, good bye,
Au revoir, good bye.

(English Translation of French Verse)

Good bye, good bye
It’s getting late and I must go
Good bye, good bye
But I’d like to stay with you all day
For all your smiles and your pretty voices
I thank you and I’ll see you another time.

The French and English lyrics to this “Au revoir” song are © 1994 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.

Merci Alain & Monique!

Feel free to share any French Hello or Goodbye songs you know in the comments below.

Mama Lisa

PS Here are some other Hello and Goodbye Songs…

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…

Hello Lisa,

I’m looking for the full lyrics to the little tune “Ek borsel my tande…” I’ve been singing it to my niece to encourage her to brush her little teeth, but I only know I tiny part of it. I’m wondering whether you might know the entire song?

Many thanks.

Emanuela

If anyone can help with the lyrics to this song, and/or an English translation, please let us know in the comments below.

Thanks in advance!

Mama Lisa

You can purchase Jay Rouse’s Arrangements online by clicking the link.

Click the following link to hear another piano arrangement called December by George Winston.

Songs about Winter

Yuki (Snow) – Japanese
A, a, a, der Winter, der ist da (A, a, a, Winter is Here) – German
La neige tombe (The Snow is Falling) – French from Canada
Zemestoon (Winter) – Persian from Iran
Kış (Winter) – Turkish from Turkey

Songs about Spring

La Primavera (Springtime) – Spanish from Peru
Haru Ga Kita (Spring Has Come) – Japanese
De Colores (All the Colors) – Spanish from Mexico & Spain

Songs about Summer

Trarira, der Sommer, der ist da! (Tilitum, The Summer Has Come) – German

Songs about Autumn or Fall

Couleurs d’automne (Colors of Autumn) – French

Songs or Rhymes about All Four Seasons

Joereszäiten (Seasons) – Franconian from Lorraine Region in France
Les feuilles (Leaves) – French from Canada

When you get to the song pages you can access French and Spanish translations too, and in some cases mp3 recordings, midis and/or scores.

Feel free to add a song about any of the seasons in the comments below or email me.

Mama Lisa

Here are some rhymes and poems I found that are generally about cleanliness, keeping clean or washing up…

First, here’s a traditional nursery rhyme that mentions having a clean face:

The Clock

There’s a neat little clock,
In the schoolroom it stands,
And it points to the time
With its two little hands.

And may we, like the clock,
Keep a face clean and bright,
With hands ever ready
To do what is right.

This next rhyme is about washing feet:

Marguerite

Marguerite, go wash your feet;
The board of health is ‘cross the street.

Here’s a song you can sing when washing up or brushing teeth:

This is the Way We Wash our Hands
(To the tune of Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)

This is the way we wash our hands
Wash our hands, wash our hands,
This is the way we wash our hands
In the afternoon (or “To keep us very healthy”)

(You can continue with washing other body parts or substitute the line “This is the way we brush our teeth”.)

Here’s a song about washing away germs:

GERMS!

Wash your face and hands with soap,
Wash them every day!
Keeping clean by using soap
Will help keep germs away

Finally, below you’ll find an old poem called Cleanliness by Charles and Mary Lamb from around 1874. First I’ve given a shortened version that I found and after that you’ll find the full, longer version of it:

Cleanliness

All-endearing cleanliness,
Virtue next to godliness,
Easiest, cheapest, needfull’st duty,
To the body health and beauty;
Who that’s human would refuse it,
When a little water does it?

Here’s the longer version:

Cleanliness

Come, my little Robert, near-
Fie! what filthy hands are here!
Who, that e’er could understand
The rare structure of a hand,
With its branching fingers fine,
Work itself of hands divine,
Strong, yet delicately knit,
For ten thousand uses fit,
Overlaid with so clear skin
You may see the blood within,-
Who this hand would choose to cover
With a crust of dirt all over,
Till it look’d in hue and shape
Like the forefoot of an ape!
Man or boy that works or plays
In the fields or the highways,
May, without offence or hurt,
From the soil contract a dirt
Which the next clear spring or river
Washes out and out for ever-
But to cherish stains impure,
Soil deliberate to endure,
On the skin to fix a stain
Till it works into the grain,
Argues a degenerate mind,
Sordid, slothful, ill-inclined,
Wanting in that self-respect
Which does virtue best protect.
All-endearing cleanliness,
Virtue next to godliness,
Easiest, cheapest, needfull’st duty,
To the body health and beauty;
Who that’s human would refuse it,
When a little water does it?

If you know of any songs, rhymes, poems, or sayings about cleanliness or washing up, please let us know about them in the comments below.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

Below you’ll find Make New Friends in English, Spanish and French. The variations are for the singular and plural forms in Spanish and French.

Make New Friends
(Original Version)

Make new friends,
But keep the old.
One is silver,
The other is gold.

A circle is round,
It has no end.
That’s how long,
I will be your friend.

A fire burns bright,
It warms the heart.
We’ve been friends,
From the very start.

You have one hand,
I have the other.
Put them together,
We have each other.

Silver is precious,
Gold is too.
I am precious,
And so are you.

You help me,
And I’ll help you
And together
We will see it through.

The sky is blue
The Earth is green
I can help
To keep it clean.

Across the land
Across the sea
Friends forever
We will always be.

Háganse/ haceos nuevos amigos
(Spanish)

Háganse /haceos nuevos amigos
Pero guarden/ guardad los viejos
Uno es de plata
El otro es de oro.

Un círculo es redondo
No tiene fin
Esto es cuanto tiempo
Seré tu amigo.

Un fuego arde, brillante
Calienta el corazón
Hemos sido amigos
Desde el principio.

Tengo una mano
Tienes la otra
Juntémoslas
Nos tenemos el uno al otro.

La plata es preciosa
El oro también
Yo soy precioso
Y tú también.

Me ayudas
Te ayudaré
Y juntos
Lo lograremos.

El cielo es azul
La tierra es verde
Te puedo ayudar
A guardarla limpia.

Por la tierra
Por el mar
Para siempre
Seremos amigos.

Fais-toi / faites-vous de nouveaux amis
(French)

Fais-toi / faites-vous de nouveaux amis
Mais garde(z) les anciens
L’un est d’argent, c’est bien
L’autre est d’or, c’est mieux.

Un cercle est rond,
Il n’a pas de fin
C’est aussi longtemps
Que je serai ton copain.

Un feu brûle haut
Il réchauffe le cœur
Nous avons été amis
Depuis le tout début.

Tu as une main
J’ai l’autre
Mettons-les ensemble
Nous nous avons l’un l’autre.

L’argent est précieux
L’or aussi
Je suis précieux
Et toi aussi.

Tu m’aides
Et je t’aiderai
Et ensemble
On en viendra à bout.

Le ciel est bleu
La terre est verte
Je peux aider
À la garder propre.

À travers la terre
À travers la mer
Pour toujours
Nous serons amis.

Here’s a link to Make New Friends on Mama Lisa’s World, my collection of international children’s songs. There you can find the song with all of its versions.

Many thanks to Monique Palomares of Mama Lisa’s World en français and Mamá Lisa’s World en español for the French and Spanish translations!

-Mama Lisa

Dear Mamma Lisa,

I am looking for a song called Bundawa. I am not sure if I have the spelling right. It is a campfire song from my friend’s Girl Scout days more than 20 years ago. This is part of it, but there are more verses we can’t remember:

Bundawa

Chorus:

Bundawa, Bundawa, Bundawa
Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho (with each “Ho” clap hand onto guitar or lap)
Bundawa, Bundawa,
Baby I don’t know.

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down
And landed on his bum
Baby I don’t know.

Chorus

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the king’s horses and all the kings men,
Had scrambled eggs again.

We would love it if you could help our Girl Scout Troop find the rest of the song.

Thank-you!

Jenny from Rochester, Minnesota, USA

If anyone can help out Jenny and her Girl Scout Troop, please comment below.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa