Here’s a lullaby in Portuguese (possibly from Brazil), with an English translation…
Nana, nenê,
na casa do vovo,
vovô não tem cochão,
o nenê dorme no chãoSleep, baby
At grandpa’s house
Grandpa doesn’t have a mattress
The baby sleeps on the ground.
If anyone knows the tune and can send me a recording, midi or sheet music, please email me. I also welcome information about the origin of this song.
Thanks!
Lisa
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20 Responses to “Portuguese Lullaby – NANA, NENE”
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December 19th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Lisa,
there are several mispellings in the lyrics above that need attention.
Nana, nenem
na casa do vovô
vovô não tem cochão
O nenem dorme no chão
The melody is
s m f s
s l s f m r
r l l t l s m
f s f m r d
The rhythm (L-8th note, I-quarter note, O-half note)
I LL I.
LLLLL I.
LLLLL I LL
LLLLLL
There are also several alternate lyrics
http://www.umass.edu/complit/ogscl/LDECKnews2003W/Articles/brazilian_lullaby.htm
Visit the link for more information and further corrections on spellings
December 19th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
It is a Brazilian lullaby, one sung to me and one I sing to my daughter now.
December 19th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
If you’d like to record yourself singing this lullaby to your daughter, I’d be very happy to post a recording!
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:26 am
please send me a recording of this song I want to play it for my baby girl
thank you
October 25th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
My mom used to sing this lullaby to me, the lyrics I know of are:
Du Du Nenê
Que a Cuca vai pegar
Mamãe foi p’ra roça
Papai foi trabalhar …
“Du Du” is baby talk for “Durma Durma”, that means … “Sleep Sleep” …
“Nenê” is the same as “Bebê”, that means … “Baby” …
In my thinking, this is how it translates:
“Sleep ‘leep baby (Sleep little baby)
Or Cuca’ll come and take you
Mom’s in the ranch (garden)
Daddy’s away to work (employment, job)”
Cuca is a female monster from Brazilian folklore. It is an ugly old alligator that eats disobedient children, so the above Lullaby.
Apart from the lullaby, the monster remains popular today only as a literary character of the book by Monteiro Lobato and TV program for children inspired by his book: “Sítio do Picapau Amarelo” (Yellow Woodpecker’s Ranch).
I hope it helps. Feel free to email me anytime, I am likely not coming to your website again, I happened to visit here accidently and thought it’d interesting to leave a comment.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:16 am
I have never heard any of the versions above and I am from Brazil. This is the one that was always sung to me:
Nana Nene
A Cuca vem pegar
Pai ta na roça
Mamae foi trabalhar
March 19th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
My Brazilian husband often sings this song, (although he changes the lyrics every time he does to amuse himself).
I’ve wondered, though, if the song has portuguese roots. In the movie “Mystic Pizza,” Lily Taylor’s Portuguese-American character sings it to a little girl.
July 17th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I am brazilian.
1) For the version you have above, please at least correct the words “no tien” -spanish to nao tem – portuguese (use the sign ~ above letter a).
2) The right portuguese speling is “nene” (with the sign ^ above the last letter e).
May 26th, 2009 at 11:54 am
How about the translation on this one? I don’t have the spelling correct….
spale be mora o cinq gache
ay pata pata o cinqo gash
spali be mora
spali be a mora
spalie be mora cinq o cinq gache
April 28th, 2010 at 12:40 am
cancao de nino
by mariana martin
tropical lullaby cd
brazilian lyrics:
nana nenen
fica bem bem
perto do meu coracao
fica assim perto de mim
se ano tem bicho papao
bem bem assim
perto de mim
bim bem bom bom
bim bem bom bom
perto do meu coracao
english lyrics:
sleep tight baby
just like that
close to my heart
just like that, closer to me
or else the boogie monster will come
just like that
close to me
bim bem bom bom
bim bem bom bom
May 18th, 2010 at 5:06 pm
I know it a bit different from my brazilian mom:
Dorme nene,
O bicho vem ai,
Mamae foi a roça,
Papai logo vem.
November 6th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
Hello, I was watching the movie mystic pizza and was wondering if anyone knew the name of the song that the men– the wedding singers were singing in the pizzaria, it was a very nice song and i can not find it anywhere.
February 11th, 2012 at 8:21 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q58z1oluUk&feature=related
September 24th, 2012 at 8:26 pm
my parents used to sing it to me when i was 2 months old and now i sing it to my daughter
April 15th, 2013 at 11:52 am
Lucy, if you’re going to correct somebody’s spelling and grammar, make sure you do it right. Shame! The lyric was perfectly spelled. You are the one who made a mistake, an awful one, by the way. The word “cochão” does not exist in Portuguese. The right spelling is “colchão”, as spelled originally in the lyric. Means mattress.
November 24th, 2015 at 3:01 am
Marsha, that’s Ej Pada Pada, Rosicka — it’s Slovakian. Thank you for posting the lyrics, as I’d remembered it from childhood, but couldn’t find it — and you gave me a useful google pointer.
March 13th, 2017 at 8:22 pm
Just an FYI… it’s colchão, not cochão
May 26th, 2020 at 2:56 pm
My family always sang this to me:
Na na nenê
O bicho vem pegar
Papai foi na roça
Mamãe no cafezal
March 21st, 2023 at 11:30 pm
… I’m just looking for something to sing to my Portuguese boyfriend while he snores.
February 12th, 2024 at 9:54 pm
I have done a variation of this song by changing the words but keeping the tune. While I speak Brazilian Portuguese, I can translate what I actually sing (previously to my son and now grandson).
durma bebe, p’ra bebe não chore, deite na sua cama e nunca mais chore
sleep baby so baby don’t cry lay in your bed and never cry again
I don’t know why I use those words but my boys liked it more than the original. Probably because they have no grandpa nearby. And I’m Nana to my grandson. But I also add verses for my grandson who loves the tune. That’s what he loves most. With my mother gone I’m now the only one who speaks Portuguese.