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A little gipsy-girl was sitting
on a stone and cried.
Cried, oh cried and
she was all alone.
Er zat een klein zigeunermeisje
huilend op een steen.
Huilend, huilend
helemaal alleen.
Get up gipsy-girl
and dry off all your tears
you can choose another child
and dance together now!
Sta op zigeunermeisje
droog je traantjes af
kies een kindje uit de kring
want anders ben je af!
La la lalalala lalalala la
la la la la lalalala la!
La la lalalala lalalala la
la la la la lalalala la!
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Dutch children's song from the schoolyard (with a dance or game).
Commentary: The children are standing in a circle, holding hands, one is sitting in the middle. Line 1-4: the children walk slowly around in the circle, hand in hand. The child in the middle pretends to be weeping.
Line 5-8: the children dance around (skipping/bobbing) in the circle, still holding hands. The child in the middle gets up and walks in the opposite direction. On the last word the child picks another child.
Line 9-10: the two children dance together in the circle (holding hands crossed en skipping in circles), the other children stand still and clap their hands. Afterwards that other child sits down in the middle and the play starts all over again.
 Lyrics 'Er zat een klein zigeunermeisje' on Dutch website: Kinderliedjes schoolplein.
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Two farmer's children are dancing in a circle
I ask you to join in, I ask you to join in.
But if you don't want and stay out, my best friend
then you and me will dance 'round the world, far and wide!
Twee boerenkinderen die dansen in de kring
kom jij d'r maar 'ns in, kom jij d'r maar 'ns in.
En als je niet mee wilt, mijn beste vriendin
dan dansen wij samen de wijde wereld in!
Just like troelala, troelala, troelala lala
just like troelala lala, just like troelala lala.
And if you don't want and stay out, my best friend
then you and me will dance 'round the world, far and wide!
Van je troelala, troelala, troelala lala
van je troelala lala, van je troelala lala.
En als je niet mee wilt, mijn beste vriendin
dan dansen wij samen de wijde wereld in!
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Handkerchief down and
tell nobody
cock-doodle-doo our rooster crowed
I put on two pair of shoes
one of leather, one of cloth
I'll put down my handkerchief here.
Zakdoekje leggen
niemand zeggen
"Kukelekuu", zei onze haan
twee paar schoenen heb ik aangedaan.
één van stof en één van leer
hier leg ik mijn zakdoekje neer.
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Dutch children's song from pre-school and birthday parties (toddlers) (with a game).
Commentary: All toddlers are sitting in a circle, eyes closed. One child, with a handkerchief in his hand, walks quietly around the circle while the others sing the song. He (child A) puts the handkerchief behind the back of a child (child B).
At the end of the song all children look behind their back, the one that finds the handkerchief (B) has to catch the other child (A). If child A has taken the empty place before catched by B, then B has to walk with the handkerchief when the song is sung again.
Oldest source (Dutch Song Database): This children's rhyme was noted around the 1850's-1870's from the oral tradition by Johannes van Vloten (1818-1883) and published in his Nederlandsche baker- en kinderrijmen (1894). A songwriter is unknown and the song can't be dated.
Lyrics 'Zakdoekje leggen' on Dutch website: Kinderliedjes Z.
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White white swans and black black swans,
who will sail with me to far far England?
Nowadays England is locked
the key, too bad, is broken.
Can you find no carpenter
who can make the key for us?
Let pass through, let pass through
and we will catch the last .... one!
Witte zwanen, zwarte zwanen
wie gaat er mee naar Engeland varen?
Engeland is gesloten
de sleutel is gebroken.
Is er dan geen timmerman
die de sleutel maken kan?
Laat doorgaan, laat doorgaan
wie achter is moet voor....gaan!
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Dutch children's song from the schoolyard (with a dance or game).
Commentary: Two children (in secret they have decided one of them is the 'apple', one of them the 'pear') make a gate by holding hands high. All the other children walk through the gate, singing. On the last word, the children put down their arms and catch a child. This child has to choose (whispering!): apple or pear? (Sometimes: golden apple or silver pear?) The child stands with the child of his choise.
The game repeats untill all children has chosen a side. It can be an independant game or a way to devide children into two random groups.
Text: Last line, variant: 'The last one will be first one'.
Oldest source (Dutch Song Database): This children's rhyme was noted in 1853 from the oral tradition and published in the magazine Navorser (1853). A songwriter is unknown and the song can't be dated.
Lyrics 'Witte zwanen, zwarte zwanen' on Dutch website: Kinderliedjes schoolplein.
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Get two buckets full of water
pump two buckets water.
Girls on wooden shoes and
girls who have a wooden leg
you can pass my little street.
Twee emmertjes water halen
twee emmertjes pompen.
Meisjes op de klompen
meisjes op de houten been
rij maar door mijn straatje heen.
Just like quick, quick, quick,
our king drives in the rain.
Just like forth, forth, forth,
our king does pass the gate.
Just like urch, urch, urch,
our king drives through the church.
Just like one, two, three!
Van je ras, ras, ras
rijdt de koning door de plas.
Van je voort, voort, voort
rijdt de koning door de poort.
Van je erre, erre, erre
rijdt de koning door de kerk.
Van je één, twee, drie!
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Dutch children's song from the schoolyard (with a dance).
Text: wooden legs: stilts (the children's play stilt-walking); pass my street: description of the dance.
Commentary: Children are standing in two long lines, facing each other. Line 1-5: the children hold hands crossed en move arms forwards and backwards (simultaneously right arm forward and left backward and then reversed).
Line 6-7: Children step back and clap hands. The first pair holds hands and skips between the rows to the other side of the lines. Line 8-9: the second pair follows. Line 10-11: the third pair follows. Line 12: all children step toward each other and the game starts again (until all children have had their turn to hop through the 'street').
Oldest source (Dutch Song Database): This children's song was noted around the 1850's-1870's from the oral tradition by Johannes van Vloten (1818-1883) and published in his Nederlandsche baker- en kinderrijmen (1894). A songwriter is unknown and the song can't be dated.
Lyrics 'Twee emmertjes water halen' on Dutch website: Kinderliedjes schoolplein.
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Gras is green, gras is green
under both my bare feet.
I did lose my closest friend
I will have to find him.
Groen is gras, groen is gras
onder mijne voeten.
'k Heb verloren m'n beste vriend
'k zal hem zoeken moeten.
Hey, you, quickly make some
room for this young lady.
And the cuckoo on the roof
sings a song so leisurely.
Oh, my darling Augustijn
it will be this lady mine.
Hé daar, plaatsje maken
voor de jongedame.
En de koekoek op het dak
zingt een lied op zijn gemak.
O, mijn lieve Augustijn
deze dame zal het zijn.
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Dutch children's song from the schoolyard (with a dance or game).
Commentary: The children walk hand in hand in a circle. One is walking outside the circle in the opposite direction. Line 5-6: the circle breaks open and the child walks into the circle to the other side and leaves the circle again on 'lady'. Last line, on 'this': the child picks one other child.
The game starts over again. Now two children, holding hands, are outside the circle. Then three, then four, and so on: the circle gets smaller and the row of children longer. The word 'lady' in line 6 has to be sung longer every time.
At the end of the song just two children form the circle, all other children walk in the row, holding hands. When the last child is picked, just one child of the circle is left over. Now the row forms again a circle and the last child walks outside the circle and the game starts over again.
Oldest source (Dutch Song Database): This children's rhyme was noted around the 1850's-1870's from the oral tradition by Johannes van Vloten (1818-1883) and published in his Nederlandsche baker- en kinderrijmen (1894). A songwriter is unknown and the song can't be dated.
Lyrics 'Groen is gras' on Dutch website: Kinderliedjes schoolplein.
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Skipper, can I cross the river, yes or no?
Do I have to pay you money, yes or no?
Schipper, mag ik overvaren, ja of nee?
Moet ik dan nog geld betalen, ja of nee?
Skipper, can I cross the river, yes or no?
Do I have to pay you money, yes or no?
Schipper, mag ik overvaren, ja of nee?
Moet ik dan nog geld betalen, ja of nee?
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Dutch children's song from the schoolyard (with a game).
Commentary: Game to cross over the schoolyard. All children stand on one side of the schoolyard, one child is in the middle (the 'skipper'). The children sing the song, the child in the middle answers with: 'Yes' or 'No'.
If the 'skipper' says 'No', all children run to the other side of the schoolyard. If the skipper says 'Yes', the children ask: 'How?'. The skipper chooses a way to cross over, for example skipping, hopping, etc. The skipper itself also has to move in that way and tries to catch another child. If he catches one, that one has to be the skipper as the game repeats.
Text: Variant of the second line: 'Moet ik dan ook tol betalen, ja of nee' ('Do I have to pay you toll, yes or no').
Oldest source (Dutch Song Database): This children's song was noted around 1930 from the oral tradition in the collection Volkseigen (1840-1935). The songwriter is unknown and the song can't be dated.
Lyrics 'Schipper mag ik overvaren' on Dutch website: Kinderliedjes schoolplein.
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Look, the river named the Rhône flows real wild
would you like to cross it, you can try this way:
two of you in a full gallop to the other side
don't look down into the water, hop, we reach the land.
De rivier de Rhône is een wilde vloed
wil je oversteken, kijk dan hoe dat moet.
Met z'n tweeën in galoppas naar de overkant
en niet in de diepte kijken, hup we zijn aan land.
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Dutch children's song from the schoolyard (with a dance).
Commentary: The children form two rows (the rows face each other), the children of a row are holding hands. The rows take four steps toward each other, four steps back (repeat).
On the words 'two of you' the first children of the two rows hold hand, put their arms streched aside and hop towards the end of the rows (eight hops towards the end, four back, four towards the end) and take place at the end of the rows. The other children clap their hands.
The song and the game repeat until all children had their turn.
Text: The Rhône is a river in France.
Song: The song can also be sung as canon (more canons for children).
Lyrics 'De rivier de Rhône is een wilde vloed' on Dutch website: Kinderliedjes schoolplein.
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When the campfire burns at night
and moon and stars are shining in the prairie-sky
the cowboys sit around the fire
telling famous cowboy tales
when the campfire burns at night.
's Avonds als het kampvuur brandt
als maan en sterren aan de prairie-hemel staan
dan hoor je bij het laaiend vuur
menig cowboy-avontuur
's avonds als het kampvuur brandt.
Yippy ayoo, yippy ayee
the echo joins in softly from the mountain side.
Jippie ajoo, jippie ajee
vanaf de heuveltoppen zingt de echo mee.
When the campfire burns at night
and all the cows are grazing in the prairie-land
the cowboys sing their country songs
and they play on their guitar
when the campfire burns at night.
's Avonds als het kampvuur brandt
wanneer de paarden grazend in de prairie staan
dan zingen cowboys met elkaar
bij muziek van hun gitaar
's avonds als het kampvuur brandt.
Yippy ayoo, yippy ayee
the echo joins in softly from the mountain side.
When the campfire burns at night.
Jippie ajoo, jippie ajee
vanaf de heuveltoppen zingt de echo mee.
's Avonds als het kampvuur brandt.
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Lyrics: André Meurs.
Music: Tom Erich.
Dating from the 1950's (not written as children's song).
Commentary: Campfire song, sung during a holiday - around the campfire of just in the evening, sitting outside. (Or simply at the fireplace at home, of course).
Lyrics ''s Avonds als het kampvuur brandt' on Dutch website: Kinderliedjes op vakantie.
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Ride a bike (ringe ringe ring) ride a bike
it is lovely and it is very cheap.
It brings you far in open country
where birds do sing, without a penny.
Ride a bike (ringe ringe ring) ride a bike
it is lovely and it is very cheap.
You feel really healthy and peddle around
on you horse of steel! Tjiedel diedel djom pom!
Op de fiets, tingelingeling, op de fiets
ga je heerlijk en 't kost bijna niets.
Hij brengt je beslist zonder duiten
ver weg waar de vogeltjes fluiten.
Op de fiets, tingelingeling, op de fiets
ga je heerlijk en 't kost bijna niets.
Je voelt je gezond en je trapt er op los
op je stalen ros! Tjiedel diedel djom pom!
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