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.
January 15th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Could it be this one?
Hoppe, hoppe, Reiter, wenn er faellt, dann schreit er.
Faellt er in den Graben, fressen ihn die Raben.
Faellt er in den Sumpf, dann macht der Reiter plumps.
Rough translation:
Bounce, bounce, horse rider, if he falls, he’ll scream.
If he falls into the ditch, the ravens will eat him.
If he falls into the swamp, then the rider will go plop.
Angela
January 19th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I’ve gone over this in my mind thinking that this might be it but know in my mind that I distinctly remember it sounding like i wrote it in my earlier post. Although it is written phonetically and not in the german spelling I think it is still possible to figure it out. My mother doesn’t remember it and only says that she must have gotten it from her parents. Her parents were born in the United States and her grandparents in Germany so this is why I think it was handed down.
March 6th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Trying to research same, but different. The one we remember goes like this: Reiten sie kleine kinder, die die (?) nicht sie wachten zint (?) und wenn sie grosse werden reiten sie summ werden, hummily, hummily, hummily.
Any ideas?
March 31st, 2007 at 11:11 am
I grew up bouncing on relatives’ knees to “Hoppe, Hoppe, Reiter”.
Thank you, Angela, for that moment of happy memory.
March 31st, 2007 at 11:17 am
I forgot to add what is likely a family variation to Angela’s posted rhyme: the third line (in my memory) was this.
Faellt er in den Bush (sp?), whoosh-ush-ush-ush-ush!!
On “Bush”, the bouncing would suddenly stop, and with “whoosh” the leg would straighten and I (the child) would “fall” into the bush.
:)
June 12th, 2007 at 9:42 am
I am looking for the words to a rhyme my grandmother recited to us. Its over fifty years so my memory is definitely off. Last time I recited it I recall being corected by my sister who is no longer here to tell me what the words were. I think it is about some one playing piano.
This is what I have in my head phonetically
Mine tante ish clavere blimp blomp blimp blomp blimp
Does anyone know of such a rhyme?
March 30th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Hi Mark
I think it might be “Hoppe Hoppe Reiter wenn er faellt dann schreit er faellt er in den Sumpf macht der Reiter plumps & that would be the point that you were leaning backwards.
Lovely Memories come back to me.
Jeanette
July 14th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I remember my grandparents and also “old Papa” bouncing me on their knees and singing (terrible, I know, but I don’t know German any longer!) Horsa, Horsa, rida, mille schasta seila, mille schasta rodi ku, ut med du ! Then leg straightens out and child is quickly leaned way back. Any help on this would be great !
August 22nd, 2008 at 9:58 am
Yep, that is ringing a memory bell LaraLee. I can distinctly remember that part of the song too. Now we’re getting somewhere! :)
August 30th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Hello,
I too remember bouncing on my grandfathers knee to a german rhyme and would like to know what it means. The words were different tho. I remember it as (and this is a shot in the dark as to how it is spelled)
hoppe hoppe hoppe, fatcha loppe gollop, eiber schtich n eiber stein, obber niche da niche den bine.
ANY, help would be wonderful, as I now bounce my son on my knee and wonder what it means
August 30th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
This is…
Hopp, hopp, hopp!
Pferdchen, lauf Galopp!
Über Stock und über Steine,
Aber brich dir nicht die Beine!
Hopp, hopp, hopp hopp, hopp!
Pferdchen, lauf Galopp!
English Translation:
Hop, hop, hop!
Little horse, gallop!
Over stick and stone
But don’t break your leg!
Hop, hop, hop, hop, hop!
Little horse, gallop!
You’ll find the full version with its English translation on:
http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=391&c=38
August 18th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Does anyone know of a variation like this one. Sounding this out phonetically: Hutta Hutta Herra (maybe herren), so bright and fair – a, and then it goes on and on and ends on “Triva Boomsach” the boomsach being where the dip the little kid down. My grandfather says this but he doesn’t even know the words correctly.
November 6th, 2009 at 3:44 am
so fahren die damen, so fahren die damen,
so reiten die herren, so reiten die herren,
so schuckelt der bauer, so schuckelt der bauer,
bis er runterfaellt.
like this the ladies travel
like this the gentleman ride
like this the farmer moves (the cart?)
until he falls down
February 20th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
My grandfather used to bounce me on his knee to something that started with Hop klee reide ligh. or some facimile of that
July 5th, 2010 at 9:23 am
i remember the knee bounce song sounded like
“zucker, zucker reiter…”
instead of “hoppe, hoppe reiter”… anyone else? (does zucker mean sugar?)
and then my favourite part at the end:
“wenn er fällt, dann schreit er,
fällt er in den Sumpf,
dann macht der Reiter… Plumps!”
October 22nd, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Mark, Beth, Franklin, Matt, Dawn, Lizzy:
Another lady (from Wisconsin) was looking for nearly the same song – I’m sure of it.
I copied her questionable lyrics and the best answer which did not have a on-to-one correspondence.
This may be the best answer anyone will ever get or give.
As we shall see, her version has a first line no one else has quoted in this thread, and it refers to the sound of a horse’s hooves and the wheels of a cart against a cobblestone road.
Although the Wisconsin lady’s version is incomplete, this combined with Lisa’s supplied best guess on that page, and the other thread’s best source should be of great help.
The Wisconsan lady asked about this version:
‘Scheckle, scheckle, reiderlein,
Ven die kinder kleinerschein
Reiden zie auf steckelein,
Ven zie greissa verden
Reiden zie auferden
Zen zie verten,
Klip, Klop, Klip Klop
Reiden zi (then something like a scary word or sounds)
“Boom stehl leckta!” really loud!’
The ‘boom stehl leckta’ is obviously corresponding to ‘(Ka)bumms! da liegt er/sie’.
Lisa’s first response is exactly what I would say to the two versions were I asked about it. The aunt gave a version where the final line supports the song having been sung to a girl, and the father’s version, to a boy.
The best answer from another thread was this version (which is not a perfect match):
‘Schacker, schacker Reiterlein,
Wenn die Kinder kleine sein,
Reiten sie auf Stöckelein,
Wenn sie größer werden,
Reiten Sie auf Pferden,
Wenn sie größer wachsen,
Reiten sie nach Sachsen,
Wo die schönen Mädchen
Auf den Bäumen wachsen.
Reiter, Reiter, übern Graben,
Wenn er ´neinfällt, muß er´s haben.
Fällt er in den grünen Klee,
So schreit er: O weh, o weh!
Fällt er in die Hecken,
Fressen ihn die Schnecken.
Fällt er auf die Steine,
Tun ihm weh die Beine.
Fällt er in den Graben,
Fressen ihn die Raben.
Fällt er in den Sumpf,
Macht er plumps, plumps, plumps!’
I have a similar version in my own memory that is halfway between the short version(s) in this thread, and the and longer possible-source version from the other thread.
Explanation:
This probably is the original (Saxonian) nursery rhyme of which you phonetically remember a portion (and from the looks of it, what you remember was “gesächselt”). The music to this version is probably the rhythm you sing your versions in!
Title: Hopp hopp hopp Reiterlein
Hop, hop, hop, li’l rider
Activity: Kind hoppelt auf dem Schoß
child hopping on the lap
[Here’s where the actual rhyme starts:]
Hopp hopp hopp, Reiterlein,
Hop, hop, hop, li’l rider,
wenn die Kinder kleine sein,
when children are small
reiten sie auf Stöckelein
they ride on a stick (horse)
wenn sie größer werden,
when they grow larger
reiten sie auf Pferden,
they ride on (real) horses
wenn sie dann noch wachsen,
if they still grow, then
reiten sie nach Sachsen.
they (will) ride to Saxonia
Geht das Pferdchen trab, trab, trab,
(And) the little horse goes trot, trot, trot,
wirft den kleinen Reiter ab,
throws down the little rider
Plumps liegt er im Graben.
thud, he lays in a ditch/grave.
-=-=-
Here’s a possible source for the music that nearly fits with any of the shorter versions, but it seems that something containing 7 syllables is missing between ‘Schacker, schacker Reiterlein’ and ‘Wenn die Kinder kleine sein’, or before ’shacker, schacker Reiterlein’.
http://www.volksliederarchiv.de/kinderreime-573.html
Last but not least, this YouTube video I found seems to almost match exactly, but I was not familiar with it until I stumbled across it on a web search.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJwP4_oqAvo
Have I been helpful and thorough enough to forgive my verbosity?
http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/can-anyone-help-with-a-german-songrhyme-that-begins-vender-kinder-klinderzine/
February 1st, 2011 at 1:18 pm
My Opa used to say a similar nursery rhyme while bouncing us on his knees, but it ended differently. After the verse “reiten sie nach Sachsen”, he used to say (and this is completely phonetic because I know very little German)
Cumpt tie klein auf vesserlein
Falling all ay boompsienein
at which point he’d straighten his legs out and we’d go tumbling backwards. Does this ring a bell with anyone?
February 15th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
I am looking for a nursery ryhme source we think is German from my great great grandparents (from Germany). It sounds like:
Empty, mpty, tippied fig
eely, dealy, domen, egg
itchy, pitchy, domen, itchy,
om, pom, boo,
out goes you.
Has anyone ever heard of this one?
February 16th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Helen – My guess is that it’s one of those counting rhymes that use nonsense words. There are many of those.
Anyone else?
February 16th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Here are some counting out rhymes I found that sound similar:
1. Inty, minty, tippety, fig,
Delia, dilia, dominig;
Otcha, potcha, dominotcha,
Hi, pon, tusk.
Huldy, guldy, boo,
Out goes you!
2. Heely, peely, tipty, fig,
Deely, doly, domi nig;
Horter, sporter, Sally Snorter.
Woa, har, gee, buck!
from Virginia.
3. Haley, maley, tippety, fig;
Tiney, toney, tombo, nig;
Goat, throat, country note;
Tiney, toney, tiz.
from Rhode Island, 1830.
4. Ana, mana, tippety fig;
Tine, tone, country nig;
Oats, floats, country notes;
Tine, tone, tis.
5. Eeney, pheeny, figgery fegg,
Deely, dyly, ham and egg;
Calico back and stony rock.
Arlum, barlum, bash!
These rhymes can be found in The counting-out rhymes of children by Henry Carrington Bolton (1888).
April 25th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
This is what I remember
ride-a-ride-a -gilee
eldastunt a milee
Gilee springed a vek
Un de kindr falls in the drek
ride and ride the horsey
every mile an hour
horse runs away
and the baby falls in the dirt
I do this with my grandchildren, bouncing them on my knee and leaning them way back for the last line
February 17th, 2012 at 1:04 am
How about another variety of a German rhyme posted above. My grandfather used to say:
Inty, minty, dibbity, fey
Alyus, talyus, dominey
Eitchy, peichy, domineichy
Oomp, boomp, bass
Ulla, bulla, boo
Out goes Y. O. U.
February 21st, 2012 at 9:21 am
My Mum and Gran used to say the rhyme about the rider something like this:
Zucker, zucker Reiterlein,
Wenn die Kinder kleine sein,
Reiten sie auf Stöckelein,
Wenn sie größer werden,
Reiten Sie zur Pferden.
Geht der Pferdchen kliperty klap,
Denn felt den kleine reiter ab.
Bumps da liegt er.
March 4th, 2012 at 9:36 pm
Here is the knee rhyme I remember my Grandmothers saying:
So reiten die Herren
Mit blanken gewehren
Pistolen geladen
Trompeten geblasen
So, Ru Tu Tu Ru Tu Tu Ru Tu Tu Tu
The first three lines were gentle bumping, the last line was fast and furious bumping
rifles and pistols and trumpets?
June 8th, 2012 at 3:22 pm
I have an answer to this post:
Andi Anderson Says:
February 1st, 2011 at 1:18 pm
My Opa used to say a similar nursery rhyme while bouncing us on his knees, but it ended differently. After the verse “reiten sie nach Sachsen”, he used to say (and this is completely phonetic because I know very little German)
Cumpt tie klein auf vesserlein
Falling all ay boompsienein
at which point he’d straighten his legs out and we’d go tumbling backwards. Does this ring a bell with anyone?
I think the correct spelling would be:
Kommt (Kommen) die Klein(en) aufs Wasserlein (Wässerlein)
Fallen alle “bumps” hinein
means: when the little ones reach some kind of water like a small river they all fall “bumps” (phonetic -> you let the child “fall”) inside
I am not sure if you mean the plural or not. Maybe that helps you a little.
June 9th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
I remember a nursery rhyme about a white horse running through the woods that my grandfather used to say to me, it was also a knee bouncing one. It sounded like
otzi botzi
mopa deck
squanda labya quandi peck
ota ota
Does that sound familiar to anyone??
November 24th, 2012 at 12:33 pm
This is how my father-in-law, who was first generation German, sang it to the children, bounding them on his Knee.
So reiten die Herren
Mit___________ begehren
Hup, Hup
tipple, topple, tipple, topple
February 5th, 2013 at 10:41 pm
I’m trying to find a bouncing rhyme my grandmother used.
Phonetically (to the best of my recollection)
Trips, trips trillion
Munder hutten fillion…
Does this ring a bell with anyone?
May 31st, 2013 at 9:57 pm
My grandpa was the grandson of a German who came to live in Central Illinois. I’m not entirely sure how much German he understood (likely not too much), but he had a rhyme that he would say as he bounced my brother, sister, and I on his knees, that sounded like this:
Tro to tro to feel
To Bauer to Ho to feel
Field gave a loff
An a spring feel da doff
An a boop slida dint
I so hope this rings a bell with someone, or someone can make sense of what words these might sound like. This is one of my fondest memories of something we did with my grandpa.
November 25th, 2013 at 12:22 am
My dad taught us a version of inty minty. It goes like this,
Inty minty tiggetty fig
Deedly doe and dominig
Once Ponce tres donce
Alda balda boo
And out goes you
His parents came from Germany in the late 1800’s. My siblings and I all worked hard to learn the verse and were so proud when we mastered it. I taught it to my grand daughter when she was three.
November 28th, 2013 at 2:36 am
“dros, dros, velia, da bower hut a fila,
These were the words that I remembery my grandfather saying as he bounced me on his knee. At the end of the rhyme, he would straighten out his leg and give a big bounce; saying, “oops sa baby, oops sa baby.”
This sounds lot like the rhyme from Chad Lohne.
November 28th, 2013 at 2:40 pm
Yes, Ruth! That was exactly how it went! Thanks so much!
December 1st, 2013 at 6:53 pm
Only know how it sounded to us as kids…..
rite to rite the geilly
al estone the mylie
ebla globla gobla
blootch blotch da leech da hem.
Anyone have any ideas?
January 5th, 2014 at 6:32 am
Barb – Did you get any info on your version? My mother-in-law passed down a song that went something like: Dros, dros drillia, … and I’d love to get both the German and English translation to the song written down.
January 28th, 2014 at 9:57 pm
Barb Stone and Chad Lohnes versions sound similar to what I’m trying to remember my Grandma singing to me. As a child I remember calling it Horsey Horsey Drill – that was what the german words must have sounded like to me as a child. I wish I knew the name of the rhyme.
June 7th, 2014 at 7:32 pm
My father would tell me German nursery rhymes when I was a child. The version of this rhyme I remember is
Hup, hup, hup, hup, reit allein.
Kleiner Kinder klein noch sein.
Reiten sie auf Stock und Bein.
Reiten sie auf Pferden.
…
Ploop! Er fällt im Graben!
Hup, hup, hup, hup, ride alone. (Reiterlein = little rider would make more sense)
Little children still are little.
They ride on stick and bone (leg).
They ride on horses.
…
Ploop! He falls in the ditch!
Whereupon he slid me off his knee to the floor.
I wish I could remember the middle part, but that was over 60 years ago.
June 7th, 2014 at 7:49 pm
Monique wrote:
Ray – Google has only this one:
Hup Hup Reitlein
Wenn die Kinder kleine sein
Reiten Sie auf Stock und Bein
Wenn Sie größer werden
reiten Sie auf Pferden
Wenn Sie größer wachsen
reiten Sie nach Sachsen.
UH AU OO
Aus Bist DUUUU!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPtONe9sPyc
January 14th, 2015 at 4:14 am
My Swiss-German grandmother (born in 1899) used to sing the following song in English while bouncing the great-grandchildren on her knee:
Hup hup hup hup-hup!
Horsey goes gal-lup.
Over sticks and over stones,
Horsey don’t you break those bones!
Hup hup hup hup-hup!
Horsey goes gal-lup.
I still remember the tune…
January 14th, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Thanks for sharing that song! If you’d like to sing it for us, we’d love to add a recording. Cheers! Mama Lisa
April 11th, 2015 at 2:01 am
Does this ring a bell? My dad always sang it to us as children and we think its German-
Drassa drassa drill,
The Bauer hopped da Phil
The Phil sprang a veck
Oont the Bauer lauf an vec
April 11th, 2015 at 5:46 am
This looks like this rhyme. There is another Mama Lisa’s Blog page about people looking for German rhymes.
November 24th, 2015 at 4:03 am
Has a child my grandpa had me on his lap like riding a horse. Saying something like.. Ride e rude e kilie ride a ….. Them the end was …fall in a deck. Then he would have me fall between his legs.
Does anyone have the words to this.
December 12th, 2015 at 11:50 pm
I do remember the words… And song…
Wenn die Kinder kleine sein
Reiten Sie auf Stock und Bein
Wenn Sie größer werden
reiten Sie auf Pferden
Wenn Sie größer wachsen
reiten Sie nach Sachsen.
But in the end my grandmother would say…
PLOOMP… goes the bricksinstein… (Child’s name here) falls In the wassernine…
All from a memory back in the late 40’s early 50’s on my grandmother’s feet….. Thanks for the wonderful memories…
July 22nd, 2016 at 3:46 pm
We have one in our family for which we would all love to know the origins (and the real words). Knowing no German, I’ll write it phonetically as it sounded to me when I was small:
Ridey, Ridey who will go
Bouncing like a moosey so,
A pooma like a tren,
A pooma like a tren.
Frossey frossey freely,
Paul Ross a freely
Freely loss a freck,
And a pooma like a fallen
Tren.
It’s very similar to several of those above but, there’s a very specific tune and pattern. My uncle remembered his grandfather singing it to him, so we’re looking at four generations of “the telephone game” ha!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
July 13th, 2017 at 3:33 am
My grandma used to put us on her knee but her rhyme was way different. My dad doesn’t know what it means. It sounded like
Kiddy viddy vit oh
Kiddy viddy vit oh
Kiddy viddy vit boom boom boom boom
And a hiasauce and a hiasauce and a kiddy viddy vit boom boom
Has anyone heard anything like this at all??
July 14th, 2017 at 10:06 am
I remember the hoppe hoppe thing from my dad and relatives but hoppe hoppe reiter does not sound familiar. In my memory it is something like hoppe hoppe relich kind, reiten on a pfillig kind. This is phonetic but burned in my memory.
September 11th, 2017 at 12:14 am
Ok – here goes- – MY mother used to sing a rhyme she heard from her mother who came from Germany. My mother is gone now – and I can only approximate what I remember it sounding like – nothing like any of those above – but it was sung with a me bouncing on my mother’s knees and at the end, sliding or dropping me to the floor. Actually I sing it to my granddaughters – just like this – though it probably doesn’t mean anything. Here goes (phonetically)
“Sook, sook, sook, on a marely bell,
Mama on a kuchen bell
Daddy on a lichen bell,
Oompa, Oompa, OOMPAAA!
Does this sound AT ALL familiar to anyone? Probably not. Well, I’ll keep singing it anyway!
February 5th, 2018 at 3:50 am
My mother was from Germany and the following post from Angela is right on, mom used to bounce us and our children on her knee and then the last word would be drawn out, emphasized and her knee would drop down as if we we thrown/fell off. I never saw it in writing before but it is exactly the same rhyme as I had remembered it although I wasn’t sure I correctly remembered the pronunciations:
Angela Says:
January 15th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Could it be this one?
Hoppe, hoppe, Reiter, wenn er faellt, dann schreit er.
Faellt er in den Graben, fressen ihn die Raben.
Faellt er in den Sumpf, dann macht der Reiter plumps.
Rough translation:
Bounce, bounce, horse rider, if he falls, he’ll scream.
If he falls into the ditch, the ravens will eat him.
If he falls into the swamp, then the rider will go plop.
Angela
November 24th, 2018 at 4:00 pm
Inty minty tippety fist,
Delia doilya dorma mist ,
Hycha pycha normanycha,
High parn tusk.
This is how I remember the playground counting sounded at Redland High School, Bristol in the 1940’s
December 20th, 2019 at 12:57 am
Inty minty diggety fig, a deal a doe a Dominic, ouchy pouchy dominouchy, om Pom fig