Gira, gira, rosa
This is an old circle game from Venice in the Venetian dialect.
Gira, gira, rosa
Turn, Turn, Rose
Circle Game
Circle Game
(Italian Dialect)
(English)
Gira, gira, rosa,
Co la più bela in mezo;
Gira un bel giardino,
Un altro pochetino;
Un salterelo,
Un altro de più belo;
Una riverenza,
Un' altra per penitenza:
Un baso a chi ti vol.
Turn, turn, rose,
With the finest in the middle;
Turn a fine garden,
A very little more;
A little jump,
Another prettier one;
A curtsey,
Another as penitence:
A kiss to the one who loves you.
Game Instructions
The children walk in a circle singing the song. One child stands in the middle and does as asked: she jumps and curtsies. On the last line, she chooses a child, gives him a kiss, they swap places and the game starts again.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
This song can be found in "Giuochi popolari veneziani" (Popular Venetian Games) by Domenico Giuseppe Bernoni (1874).
