Mark wrote:
I’ve been trying to find out the name of a nursery rhyme my mother used to say to me in the early ’60s. It was a knee bouncer and she would lean me over backwards during some of the rhyme.
I’ll try to write what I remember to give you a hint of what it was. It sounded to me like this…..
Hutsy, gutsy geiler, hummin stuck de steiler (or something very similiar).
Anything anyone could do to help out would really be appreciated.
Mark
If anyone can help with the words to this nursery rhyme (and possibly an English translation), please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
This article was posted on Monday, January 15th, 2007 at 9:33 pm and is filed under Countries & Cultures, German, German Nursery Rhymes, Germany, Languages, Nursery Rhymes, Questions, Readers Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
62 Responses to “Looking for a German Nursery Rhyme”
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December 20th, 2019 at 12:59 am
I learned this as a child, wonder what it’s from.
May 2nd, 2020 at 6:48 pm
Swiss German was my grampa Smucker’s first language and he did the bouncy leg with me with something that sounded like:
Reite reite giele
Eine stunde Meile
Mei valle hofe dresse
Kann das geile fude fresse.
At one point I had googled and tracked down that rhyme but I can’t find it now.
July 18th, 2020 at 3:08 pm
Looking for an English translation to a song in German that was sung while giving pony rides a long time ago. It is believed to be a song about riding a pony, a golden castle and 3 maidens and going in to a cellar??? I would love to know the translation
Ritta ritta roessli,
T’s bada stoht a Schloessli,
T’s bada stoht a goldigs huss,
Da luogen drei Jungfraua uss,
Di eine spinet sida,
Di andre beprotezelt chrida,
Di dritte goth in cheller,
und holet muscateller,
suessa wi’, suessa wi’
mor’a we’n m’r lustig si,
mor’a we’n m’r lusting si, lustig si
July 19th, 2020 at 10:12 pm
Monique wrote back to Brittni:
It’s similar to the Swiss German song called Ryte, ryte, Rössli
Ride, ride, horsey
In Bade stands a castle
In Bade stands a golden house
There three maidens gaze outside
The first spins silk
The other one grates chalk
The third goes to the cellar
And fetches Muscat wine.
January 14th, 2021 at 6:05 pm
As a child my father would regularly recite the following rhyme to amuse me:
Inty minty fixity fag,
Al dal roman al,
Erky perky stoney rock,
Al dal touch.
Has anyone heard this version? Its origin?
January 14th, 2021 at 10:11 pm
This is the version I grew up with. I was told it’s PA dutch, and I know I’m butchering spellings.
Rida rida giley
Al es tunte miley
Marria musme harve thresa
For de skylie futer fressa
January 15th, 2021 at 2:03 pm
Erin,
I was able to put together a version close to what you have with this spelling and translation below (with help from this page)…
Reide, reide Geili
Alli Schtunde Meili
Marriye welle mer Hawwer dresche
Was Geili Fuder fresse
Translation
Ride, ride a horsey
A mile every hour
Tomorrow we want oats to thresh
For food the horsey eats.
This is also a song. You can hear a rendition on YouTube.
May 29th, 2021 at 3:19 pm
My great uncle was born in Sweden, emigrated to the US, and lived here for many years, but never lost his accent. One of my cousins (recently deceased) fondly remembered hearing him say something like, “chilly, chilly, wit boon boon”. (He didn’t mention him singing it, just saying it.) Alas, almost everyone who might have a better memory of this, or of the circumstances in which he uttered it, is gone. HOWEVER, I found something close to it in “Angie’s” comment above (dated July 13, 2017). Any clues?
May 29th, 2021 at 3:36 pm
Angie’s seems to come from Ich bin der Doktor Eisenbart at the link below…
https://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=6694
May 29th, 2021 at 3:53 pm
Thanks. I suppose I’ll never really know if that’s it or not. Does it seem likely that there was a Swedish version of it?
July 30th, 2021 at 2:59 am
Still looking to shed some light on my grandfather’s version – he says his grandfather told it to him. I think it’s somewhat a combination of German, german-sounding words and gibberish. I will try and somewhat phonetically write it out:
Hutta Hutta Harra
So Bright and Fair-a
So v(f)right and klein en skin
Must mochen sein g(k)orresen sein
Gay and see and sachsen
Weenie weenie wachsen
We see, why see, wasserfold
Triva, boomsach!
He isn’t 100% of the words himself. It has some of the cadence of the Hoppe Hoppe Reiter posted here but a good part doesn’t match up at all. None-the-less countless grandkids have loved it.
February 13th, 2022 at 11:44 pm
My Grandma Griebenow would bounce me as she sat in her rocking chair crossing her legs and allowing me to sit on her foot, holding my hands. Then she would bounce me and recite the following poem in German.
So reiten die Herren
(So the gentlemen ride, the big shots in Germany)
Mit blanken gewehren
(with polished guns)
Mit blanken pistolen
(with shinny pistols)
Die reiten nach Poland
(They ride to Poland)
Sie wollen gelt holen
(They want to get money)
Gebackte apfel, baken apfel, baken apfel
(Baked apple, baked apple, baked apple)
This last line about baked apples had nothing to do with Germans but the sound of that phrase sounded like horses galloping!