Have you ever wondered what is the difference between the United Kingdom and Great Britain?  This video explains it, plus a whole lot more!

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

You can find the poem below with two different mp3 recordings.  The first recording is more emotive, while the 2nd is very clear to understand.  You can choose which you prefer to listen to.

MP3 of Little Orphant Annie

2nd MP3 of Little Orphant Annie

Little Orphant Annie

We set around the kitchen fire an’ has the mostest fun

An’ one time a little girl ‘ud allus laugh an’ grin,

1st Recording by Chris Jones
2nd Recording by Matthew Reece

The moral of the poem is for children to be good and to help those less fortunate.

I remember saying it to my mother either to express love or to butter her up if I wanted something!

You can make the expression even stronger, by adding more and more toppings as if your love was an ice cream sundae.  You can say something like, "I love you with a cherry on top, and chocolate syrup, with marshmallows, whipped cream and sprinkles…" You can go on and on adding stuff.

It’s a nice little word game to play with kids.  Plus it’s a sweet way to express your love!

I asked Monique in France if they have an expression like that.  She wrote:

"I never heard any. What children say is ‘Je t’aime grand comme ça’ (I love you big like that) or ‘Je t’aime grand comme le ciel’ (I love you big like the sky) with their arms wide open but not to get something. As far as I know, we don’t have those -even to express to someone how much we love them. We have ‘je t’aime comme un fou’ (I love you like a crazy person) but it’s more for songs than for real life.  

Now, to get something, it was, is, and will be…’Allez, maman, alleeeez….’ (Come on, mama, come on!) as if you were to die if she didn’t give in. It can also be, ‘S’il te plaaaîîîît…’ (Pleeeeeease!)"

Kids here in the US also say "Pleeeeeeease!" to their moms when they really want something.

Pleeeeeeease let us know in the comments below what expressions kids use where you’re from to express great love and what they say to try to get what they want. 

Also, do you have an expression like, "I love you with a cherry on top"?

Mama Lisa

Here’s a Mr. Rogers video song remix called Sing Together that was just released by PBS (the station that ran his show).  It’s a sequel to the previous Mr. Rogers Remix called Garden of Your Mind.

Even us adults can still learn from Mr. Rogers!

The IBM 704 was the first computer to sing a song. You can see how big this computer was in the image above.  In 1961, the IBM 704 was programmed to sing the chorus of the song, "Daisy Bell" by Harry Dacre.  You can hear its rendition in the YouTube video below…

Here is the chorus of Daisy Bell:

Daisy Bell

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.

You’ll find the words and an mp3 recording below.  After the poem you can find definitions to some of the words that are lesser known.

MP3 of To The Gnat

To The Gnat

By Samuel Rogers  

When by the green-wood side, at summer eve,
Poetic visions charm my closing eye;
And fairy-scenes, that Fancy loves to weave,
Shift to wild notes of sweetest Minstrelsy;
‘Tis thine to range in busy quest of prey,
Thy feathery antlers quivering with delight,
Brush from my lids the hues of heav’n away,
And all is Solitude, and all is Night!
–Ah now thy barbed shaft, relentless fly,
Unsheaths its terrors in the sultry air!
No guardian sylph, in golden panoply,
Lifts the broad shield, and points the glittering spear.
Now near and nearer rush thy whirring wings,
Thy dragon-scales still wet with human gore.
Hark, thy shrill horn its fearful larum flings!
–I wake in horror, and ‘dare sleep no more!’

Read by Richard Macnamee

Definitions:

Sylph: A mythological creature that’s invisible and inhabits the air.

Panoply: A splendid array.

Larum: An alarm.

Hey. Love your site. I was looking for a song my nonna used to sing to me as a child. She was from Toritto, a small town outside Bari. It’s in dialect. I’m probably going to butcher the spelling but this is what I remember.

Cre e fes
La pup a la fines
La gat e kitccene
Y a suc a la ballet.

Today is a feast
The doll is in the window
The cat is in the kitchen
And the mice are dancing.

If anyone can help with this song, please comment below.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

Here is a sweet video rendition of the German lullaby, Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf, followed by the German lyrics and an English translation.

Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf

Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf,
Der Vater hüt die Schaf,
Die Mutter schüttelts Bäumelein,
Da fällt herab ein Träumelein.
Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf!

Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf,
Am Himmel ziehn die Schaf,
Die Sternlein sind die Lämmerlein,
Der Mond, der ist das Schäferlein,
Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf!

Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf,
so schenk ich dir ein Schaf
Mit einer goldnen Schelle fein,
Das soll dein Spielgeselle sein,
Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf!

English Translation:

Sleep, baby, sleep,
Thy father guards the sheep,
Thy mother shakes the little trees,
There falls down one little dream.
Sleep, baby, sleep!

Sleep, baby, sleep,
The sky draws the sheep,
The little stars are the little lambs,
The moon, that is the little shepherd,Sleep, baby, sleep!

Sleep, baby, sleep,
I shall give you a sheep
With one fine golden bell,
That shall be thy journeyman,
Sleep, baby, sleep!

Check out Mama Lisa’s Schlaf, Kindlein, Schlaf song page for more info about the song and for French and Spanish translations.

Here’s a short color film of New York city taken in 1939.  What’s interesting is how much it looks like today, though the city wasn’t as "tall".  Everyone was also more dressed up.  A lot of people wore hats in those days. 

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

Hattip: Kotke
Photo: Wikipedia

Hi, 

I am looking for a song with the refrain "soongee, soongee, soongee" that is sung to infants.   

The song is in Spanish.  My grandparents were originally from Mexico.  My family has sung that song to babies ever since I can remember, usually holding and bouncing them, but all they sing is the refrain and I was told there are actual lyrics, like a lullaby.   It’s either a nursery rhyme or lullaby – although now that I think about it, lullabies are to put a baby to sleep, and this song was definitely for bouncing a baby on your lap. 

Any idea what this can be?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Marlena

If anyone can help wit this song, please let us know in the comments below.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

Semamori means "to protect the back".  It was believed that the devil came from behind a person and thus they needed protection on the back.  This was especially true for babies who had such a high mortality rate.

The symbols were often embroidered in white or red  These are good luck colors in Japan.

In the photo you can see an example of semamori.

Image: Botanic

It would be interesting to learn what other languages people refer to in different cultures around the world when they find something confusing.

Please let us know if you have an expression in your language comparing something you don’t understand to another language.  We’d love to learn more of these expressions!

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

Hi, My grandmother’s parents were from Yugoslavia and she taught us a nursery rhyme from them which I would love to know the meaning. I am typing this as if the rhyme is in English. Any help would be great. It is likely from the 1800’s…

 

Ekida Pekida Supera May

Oble Foble Domi Nay

Else Pelse Poose Moose

Luvy Slavy Marcy Noose.

 

or

 

Ekira Pekira Supera May

Oble Foble Domi Nay

Else Pelse Poose Moose

Yugoslavy Marcy Noose.

 

Thanks, Grant

If anyone can help with the original words to the rhyme and/or a translation, please let us know in the comments below.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

You can see the animation below and the song lyrics here.

Thanks to Fatima for sharing!

Mama Lisa

In Korean, the order is different.  It’s always:

"Scissors (가위 – kai)", "Rock (바위 – bai)" and "Paper (보 – bo)". 

You can see a youtube of the game in Korean below.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

Here’s the mp3 recording, the song lyrics in Italian, followed by Giada’s English translation…

MP3 of Principessa Nel Regno Del Ghiaccio

Principessa Nel Regno Del Ghiaccio

(Testo e musica di Giada de Gioia)

 

Bianca come la luna piena

la pista è come uno specchio d’argento

ma tu non sei Biancaneve.

 

Bianca con i riflessi del cielo più blu

e tu ti senti davvero felice

come un orsetto polare.

(Coro)

Sei perfetta, ballerina

sui tuoi pattini d’argento

principessa poi sarai regina

sul podio nel palazzo

nel tuo regno di ghiaccio.

 

Esile,

a volte sembri fragile

in equilibrio instabile tra gioco, ambizione

infinita passione.

 

Lame lucenti come spade

brillanti più del sole

sui pattini da ghiaccio

e tu non vedi l’ora

di gareggiare ancora, ancora ancora.

(Coro)

Sui pattini da ghiaccio

e tu non vedi l’ora

di gareggiare ancora, ancora ancora.

(Coro)

 

English Translation:

 

Princess In The Reign Of Ice                 

 

White like the full moon

The skating-rink is like a silver mirror,

But you are not Snow White.

White, with the reflection of the bluest sky

And you feel really happy like a little polar bear.

 

(Chorus)

You are perfect, dancer, on your silver skates

You are a princess, then you’ll become a queen

On the platform in the palace

In your reign of ice.

 

Thin, sometimes you look fragile

In unsteady balance between game and ambition,

Endless passion.

Blades shining like swords

Brighter than the sun

On your skates you look forward to competing again.

 

(Chorus)

Blades shining like swords

Brighter than the sun

On your skates you look forward to competing again.

 

(Chorus)

Many thanks to Giada de Gioia for sharing this fun song about ice skating with us!

Grazie!

Mama Lisa

Here’s the French poem Le Thé (Tea) by Théodore de Banville with an mp3 recording.  After the poem you’ll find an English translation.

MP3 of Le Thé

Le Thé

Miss Ellen, versez-moi le Thé
Dans la belle tasse chinoise,
Où des poissons d’or cherchent noise
Au monstre rose épouvanté.

Là, sous un ciel rouge irrité,
Une dame fière et sournoise
Montre en ses longs yeux de turquoise
L’extase et la naïveté :
Miss Ellen, versez-moi le Thé.

Tea

Miss Ellen, pour me tea
In the beautiful Chinese cup
Where the goldfish pick a fight
With the terrified rose monster.

There, under a flaming red sky,
A proud and sly lady
Shows in her ​​wide turquoise eyes
Ecstasy and innocence:
Miss Ellen, pour me tea.

*Chimeras are either mythological monsters or fish.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

MP3 of The Wind

2nd MP3 of The Wind

The Wind

I saw you toss the kites on high

And blow the birds about the sky;

And all around I heard you pass,

Like ladies’ skirts across the grass–

O wind, a-blowing all day long,

O wind, that sings so loud a song!

I saw the different things you did,

But always you yourself you hid.

I felt you push, I heard you call,

I could not see yourself at all–

O wind, a-blowing all day long,

O wind, that sings so loud a song!

O you that are so strong and cold,

O blower, are you young or old?

Are you a beast of field and tree,

Or just a stronger child than me?

O wind, a-blowing all day long,

O wind, that sings so loud a song!

1st Recording by Ezwa.
2nd Recording by Krull.

Many thanks to Oscar Teliz for pointing out this poem!

-Mama Lisa

Here’s a little poem about clouds by Christina Rossetti.

MP3 of the Poem "Clouds"

Clouds

by Christina Rossetti

White sheep, white sheep,
On a blue hill,
When the wind stops
You all stand still
When the wind blows
You walk away slow.
White sheep, white sheep,
Where do you go?