Question about the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Nursery Rhyme “Ride Ride Ranke”
Pamela wrote me about a rhyme that I’ve been asked about many times. Here’s what she wrote…
Hello,
I am interested in finding a nursery rhyme in the Danish language which I learned as a child and have passed on to my children as well. I hope you can help me locate this rhyme. It is about an alligator or crocodile sneaking up on someone sitting on a log at the edge of a lake. I am probably not remembering the Danish words correctly, and I don’t speak Danish at all, but it sounds something like this:
A rita, rita, runkin
Demile hans hoose,
Devoon yemoon
Kot on a moose
On little wahoon
Syin on a bankin
Slick upon a slick a sow
Woof! Woof! Woof!I have probably completely ruined the rhyme with my bad memory, but I am very interested in learning it correctly. The Woof! Woof! Woof! Part is where the alligator eats the person.
Thank you!
If anyone knows this rhyme, many people out there would be grateful for the corrrect words. Please comment below or email me with the correct version!
Thanks!
Lisa
UPDATE: I posted one Swedish version of Rida rida ranka on my Swedish Song Pages, one Danish version of Rida rida ranke, and 2 Norwegian Versions of Rida rida ranke on Mama Lisa’s World’s Norway pages.
More versions in the comments below…
December 28th, 2005 at 9:04 pm
Here’s another request, possibly about a Swedish version of this rhyme…
Lisa,
I am writing this in hopes to find lyrics to and old Swedish song my grandfather used to sing to me when I was very young, This is probably a needle in a haystack but here are the words I remember.
Rhea rhea ronka, hester sue ? blanca, ? ? ? ,
Rhea rhea rhea. Cluck Cluck Cluck.
I know my spelling is way off and this may or may not make any sense to you, but I had to at least try. All I know is it is about a rocking horse or I assume it is.
Thanks in advance for trying! Melody
December 28th, 2005 at 9:30 pm
I am also Swedish and learned this as a child…rhea rhea ronkin, hesta hista blunkin, something poyka po, woof woof woof. I thought it was about a boy and his dog. Anyone find it online?
January 7th, 2006 at 7:54 pm
I am Norwegian/Swedish. My grandmother used to sing this song. She was Norwegian… I am not sure if it’s Norwegian or Swedish and my spelling is horrible but it goes like this:
Rita Rita Ronka
permellidin heuse
enging ona yemmin
en liten catapeuse.
Loosely translated it means, I went to Rita Ronka’s house and no one was home but her pussy cat.
January 10th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
Well, I heard a version of this from my father many many years ago and it went (spelling not assured)
Rhea Rhea Runkin
Has a nitter Blunkin
Hos cot a Rhea
Studa Studa Fria
Hunsen go
Woof woof woof woof
I am trying to find the meaning of it as it was never translated to me as I bounced on Dad’s knee. From the above postings I assume that it means that we went to Rita Runkins house but she was not there, everything was cold but her little dog came out and barked at us.
January 11th, 2006 at 7:05 pm
I was speaking with a Swedish woman today, who said maybe the first word in this song is “rida”, which means ride, like a horsy. I looked up horsey in Swedish, and found häst (a child’s way of saying horsey) and hästlik. A word for horse in Danish is “hest”. Could this be one of the words in the 2nd line?
If anyone would like to explore Swedish words some more to help figure it out, there’s a pretty good Swedish/English dictionary online at http://lexin.nada.kth.se/swe-eng.shtml .
Perhaps the version with “rhea” is a different version?
This song seems like it might have several versions and might exist in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian.
Here are 2 other emails people have sent me about this song…
***
I’m looking for the words to a Swedish nursery rhyme a family friend taught me as a child. Now that I have a son, I’d like to teach it to him. However, I don’t remember all the words and the Swedish friends have passed. I remember it went something like this…
“Ria, ria ranka
Heston hit the brunka
Voska da rita
….pita”
I realize the spelling may not be correct. Thank you in advance for your time and help.
Best regards,
Kimberly
***
Hello Lisa! I am from the US, and am trying to remember a Swedish nursery rhyme my grandmother used to recite to me as she bounced me on her lap. All I can remember is that it was about two dogs, a big one barked a deep “whoo, whoo, whoo” and a little one who went “yip, yip yip”. The first line sounded like this:
“Rita, rita runken
Hesten a blunken”
Thank you for your time.
Donna
***
January 17th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
I just found this site today, what a coincedence. We were making lefse this weekend and we were all trying remember the norwegian nursery rhyme that our Grandmother (from Norway) used to sing to us as she bounced us on her knee.
This was 45 or 50 years ago. We remembered it as “Ria Ria Runkin Hasta Heat the Brunkin, a vee a vee avista dee…….”
We would really like to know the real words, any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Brad Bainey
January 23rd, 2006 at 11:16 pm
This is really funny, my grandmother was swedish and used to sing this song to me. I do not know what the song means, but my father knows ll some of the words…I am sure that I won’t be spelled correctly
Rita rita ranka
hestin hista blunka
hestin hista rita sow
hestin hetin apple grow
he is not sure how it goes after this.
I called my friends mother who is from Sweden and she says the song goes like this:
Rida rida ranka
hasten heter planka
vad skall hasten rida
till en liten piga
vad skall pigan heter
jungfrau margarita
The song is about a horse whose name is planka, the boy asks where he “(the horse) is going…the horse replies he is going to find a maiden named margarita….
She was not aware of the first version I had typed..but my father insists that is how it went. I will follow up to see if anyone else comes up with something similar….hope this helps-Brenda
January 28th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
I just found this version of Ride, ride, ranke in Danish. If anyone would like to provide an English translation, I’d be more than happy to post it…
Ride, ride, ranke
by Nikolaj Ulrik Krossing (1798-1872)
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride ranke!
Greven er så højt på strå,
bonden må med træsko gå.
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Junkren på sin høje hest,
som kan danse, ret gør blæst.
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Frøknen sidder let som fjer,
som min lille rytter her.
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hvorhen skal nu vejen gå?
Bedstefar besøg skal få.
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Og når vi så stiger af,
siger vi: go’ da’, go’ da’!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Bedstemor af hjertesgrund
trykker os et kys på mund.
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Nu til onkel i galop.
Er han hjemme? Ja, så stop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Tantes stuedør vil vi
heller ikke gå forbi.
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Men nu er det aftenstid,
lille hest, i stalden hid!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Hop, hop, hop, hop,
hop, hop, hop, hop!
Ride, ride, ranke!
Til i morgen stå i ro,
havre først: et kys ja to!
Ride, ride, ranke!
You can hear the tune to Ride, ride, ranke at http://www.ugle.dk/ride_ride_ranke.html
January 31st, 2006 at 11:31 am
My Nana, Mom and Aunt used to do this one all the time.
She provided me with a “phonetic” form of Norwegian.
It starts off bouncing the toddler on the knee:
Reeda reeda rankin
Til Mellan’s hoos
Der var ingen yemma
Men leeten katta poos
Han low unner benken og (sounds more like an a)
Nadden po lanken og
Sa-wee mew, mew, mew, mew (that’s when you drop the unsuspecting kiddo between your legs)
The Translation is basically the same as Marybeth’s. It sounds like there are a lot of versions out there, but I suppose the only one that matters is the one you remember : )
January 31st, 2006 at 12:10 pm
I agree with Jeff, it’s interesting to find the original version of songs and rhymes, but as they change, as they go from culture to culture, and even from family to family, they become our own. The versions of songs that we personally remember are the ones that are most dear to us.
February 13th, 2006 at 1:50 am
My grandfather and mother as well have both relayed a version of this rhyme and as far as I was informed the translation was about two older people sitting on their porch on a spring day and a big dog comes by and barks at them. The rhyme is as follows but now that I see others versions and stories, I realize that makes no sense! Anyways, this is the version I learned (Spelling is how it sounds recited, not correct at all!)
Ridda, Ridda ranka
Hasen yetta blunken
Hassen etta yupagrow
satten eten yunkanpo
worskin yunka ria
tkung un scora freeie
sinkin woof! Woof! Woof!
thanks for humoring me! And for this awesome site!
February 16th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
My sister and I are trying to find this Swedish rocking horse rhyme too. Our father would sit our kids when they were little on his knee like a rocking horse and say something like…
Rea, Rea Runkun
Hess en hit the blanca
Vask a gerea
Star a frea
Vasca de hen
Star fish en then
Ya, ya ya, ya, ya.
He is 100% Swedish and this song was sung to him as a child. We would love to get the proper word and pronunciations if you have any more luck.
March 6th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
It was really funny to read all the different versions of “Ride, ride ranke”. There are a few versions of Ride ride ranke. Here is one:
Ride, ride ranke
til møllerens hus.
Der var ingen hjemme
uten en liten kattepus.
Hanen til å gale.
Mølleren til å male
Og tre små hunder sier Voff, Voff , Voff
Another one is:
Ride ride ranke
Si meg hvor skal veien gå.
Bestefar besøk skal få.
Ride ride ranke.
Ride ride ranke
Nå til onkel i gallop
er han hjemme,
ja, så stopp.
Ride ride ranke
Ride ride ranke
og når vi så stiger av
sier vi God dag, god dag.
Ride ride ranke
March 6th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
I asked Martine if she could provide translations for the above versions. Here’s what she wrote…
Hi
The versions are from Norway. I am currently living in Ireland and work in an Irish pre-school. I was looking for English versions of Norwegian children’s songs and rhymes to teach to the children.
Translations are very difficult. Ride ride ranke for example does not mean anything. But “ride” is “ride” in English (to ride a horse).
I will give it a try:
Ride ride ranke
To the millers house.
Nobody was home,
but a little pussycat.
The rooster will crow.
The miller will grind.
and three little dogs say Woff, woff woff
The second one goes something like this:
Ride ride ranke
tell me where we’re going.
We are visiting grandmother
Ride ride ranke.
Ride ride ranke
then we ride to uncle.
If he is home
yes, then stop
Ride ride ranke
Ride ride ranke
and when we make our stop.
We will say : Good morning, good morning Ride ride ranke.
There is also a third version I know from my childhood. It does not make much sense but it is also a Ride ride ranke. I am not sure of the lyrics because I don’t know it in writing.
Best regards
Martine
Thanks Martine! – Lisa
March 9th, 2006 at 1:42 am
I wish I had more to offer than another strangely spelled version of this rhyme, but maybe it will jog someone! My great-grandfather and then my grandmother, both Swedish, sang me a version while bouncing me on their knee I can only vaguely remember the first two lines (phonetically, of course)
Rhea Rhea Rhunka
Heste maya blunka
My daughter is doing a report in school and sadly, I didn’t have my grandmother clarify this while I could, and I would hate for this little bit of family history to be lost. Thanks!
March 31st, 2006 at 11:31 pm
Please, please, please – if there is anyone out there who can contact me with the reda reda runka phonetic spelling of this wonderful song, I would appreciate you giving me a way to get that. My father would rock me on his knee and sing this wonderful lyric – I only remember the first part because I was always so busy hanging on, but would love to put something besides reda reda runka along with the tune as I enjoy my grandchildren on my “pony” knee.
April 4th, 2006 at 8:09 pm
I am shocked to find that I’m not the only one who holds the memory of this song so dear. I found out sadly that my Grandmother passed away just yesterday, and I am desperate to understand this song in hopes of passing it along to family and friends during this difficult time. I can certainly remember hangin on as she bounced us around, and holding on while giggling when we would drop suddenly between her knees, but the words become jumbled in my memory. I cleary remember the
“rea rea ranka”
“hestin hut da blanka”
“tom pron fria”
“sia litta pia”
“tom pron fretta” (then a small pause)
“Whoop ala greta” — we’d toss into the air to be caught by her smiling face and open arms. Thank you all for helping us to revisit these special memories and hold onto our relatives. I will continue to search for more!
April 8th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
My father was of Norwegian descent and would bounce us all on his knee with a similar verse.
Ria Ria Ranken (Galloping, galloping rough rider)
Hesten Var en Branken (Horse was a bronco)
Hester Var en Rabelgra (Horse was a dapple grey)
aa sat en Liten (child’s name) pa (and sat a little ______ on)
The ending of the verse was an extra bounce that would cause us to fly in the air like others have remembered.
April 14th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Hi everyone,
I have a couple of minor corrections to Lisa’s translation to Martine’s 2nd Norwegian song. My Grandmother is also from Norway and I lived there for 1 year in High School and quickly had to emerse myself in the language to get by!
The third line down: Bestefar is actually Grandfather, not Grandmother. That would be Bestemor. Far is Father and Mor is Mother in Norwegian. MorMor and MorFar is a Grandmother and Grandfather on the mother’s side and FarFar and FarMor is Grandmother and Grandfather on the Father’s side. Bestefar or Bestemor would be an endearing/loving name for a grandparent.
The fourth line down at the end of the poem: God Dag is actually Good Day. Good Morning would be God Morgen.
Otherwise, it’s a great translation! :)
April 14th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
Hi again,
If anyone wants to learn some easy Norwegian words and sentences, you can go to the Sons of Norway website.
Lykke til og ha det bra!
May 7th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
I’m happy to post any recordings of Rita Rita Runkin.
It may help people find the versions they’re looking for!
-Lisa
May 10th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
Lisa,
My mother-in-law is gravely ill and my daughter remembers her singing this song. I can not remember the whole song. Can you help .
Rita Rita Ronka
Hista hista Blanka
Hista little boo woo
woof woof woof.
I hope you can help me my daughter wants to be able to teach her children this song.
Thank You
Diana
May 15th, 2006 at 5:09 pm
Hi!
I am from Sweden and was quite amused to read all these versions of rida rida ranka! i don’t know the whole rhyme, but I know that the first lines in the Swedish version are “Rida rida ranka, hästen heter Blanka” (ride, ride, ranka doesn’t mean anything, the horse is named Blanka)
May 15th, 2006 at 7:19 pm
A long Swedish version is written out on the wikepedia website and this is the link:
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rida,_rida,_ranka.
The one below is what my Mom used to sing to me and I too am amazed at how many versions there are and how many people have a happy place from their childhood and ancestry in these words.
Translation anyone?
Rida rida Ranka
hästen heter Blanka
Vart ska vi rida?
Till en liten piga
Vad kan hon heta?
Jungfru Margareta
den tjocka och den feta
May 26th, 2006 at 6:40 pm
My Swedish cousin, says that he knew the last version, submitted by RH, and he translates it as
Ride, Ride Ranka
The horse’s name is Blanka
Where are we going?
To a little maid
What is her name?
Virgin Margareta, the thick and fat one.
June 10th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
my grandfather sang me a song similar to this when i was young, and his father to him, and I’m sure it goes back further than that too, it’s a little different than any version writen up here so far though, seeing as how my relatives are Norwegian (I live in America though) this is most likely a little bit of a messed up version of the Norwegian version.
A rita rita Runkin,
Hesta hida plunkin,
Hesta hida huplika,
Sita nida yunkinpa,
skul skul a rida,
yuntin grunt a rida,
evi in a yama,
on de tus me oma,
de ni nit buff buff,buff, buff, buff buff, buff buff!
again, this songs been going through my family for a while, and im sure it’s been distorted a bit along the way
July 1st, 2006 at 10:54 am
My grandparents were from Norway and it was presumably from them that my father learned this song and sang it for every little kid he knew, bouncing the kid on his knee, and at the final “VOOV! VOOV! VOOV!” the kid would be bounced way in the air. I’ll be happy to send a MIDI file of the tune I remember; tell me how.
July 1st, 2006 at 11:10 am
We remember this one too, our father used to bounce us on his knee, with a BIG BOUNCE at the end, with the Vov! Vov! Vov! of the little dogs.
I found this version here.
It’s pretty close to what I remember.
Ride, ride ranke,
til møllarens hus.
Ingen annan heime
enn ein liten kattepus.
Hanen til å gala,
mølla til å mala,
To små hundar
seier vov, vov, vov!
to små hundar
seier vov, vov, vov!
Roughly it translates (I don’t speak Norwegian):
Ride, ride, (bravely? strongly? probably something like “ride hard”)
to the miller’s house
the animals are home
and a little pussycat
The rooster’s at/in the gala (fair?)
the miller’s at/in the mala (no translation)
Two small dogs
say woof woof woof!
two small dogs
say woof woof woof!
But my dad didn’t repeat that last line.
July 1st, 2006 at 12:18 pm
You can hear our Dad’s melody (give or take a few syllables) here:
http://www.streetsingers.org/ritarita.mid
July 13th, 2006 at 11:56 pm
RH – yours is the version I remember. My Swedish grandfather used to sit me on his leg and bounce me up and down as he sang this to me. I never knew what it meant, but knew it was something about riding a horse. Thank you for making my search for the whole rhyme. I could only remember the 1st two lines.
July 15th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
My grandmother, who grew up on the southern coast of Sweden, came to the US at the age of 13, in 1893. She bounced each of her children and grandchildren on her knee to a “Rita rite ranka” verse of four lines.
I did the same with my four children and now discover the verse has been well applied to my grand-daughters.
I know no Swedish, but have always repeated what I heard by spelling it phonetically as one would in English. As follows…
“Rita rita ranka,
hista mista plunka.
Voskee hoota,
on non Margreta” (Margrethe, I assume.)
The only other thing I know about this was that my mother later told me it was about Margrethe falliing off her horse.
If anyone knows more about this rhyme, how it is properly spelled in Swedish, and exactly what it means, I would be most grateful to see it appear here … or to my e-address: edeanjones@gmail.com.
Many thanks, Dean Jones
August 1st, 2006 at 10:20 pm
I was born in Sweden, and in my youth we sang Rida Rida Ranka:
Rida, rida ranka.
Hästen heter Blanka.
Liten riddare så rar,
Ännu inga sporrar har.
När han dem har vunnit.
Barndoms ro försvunnit.
Så sjöng hon för sin älskling
Om livets äventyr,
Och log emellan tårarn Fru Blanka af Namur
Och när Kung Hakan vunnit
Båd’ sporrar och spjut
Han mins då med vemod
Den barndoms sångens ljud
There is a lovely painting of Fru Blanka af Namur rocking her little son on her knee.
In English:
Rida rida ranka
The horses name is Blanka
Litttle rider so dear
Doesn’t yeat have his spurs
And when he has won them
Childhood peace is gone.
So she sang for her darling.
About lifes adventures
And she smiled amid her tears
Fru Blanka af Namur.
And when king Hakan had won
Both spurs and spears.
He remembers with sadness
His childhood’s lullaby
September 2nd, 2006 at 10:54 pm
I was amazed at how many people shared this childhood memory in the US and how many different versions there are! My grandfather (who passed away three days ago) used to bounce us on his knee doing a version of ride ride ranke, which I have not yet seen here, so I thought I would add to this wonderful collection. He was of Norwegian descent (a purebred) :o) I’ll do my best on the spelling.
Ride ride ranke
Hesten hete blanke
Hesten han halt ag grå
Siten liten ung kar på
Slå han tå
La han gå
Siten liten (insert child’s name) på
translation:
Ride ride ride
The horse’s name is blanke
The horse is lame and grey
On it sits a little boy
Throw him off
Let him go
And sit little (insert child’s name) on
September 20th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
Dear Lisa
what fun blog you have! I was looking for good links to my new website http://www.queenblanche.net (coming soon!!) and found this treasure. Do you let me have this link on my website?
If you wish to see the most loved painting in Finland, click the link.
This is OUR queen, Blanche de Namur, Drottning Blanka and her little son Håkan painted by our beloved master Albert Edelfelt.
And the song in finnish goes like this:
Aja, aja, aja, Blankan ratsastaja.
Minne pojan vienen?
Sinne missä tiedän morsiamen pienen.
Mikä nimi armaan? Margareta varmaan.
So, mother Blanche was ‘brain washing’ her son to marry Margarethe of Denmark (the Union Queen to be).
I myself live in the swedish speaking southwestern archipelago of Finland, where Queen Blanche threw her golden crown to the sea, because only the most beautiful was to keep it. Even today we have an island and an open water called Gullkrona, The Golden Crown.
Her crown is still proudly presented in our municipality emblem (Nauvo).
I have two mother tongues (like most of us on the islands), swedish and finnish, and we have many versions of the song in swedish, shorter and longer, but always the same content: Håkan is to marry queen Margarethe.
I hope my website will be ready and launched soon, there will be many fotos and links to Gullkrona, Nauvo and our beloved queen.
All the best, big hugs!
Uma
September 20th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Dear Lisa
I also found this translation:
http://home.pcisys.net/~don_erickson/rida.htm
Love Uma
October 23rd, 2006 at 11:57 am
Dear Lisa,
I too have been searching for this song because my great uncle used to sing this song to my sisters and me when we were children. My great uncle isn’t doing very well and I would like to know this song before he passes. Although it was a different version where he would bounce us on his knee and it was about a horse. I still found it here on your blog though, posted by a Jennifer. Thank you so much for having this blog, it really means a lot to me beings my fathers side of the family is full blood Danish. Thank you again and again.
October 23rd, 2006 at 12:23 pm
Dear Lisa,
Guess what? I was doing some searching and I found the translation for the danish Ride Ride Ranke. Here you go:
Translation:
RIDE RIDE RANKE
J.C.GEBAUER, MUSIC; S. PETERSON, ENG. LYRICS. (BASED ON HANS
CHRISTIAN ANDERSON POEM)
Ride Ride Ranke
See His Highness on my knee
Looking down his nose at me
Ride Ride Ranke
Ride Ride Ranke
Now Sir Knight with shining lance
Wheels his horse and makes him prance
Ride Ride Ranke
Ride Ride Ranke
Like a feather sits my Dame
Isn’t this a funny game?
Ride Ride Ranke
Ride Ride Ranke
Take the bumpy road today;
Visit Grampa on the way!
Ride Ride Ranke
Ride Ride Ranke
Say, “Hello,” and then like this:
“Goodbye Grampa,” with a kiss
Ride Ride Ranke
Ride Ride Ranke
Off to Uncle’s house we go.
Stop a bit; he’s home I know
Ride Ride Ranke
Ride Ride Ranke
Now that eventide has come,
Little horse is trotting home
Ride Ride Ranke
Ride Ride Ranke
Sleep til morning, both of you
Oats for one and kiss for two!
Ride Ride Ranke
——————————————–
Now I really hope that is right, I found it off of another site but I hope this works for you. Thank you for posting where the melody is too, it somewhat helped me although I remember it being quite faster on my great-uncle’s knee, :P. I remember when ever I would see him i would run over to him and wait for him to pick me up and bounce me around on his knee. I used to remember the song so good I would sing along with him. Time has passed though and I just couldn’t remember it much anymore, and of course I really appreciate you having this site. Especialy because my great uncle isn’t well. Thank you so very much.
January 2nd, 2007 at 11:20 am
Thank you so much for this information! My husbands grandparents are swedish and even they can only remember the first two lines of the poem now. I have pictures of grandma with my daughter and I wanted to scrapbook this poem with the picture ( of grandma singing and bouncing my daughter.) Now I have the information I needed! Thanks again. :)
March 11th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
The Norwegian version I was brought up on followed the
“Ride, ride ranke
til møllerens hus.
Der var ingen hjemme
uten en liten kattepus.”
…pattern but the verse ended in “KI-ki-ri-ki-ri” which is Noregian for “Cock-a-doodle-doo”. Does anyone happen to know the stanza that comes between “liten kattepus” and that?
Also, I always thought that “Ride, Ride, Ranke” meant ‘Ride, ride, proud. (meaning with a straight/erect back)
Egil
I never heard the ‘horse named Blanka’ or ‘Vof vof vof’ versions.
March 24th, 2007 at 1:07 am
Yep, I,m looking for yet another version of “Ride ride ranke…”
The one I remember starts out
Ride ride ranke
hesten heta blanka
(something something something..)
There is a line that sound something like
Horst coma reera
which I always thought meant the horse reared up
and this version ended with what I recall as
“Whee! Whee! Whee!”
which my aunt says is absolutely not so.
Anybody else familiar with this one or more vaguely remembered parts of it?
THanks.
March 26th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Here’s what I was taught by my Swedish Grandparents:
Rida, Rida, Ranka
Rida, Rida, Ranka!
Hästen heter Blanka.
Vart ska vi rida?
Till se pa liten pega.
Vad kan hon heta?
Jungfrau Magretta.
Nå vi kom dit,
Där vara ingen hemma,
Bara utom hund,
Han koppla i bunken
Reste i planken
Och sade, Woof! Woof! Woof!
rough translation:
Ride, Ride a Rocking Horse!
The horse’s name is [Queen] Whitey.
Where shall we ride?
To see a little girl.
What is she called?
Maiden Margaret.
Now, we come there.
There wasn’t anyone home,
Except only a dog
Who was tied up near his dish,
And rose up on the fence,
And said, Woof! Woof! Woof!
April 5th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Our Swedish grandfather used to bounce us all on his knee to this rhyme. He recently passed away in his 90’s and will be missed greatly. Here’s his version of the rhyme spelled out phonetically as I remember it…
Rhea rhea rhunka
Kasa neata blunka
vas ga da ura
mean lit and flicka
Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoo
He always used “flicka” for the girls and something that escapes me for boys. We asked him many time what it meant but as I remember he didn’t really know, just a distant memory from his childhood.
Always got a big smile from all of us kids.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
I learned:
Ride, ride, ranke (pronounced reed-ah, reed-ah, rankhe)
til moelleren’s hus
Der var ingen hjemme
men en kattepus
og tre sma bissevover
en sa woof
andre sa woof, woof
den tredje sa woof, woof, woof
My grandfather ould bounce us on his knee then at the last verse drop us to his ankle.
translated:
Ride, Ride a bronco
to the miller’s house
there was no one home except a kitty cat
and 3 small puppies
one said woof
the next said woof, woof, woof
and the 3rd said woof, woof, woof.
My grandfather was from Oslo and born in 1895
He was a wonderful grandfather
July 30th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
I am looking for the Danish version but we are only looking for a single verse. It is Ride, Ride, Ranke
Hasten Heter Blanka
***Something something something***
Litta (Kids name) sitapa
we think we have found the third line but could use some help.
we think it is Var det ingen hemma (of course spelling aside)
If anyone has heard this version or can help that would be great.
Thanks.
September 29th, 2007 at 12:34 am
Well, this is fantastic. I have a slightly different version that my Swedish grandmother (Thyra Johnson) used to say to me while bouncing me on her knee. Her version ended with something about two dogs, a little one and a big one. It ended:
vi, vi, vi, vi,vi (in a high voice) sa lilla (or s.t. like that)
voo, voo, voo, voo, voo (in a deep voice) sa stulla (or s.t. like that)
My recollection more-or-less matches this:
Rida, rida Ranka
hasten heter Blanka
Vart ska vi rida?
Till en liten piga
Vad kan hon heta?
Jungfru Margareta
Na vi dom dit,
Dar vara ingen hemma
then the next line was something like
mit tvo hunde i gemel gemma
Of course, my memory of this is about 55 years old.
My daughter, Mila Shank, has a two-month-old son, and she would like to recite this to him.
Cheers,
Alan Shank
Woodland, CA, USA
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:07 pm
My great-great grandmother came from Norway in the late 19th century and her daughter wrote down a different version of Rida, Rida, Ranke. The English verse is similar to the one posted on Mama Lisa’s site but I remember hearing it:
Ride ride ranke
To the miller’s house.
Nobody was home,
But a little pussycat,
Who washes himself
and says
“Meow Meow Meow”
Has anyone else heard this version?
November 25th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Reidun sent a link to another version.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:01 am
My parents were from Norway and we lived there for a couple of years when I was in middle school and before that stayed all summer every other year with my maternal grandmother.
I have vivid memories of sitting on my Mom’s lap when I was very little and she would recite the following as she bounced me up and down on her knees:
Ride ride ranke,
Hesten heter Blanke,
Sitt en liten ungkar på.
Hvor skal ungkarn ride?
Til kongens dør og fria.
Ingen annen heime
Enn to små hunder,
Som sitter under bordet og sier,
Vov, vov, vov, vov vov!!
Translation:
Ride, ride straight-backed,
The horse’s name is Blanke,
A little bachelor is sitting on top.
Where shall the bachelor ride?
To the kings door and propose.
Nobody else home
Except two small dogs,
Sitting under the table and saying,
Woof, woof, woof woof woof!!
And then there was “Ro, Ro Til Fiskesjær” — fond memories of her rocking me back and forth on her lap holding me hands singing that one — anyone else remember that one?
February 1st, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Hello to all of you fellow bouncees,
When I sat down at my computer to try to find this childhood favorite of mine, I never could have imagined the zillion different versions. My Grandmother used to cross her legs and bounce me on her foot holding on to my hands. Her parents both came to The States as teenagers, one from Sweden and one from Norway.
What she sang sounded something like:
Rida, rida runchon,
Hesta vanna punchon
Salivana hist te dee
woof, woo, woof, woof
Has anyone heard anything like that?
March 30th, 2008 at 3:44 am
Im an Australian with absolutely no Scandinavians in my family but I too was taught a rhyme, 60 years ago, that my mother had heard which started ‘ria ria runga’, so Im enthralled to find this website. But the rest of it was totally different… it went (roughly)
Hessel enna robbelsprung
Danse kneller neidrior
Fia mullar, yama kulla
Yama kanna yokum
Any clues would be most welcome.
March 30th, 2008 at 4:12 am
I have no Scandinavian background but 70 years ago I was taught a song by my mother which started ‘ria ria ranka’ (more or less). I dont recall any bouncing on knees
The rest of it was totally different , ie ..
Hessel enna robbelsprung
Dense knaller nedrior (which sounds like suddenly falling down?)
Fia mulla, jama kulla (a cat meowing?)
Jama kana yokum
June 22nd, 2008 at 4:42 pm
My Great Grandfather came to America from Sweden when he was 17. He used to sing a song in Swedish to my grandfather who in turn sung it to us years later. My Grandfather passed away many years ago and we have lost the song forever I’m afraid. When he sang it to my Aunt when she was a little girl he would sing a few lines in English, so if this sounds at all familair please get back with me and let me know the swedish version and what it says. “Go to sleep little one and when you wake you’ll patty patty cake and ride a shiney pony.
June 25th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Hello Lisa: This is really comical- so many versions of Rida Rida Runka. My grandfather was a pioneer Lutheran minister- organized 12 country churches for Swedish immigrants in NW MN. My mother and aunt would recite this rhymne. I have a video of my mother bouncing a great-granddaughter on her knee while singing this song. I do not have the Swedish handy, but the translation that was given to me is as follows:
Ride, ride on my knee
The horse’s name is Blanka
Where are we riding?
Riding away to woo a little girl.
What will be her name?
Maiden Margareta- the fat and chubby.
When we came to her house, no one was home
but an old woman who taught her daughter to spin
“Spin spin my daughter. Tomorrow your suitor will come.”
The daughter spun and the tear ran, but the suitor never came
until the year – - with golden ribbons in his hair.
I note some similarities in the various versions with respect to Margareta. Brenda’s Swedish version (Jan. 23,2006) sounds familiar but not sure.
June 25th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
That’s neat Bruce! If you’re able to get me a recording of your mother singing the song, I can post it. I think someone would be able to help you with the Swedish lyrics then.
-Lisa
July 1st, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Ride, ride ranke,
Gesten heder blanka
Folet heder Abilgra
Det skal (child’s name) ride paa.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
The version I learned sounded like:
Rea rea runkin
tuska tuska brunkin
tusk ina row
tusk ina row
come a rea pola into town.
The 2 versions I pasted below sound the closest to mine. In Swedish how is the D in rida pronounced? My father would ‘roll’ the D like some languages roll the R sound.
Rita rita ranka
hestin hista blunka
hestin hista rita sow
hestin hetin apple grow
Ridda, Ridda ranka
Hasen yetta blunken
Hassen etta yupagrow
satten eten yunkanpo
Thanks. This is a blast from the past.
November 1st, 2008 at 4:04 am
Song is about queen blanca playing with his son. Here is a picture related to song : Queen Blanca and her son playing horseride. http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuva:Mother_and_Child_by_Edelfelt.jpg
February 12th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
I have an old family history in which my grandmother mentioned a poem very similar to “Rida Rida Ranke!” but I am not sure if it is the same because it goes “Ria, Ria Ranken! Hasten hetta Blanken!” with two dots above the “a” in Hasten. I’m wondering if this is a different dialect or a (forgive me) typing error. I also want to know if there are other sources for old Swedish nursery rhymes which include their translation into English.
February 12th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
I hope this allowed; I have a second rhyme I’m curious about. Again, I have only the first line: “Lusity, Lusity Lus.” It’s supposed to be about a rabbit.
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:49 pm
My mother would sing this version to my children ( now 27 years old)
Rhea, Rhea Runtin
hester hetta blunkin
um comostin,
woo woo woo woo,
that is as close as i could come to remember, my mother was norweigan,
my mother said it was about a little dog going down the lane comes across something? and barks woof woof woof.
i wish I knew the correct version
February 27th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Anyone know of the song about Noah?
Gubben Noah, Gubben Noah,
var en hedersman.
När han gick ur arken,
plantera han på marken.
Mycket vin, ja, mycket vin,
ja, detta gjorde han.
something something something? Dunno the translation though or how it’s supposed to sound.
I found you looking for Rida Rida Runka which of course my Swedish grandmother and her mother sang to us (who we called Moonoo because we couldn’t say mormor when we were little).
There was another one – a song about 3 dogs barking on the yard or something. Any ideas?
February 28th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I’m C T Olson’s aunt.
Rida rida ranka
hästen heter Blanka
Vart ska vi rida
Till en liten piga
Piga var inte hemma
Dit Står tre hund
en sagt,Woof
en sagt Woof, woof
en sagt Woof, woof, Woof
My grandmother taught this to us. She came from Nora in Västernorrland, but her mother was from Sunne in Värmland. The only other time I have heard this version was from another person from Sunne.
April 8th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I have memories of this but it was always about 2 small dogs at the end which apparently scare the horse and the child “falls” off at the end, which they love, of course. My memory:
Rita rita runken,
Has anetta blunken;
Lang skad o ria,
Du gum latte spia;
Two small hunde,
Legge unde begge say;
Wuv, wuv, wuv, wuv, WUV!
(On the last WUV (like bow wow) then the knees come apart and the child “falls” in between them – akin to falling off the horse…)
The spelling, of course, is wrong.
April 30th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
My great-grandmother who came from Denmark in 1880 used to sit me on her knee and do this song. The following is what I remember in Danish, and this is my own spelling so must be very incorrect.
A rita, rita runke, d millers house. a der lee la heming a little cat and mouse. Der sits a vowhund( dog) sittin on a bencka (bench) a vos a linka a vos e hund. woof, woof, woof.
I really enjoyed bouncing up and down on her knees when she would do this. I dont remember the tune though and would love to know that too. Thanks, Gary
May 7th, 2009 at 12:13 am
I just emailed my Mom to ask her Mother to send me the English and Swedish lyrics to the song she used to sing to Grand kids I know I wont spell this right but it went like a lot of these other posts
rita rita runkin
hester hader blunkin
first galderia ita ita pita
I know I know, way off but she always told us that it meant a little fat girl on a horse??? I wonder if it’s different than what everyone else is think of.
Hopefully she will get the words to me so I can sing it somewhat correctly to my kids.
May 26th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
[...] We know the first rhyme is a version of Ride ride ranke, and Lori checked the versions posted on the blog, but couldn’t find it [...]
May 26th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Lori recording this rhyme and another one and is asking about them at…
http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/can-someone-help-with-2-danish-or-swedish-nursery-rhymes-we-have-a-recording-of-them
If anyone can help Lori, please respond at that link.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
May 28th, 2009 at 11:59 am
[...] Unless a song has an author who left a copy of his work, when a song/rhyme has variants, there is only a” MOST KNOWN/SPREAD version”. Some songs have tens of versions… so imagine all the nursery rhymes or finger plays that every mom sings to her baby multiplied by all the mothers out there! (Check out the many versions of Ride Ride Ranke.) [...]
June 7th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
this is probably all wrong as it has been sung throughout the generations and totally changed i’m sure. i’d like to know the real words to teach to my children, but this is how it sounds to me. i was told it was something about a dog hiding behind the stove and when his master comes home he jumps out and says woof woof woof.
rida.rida runken hasten blisten blunken nus cuma ria…..something,something?…..usma tusma hunda, so lik unda stovus sonasia…woof woof woof. please translate
July 8th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
There is a gift shop in Lindsborg, KS that sells plates and mugs with this poem written in English. My husband and children were raised bouncing on a knee while listening to ria, ria runken…… and I was so excited to find the plates. I don’t remember the name of the store but Lindsborg is not very large and the store also sells the red horses that hang outside doors.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
It’s usually, in Denmark, a game in which a small child rides on your foot or knee while you bounce them and chant the rhyme.
There are lots of them because the adults involved make them up spontaneously in many cases.
Ride ride ranke,
Hesten hedder blanke,
Føllet hedder Abildgraa,
der skal [child's name] ride paa,
ride ride ranke.
The spelling is very bad, but it means roughly,
Ride ride ???
The Hessian’s hide is white
The little foal’s hide is applegrey.
that one shall [child's name] ride!
One csn keep up the game until the child gets tired of it or you leg gives out, whichever comes first.
July 30th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
My family is Danish. I remember a song from childhood, now I believe it is a spin-off of Ride Ride Ranke, but I remember it sounding (phonetically) like:
Hup Hup Hup
Hup Hup Hup
Ride Ride Ranke
Hesten hither abelcouth
de skal (kids name) ride poh
ride ride ranke
I think the 3rd line is supposed to mean “the horse’s name is Applesauce”. Love it!
September 4th, 2009 at 8:54 am
I am so happy that my husband just found this site! My Danish grandfather sang Rita, Rita runka to us while bouncing us on the knee, then dropped us to his ankle at the end. I am 52 and soon visiting my Danish cousin in Denmark! It is fun to read how many of us have this happy childhood memory. My great-grandparents immigrated to Gothenburg, NE around 1881 from Ringkobing, Denmark area. I can’t wait to visit there!
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:22 am
My Nana’s mother came from Sweden in the late 1800’s and this nursery rhyme was sung to me many times as I bounced on Nana’s knee. Just before she died in the 1980’s at age 93 I had her recite the little verse to me one more time, and I wrote it down phonetically. Years later I had some Swedish people listen to me read it and they understood it pretty well. Here is our version:
Ria ria runken
hesten heeta blunken
varskaal vee ria
tu en litten pia
varskaal un hetta
Marta Magretta
ven vee kam tu Henna’s huse
der var no engen yemma
sotten en litten hoona
sotten po a toona
rupa
“Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo!”
September 26th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Anyone remember one that starts, “Trafimkin, trafimkin…” I doubt it is how it is spelled, but I would like to know the words. My mother would bounce me on her ankle when she recited it.
October 25th, 2009 at 1:33 am
I too had a Grandfather from Sweden that bounced us on his knee and sang a Swedish song. Tonight my 8 year old daughter watched the movie “Flicka”. Why sitting at the kitchen table, one of the hired hands calls the girl in the movie “Flicka” and discusses his Swedish Grandfather who sang a nursery rhyme using this word. Anyone else catch this? This month my mother turns 75 and I wanted to find the words to the song for her and all the grandkids to keep. Thanks for everyone’s input. The version I remember is a bit different. I have spelled it as I pronounce it:
Dia, Dia, Dunken
Hasa hit da blunken
Hasto la reia
See a little flicka.
At the end of the rhyme he would open his knees and let us “fall” to the floor. It brings back wonderful childhood memories for me. I try to sing it to my kids and they love it.