Folklore Children Songs

Today̵7;s youths sing along to lyrics of catchy folk songs from around the globe. As children chant through nonsense songs during recess or belt out classics during music class, they likely have no idea of the wealth and history and culture behind each one. Folk song collections, like the diverse cultures they came from, are a melting pot of styles and origins.

  1. African Folk Songs

    • The chanting melody of ̶0;Kye Kye Koolay,̶1; sometimes written as ̶0;Che Che Kule,̶1; provides the background music for a classic West African game of tag. More recently adopted in the Western Hemisphere as recess amusement, the song translates to ̶0;Hands on your head̶1; down to ̶0;Hands on your ankles, hey!̶1; Another West Africa welcome chant by John Taylor is ̶0;Funga A La Feeya.̶1; In Morocco, the catchy nonsense song ̶0;A Ram Sam Sam̶1; originated. Today, it is sung in rounds by children around the globe.

    German and Austrian Songs

    • The rambling 10 verses of ̶0;Hole in My Bucket̶1; began as a similar story song in Germany, but its popularity garnered a ̶0;national day̶1; on May 30. The same country gave us ̶0;Cradle Song̶1; or "Brahm's Lullaby" which now graces countless the pages of countless bedtime books with its soothing lyrics ̶0;Sleep, baby, sleep. Thy father tends the sheep.̶1; The upbeat folk song with hand motions ̶0;Alpine Song̶1; hails from Austria, but it has become a favorite of Boy and Girl Scouts. Sung around campfires from the Rocky Mountains to the shores of the Shenandoah River, the tune about the Austrian yodeler has become an American classic.

    Songs from the United Kingdom

    • The beloved dog named ̶0;Bingo̶1; began his illustrious career as the object of a children̵7;s song in the 1780s. Created by William Swords, an actor in London, the song originally titled ̶0;The Farmer's Dog Leapt o'er the Stile̶1; eventually became known as ̶0;Bingo Was His Name-O.̶1; Another children̵7;s favorite, ̶0;Cockles and Mussels,̶1; is sometimes better known as ̶0;Mary Malone." The lilting Irish tune tells the story of the fish-monger family of Mary Malone who sell cockles and mussels in ̶0;Dublin̵7;s fair city.̶1; The five verses of Scottish nonsense song ̶0;Aiken Drum̶1; tell the tale of the man with a cream cheese hat and roast beef coat.

    CD Folklore Collections

    • Sing your way through folk songs of the world with a children's collection on CD. Try "Wee Sing Around the World" or "Wee Sing Fun 'n' Folk" with the accompanying book for a broad variety of folk songs. "A Child's Celebration of Folk Music," created by Music for Little People, carries its listeners through a range of cultures and backgrounds. Each song in "Children's Songs Around the World," performed by Catherine Slonecki, captures the varied rhythms and tempos of the cultures where the songs originated.

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