Simple Songs From Many Cultures

  1. Little by Little
  2. Long Wing Feathers
  3. Shalom Chaverim
  4. To Stop the Train
  5. We Shall Overcome
  6. Kookaburra
  7. Mi Cuerpo
  8. Frere Jacques
  9. L’Asino (The Donkey)
  10. A Dutch Children’s Song
  11. Bird in the Cage
  12. Bafta Hindi
  13. Everybody Loves Saturday Night
  14. Chiapanecas
  15. La Gallina (The Hen)

Little By Little

Little by little Haba na haba
Little by little Haba na haba
Little by little Haba na haba
You get what you wa'ant Oh jay zay ga ba ba
Little by little Haba na haba
Oh, oh, ohoh Oh, oh, ohoh
Ethiopia

Long Wing Feathers

Wearing my long wingfeathers as I fly,
Wearing my long wingfeathers as I fly.
I circle around, I circle around
The boundaries of the earth, the boundaries of the sky.
(Repeat as a chant many times over - great for flying to.)
Arapaho

Shalom Chaverim

Shalom chaverim, shalom chaverim
Shalom, shalom
La heet rah-ah oat, la heet rah-ah oat
Shalom, sha-a-lom
Traditional Hebrew (Translation: Peace and goodbye my friends, until we meet again; Peace and goodbye.)
 

To Stop the Train

To stop the train, in cases of emergency, pull on the cha-ain!
Pull on the cha-ain; penalty for improper use, five pounds.
British (Words from a sign on trains in England. A good introduction to kinds of money.)
 

We Shall Overcome

We shall overcome, we shall overcome, we shall overcome some day.
Oh deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome some day.
We shall stand together, we shall stand together, we shall stand together some day.
Oh deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall stand together some day.
Traditional African-American

Kookaburra

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree;
Merry, merry king of the bush is he;
Laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra,
Gay your life must be.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree;
Eating all the gumdrops he can see;
Stop, kookaburra, stop kookaburra,
Leave some there for me!
Australian

Mi Cuerpo

Mi cuerpo, mi cuerpo hace musica
Mi cuerpo, mi cuerpo hace musica
Mis mano hacen pom pom pom
Mis pies hacen bom bom bom
Mi boca hace la la la
Cintura hace cha cha cha; cha cha cha!
Mi cuerpo, mi cuerpo hace musica
Mi cuerpo, mi cuerpo hace musica
My hands say pom pom pom
My feet say bom bom bom
My mouth says la la la
My waist says cha cha ca
There's music, there's music, there's music inside me.
There's music, there's music, there's music inside me.
Hispanic

Frere Jacques

Frere zhaka, frere zhaka
Dormay voo, dormay voo
Sone ay lay mahteena
Sone ay lay mahteena
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong.
Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques
Dormez vous, dormez vous
Sonnez les matines
Sonnez les matines
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong.
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Brother John, Brother John.
Morning bells are ringing,
Morning bells are ringing,
Ding dang dong, ding dang dong
French

L’Asino (The Donkey)

Now that the sun’s up,
The donkey starts to sing.
Who sings the loudest shall be the donkey king!
Rah!  Rah!  Rah, rah, rah!
Italy
 

A Dutch Children’s Song

Long may you live, long may you live,
long may you live in happiness,
In happiness, in happiness

Dutch Verse: Lang zal die leven
  Lang zal die leven
  Lang zal die leven in de gloria
  In de gloria, in de gloria

Bird in the Cage

Bird in the cage, Bird in the cage,
When will you come out and play?
When will you come out to stay?
Late in the evening and closer to dawn,
I will stand behind you early in the morn.
Japanese

Bafta Hindi

Bafta Hindi, Indian fabrics;  Satins, silks, and jewels, too!
Many things for each and ev’ry one,
Come and buy them just for you!
Many things for each and ev’ry one,
Come and buy them just for you!
Saudi Arabian
 

Everybody Loves Saturday Night

Bo bo wa ro fe ro Sa to deh.
Bo bo wa ro, bo bo wa ro, bo bo wa ro,
bo bo wa ro, bo bo wa ro  fe ro  Sa to deh
Nigerian
 
 

Chiapanecas

Come on and join in this song, this song,
Sing out and clap right along, along!
Dance in a circle this way, this way,
It’s Chiapanecas, ole’!

Oh, Chiapanecas, hey, hey!
Oh, Chiapanecas, hey, hey!
Oh, Chiapanecas, hey, hey!
Oh, Chiapanecas, ole! Ole!
Mexican
 

La Gallina (The Hen)

How proudly sings out old red hen, she sings as day is dawning.
Announcing that she has laid an egg, laid a fresh egg this very morning.
Coco’, coco’, cocoricoco!  Cocoricoco!  Cocorico!
Italian