Here’s a video of the song Dem Bones for Halloween.  It’s a longer version to actually teach kids about dem bones…

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones,
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones…

Enjoy dem bones!

Mama Lisa

The Cuckoo

In April,
Come he will.
In May,
He sings all day.
In June,
He changes his tune.
In July,
He prepares to fly.
In August,
Go he must.

*****
The Cuckoo Song can be found in Ballads and Lyrics (1891) by Katharine Tynan.

Cuckoo Song

Cuckoo, cuckoo!

In April skies were blue

As every hedgerow knew;

And there was you.

In April

The cuckoo shows his bill,

With windflowers on vale and hill.

O, Love!

Sweet was April, sweet was April!

Cuckoo, cuckoo!

In May his song was true,

And the world was new

For me and you.

In May

He sings all day,

All the long night that’s sweet with hay.

O, Love!

Blithe was the May, blithe was the May!

Cuckoo, cuckoo!

Last June the roses grew

In many a place we knew,

I and you.

In June

He changes his tune.

A young man’s fancy changes soon.

O, Love!
Fleet was June, fleet was June!

Cuckoo, cuckoo!
His notes are faint and few,
The lily is dying too,
For the rose there is rue.
In July

Away will he fly,

His notes blown back from an empty sky.

O, Love!
Sad was July, sad was July!

Cuckoo, cuckoo!
No more we listen to
The merry song we knew,
I and you.
In August
Go he must,

Love and lovers will turn to dust.

O, Love!
Cold is August, cold is August!

Vine, vine primavara!

Vine, vine primavara!
Se asterne-n toata tara!
Floricele pe cimpii,
Hai sa le-adunam copii!
Tralalalalalalalala!
Tralalalalalalalala!
Floricele pe cimpii,
Hai sa le-adunam copii!

Creste, creste iarba verde,
Ciocirlia n-or se pierde,
Haideti s-ascultam copii,
Al ei cintec din cimpii!
Tralalalalalalalala!
Tralalalalalalalala!
Haideti s-ascultam copii,
Al ei cintec din cimpii!

Cucu cucu, striga tare,
Pitpalacu’n lunca sare,
Mieii zburda pe cimpii,
Haideti sa-i vedem copii!
Tralalalalalalalala!
Tralalalalalalalala!
Mieii zburda pe cimpii,
Haideti sa-i vedem copii!

Podul de piatra

Podul de piatra s-a darimat,
A venit apa si l-a luat!
Vom face altul pe riu in jos,
Altul mai trainic si mai frumos!
Vom face altul pe riu in jos,
Altul mai trainic si mai frumos!

Batistuta

Am pierdut o batistuta,
Cine a gasit-o?
Eu il rog ca sa mi-o dea
Si-l sarut indata.
Batista parfumata
Se afla la o fata
La o fata frumoasa,
Pe care o iubesc!

Feel free to tranlsate any of these songs in the comments below or email me at lisa@mamalisa.com .

Thanks in advance!

Mama Lisa

Daisy, Daisy

Daisy, Daisy,
Give me your answer due.
I’m half crazy,
All for the love of you.
It won’t be a stylish marriage.
I can’t afford a carriage.
But you’ll look sweet,
Upon the seat,
Of a bicycle built for two.

Michael, Michael,
I’ll give you my answer true
I’m not crazy
All for the likes of you
If you can’t afford a carriage
there won’t be any marriage
for I’ll be damned
if I’ll be crammed
on a bicycle built for two.

Thanks to Bretta for sending this in!

Note to All Geeks: My husband pointed out that Daisy, Daisy was sung by the computer Hal 9000 in 2001 Space Odyssey as he was being disconnected.

Cheers!

Mama Lisa

But first, here’s Marisa announcing it with a Halloween song about Halloween songs…

Halloween is coming soon,
One, Two Three,
If you want a spooky song,
Call on me.

Here’s the Ghost of John song…

MP3 of Ghost of John by Marisa

MP3 of Ghost of John by Melisa

Ghost of John

Have you seen the Ghost of John?
Long white bones and the rest all gone,
Ooh, ooh!
Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on?

While the girls would sing the song they would all stand in the mirror, looking for the ghost of John. Of course, someone would see part of the ghost… like his ear, in the mirror. Then they would all scream. Finally, they ended the game because they were freaking each other out. I guess that’s what Halloween is all about… ghosts!

Many thanks to Marisa and Melisa for singing Ghost of John for us and to Melisa for the drawing!

Mama Lisa

Here you can see the original lyrics, with an English translation and a wonderful mp3 recording that we just received by Élodie Chebat.

MP3 Recording of Senzenina

Senzenina
(Zulu/Xhosa)

Senzenina
Sono sethu ubumnyama
Sono sethu yinyaniso
Sibulawayo
Mayibuye i Africa.

What Have We Done?
(English Translation)

What have we done?
Our sin is that we are black
Our sin is the truth
They are killing us
Let Africa return.

We found that this song is considered to be in both the Zulu and Xhosa languages. Trying to figure out which language it was in, I looked up the words to this song, and found some of them in a Zulu dictionary and some in a Xhosa dictionary. On further research I found in the Encyclopedia Britannica: “The Zulu and Xhosa languages are similar enough to be considered dialects of one language, but speakers of Zulu and Xhosa consider them to be separate languages.” (FYI They are both Southeastern Bantu languages.)

Many thanks to Élodie Chebat for contributing and singing this beautiful song!

Mama Lisa