General Information about Items:
- Nursery Rhymes
- Germany
- German
- Children’s Folklore
Informants’ Data:
- Informant 1: Lara Schilling is a friend of mine who I met a year and a half ago. She is 21 years old and recently graduated university with a Bachelor of Science. She grew up in Kuenzelsau, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. Geographically her family is from different areas in Germany. She is currently living in Dusseldorf, Germany.
- Informant 2: Benjamin Libbrecht is a friend of mine who I met when abroad in Russia last summer. He is 20 years old. Ben grew up moving around Germany, France, and Belgium. He is currently studying business and economics in university in Cologne, working towards his bachelor’s degree. His family geographically is from both Belgium and Germany.
- Informant 3: Jonas Haas is a good friend of mine who I met a year and a half ago. He is 24 years old. He grew up in Southern Germany in the so called “Black Forest” area. He graduated university with a Bachelor of Science degree, and is currently employed in the tech sector in Munich. Jonas’s family is from around Germany as well as Spain.
- Informant 4: Jasper Wittenberg is an old friend. I’ve known him for four years. He is 20 years old. Jasper grew up in Hamburg, Germany. He has been working as a chef in the service industry, and is planning on attending university in the Fall. His family is from Hamburg and surrounding areas in Northern Germany.
Contextual Data:
- Social Context
- All this data was obtained during the COVID-19 Pandemic, over Zoom interviews.
- Cultural Context
- Nursery Rhymes in Germany are used to relax, entertain, or educate children, similar to Nursery Rhymes in many different cultures. Some German Nursery Rhymes collected are very popular throughout the country and apparent in its people’s collective consciousness, proven by the fact that several of my interviewees presented them as favorite Nursery Rhymes from their childhoods, as well as several of Kai’s German-American sources.
Items:
- Hoppe, Hoppe, Reiter (3)
- “Hoppe Hoppe Reiter” was described to me by three of my informants, Informants 2, 3, and 4, Ben, Jonas, and Jasper. It is something adults or older teens say to children when they bounce them on their laps, meant to imitate a child riding a horse – at the end, the adult opens up their legs and drops the child down a little. It is used to entertain children.
Hoppe, hoppe, Reiter,
wenn er fällt dann schreit er.
Fällt er in den Graben,
fressen ihn die Raben.
Fällt er in die Hecken,
fressen ihn die Schnecken.
Fällt er in den Sumpf, macht der Reiter: plumps!
Hop, hop, rider,
If he falls, he will cry.
If he falls into the hedges,
He will get frightened.
If he falls into the mud,
The rider falls with a plop!
- Piep, Piep, Piep (2)
- This was also described to me by two of my informants, again Informants 2 and 3, Ben and Jonas. It is something that families say with their children before they eat, all holding hands, meant to entertain them and to bond with them.
Piep, Piep, Piep,
wir haben uns alle lieb,
jeder isst so viel er kann,
außer seinen
Nebenmann. Guten Appetit!
Beep, beep, beep,
we all love each other,
everyone eats as much as he can,
except his neighbor.
Enjoy your meal!
- Alle meine Entchen
- “Alle meine Entchen”, “All my Ducklings”, is a circle game similar to Duck Duck Goose. It was described to me by my Informant 1, Lara. It is used by children to entertain each other.
Alle meine Entchen
Schwimmen auf dem See,
Schwimmen auf dem See,
Köpfchen in das Wasser,
Schwänzchen in die Höh.
All my ducklings
Swimming on the lake,
Swimming on the lake,
Heads in the water,
Little tails up in the air!
- Drei Chinesen mit dem Kontrabass
- This was a learning Nursery Rhyme Informant 1, Lara, described to me. She said it is often taught in school to learn the pronunciation of vowels. Listed below is the first verse, which is correct German. The verses continue the same, by replacing the vowels with other German vowels. For example, the first verse, “Drei Chinesen mit dem Kontrabass” would be sung the next verse as “Dra Chanasan mat dam Kantrabass”, and so on and so forth.
Drei Chinesen mit dem Kontrabass
saßen auf der Straße und erzählten sich was.
Da kam die Polizei, ei was ist denn das?
Drei Chinesen mit dem Kontrabass.
Three Chinese with a double bass
Sat on the street and chatted.
Along came the police: ‘Now what is this?‘
Three Chinese with a double bass.
- Von den blauen Bergen kommen wir
- This Nursery Rhyme, described by my Informant 1, Lara, is common among schoolchildren. It is similar to the English “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain When She Comes”. However, Lara said that schoolchildren in Germany are known to replace “we” with the name of their teacher, and change the lyrics in a way to insult said teacher. Not to their face, of course. It is a way in which schoolchildren can entertain each other and bond in a fairly harmless exploration of deliquency.
Von den blauen Bergen kommen wir,
von den blauen Bergen, die so weit von hier.
Reisen, das ist unsre Wonne,
scheint auch noch so heiß die Sonne.
Von den blauen Bergen kommen wir.
From the blue mountains we come
From the blue mountains so far away from here
Travelling is our joy,
no matter how hot the sun
From the blue mountains we come.
- Auf der schwäbsche Eisenbahn
- This was given to me by my Informant 1, Lara, and was the least known of all the Nursery Rhymes. Lara learned it in school. It is a learning, geographical Nursery Rhyme, in where children learn some major cities in Southern Germany.
Auf der schwäbsche Eisebahne gibt’s gar viele Haltstatione,
Schtuegert, Ulm und Biberach, Meckebeure, Durlesbach.
Rulla, rulla, rullala, rulla, rulla, rullala,
Schtuegert, Ulm und Biberach, Meckebeure, Durlesbach.
On the Swabian railway, lots of stops along the way,
Stuttgart, Ulm and Biberach, Meckebeure, Durlesbach.
Rulla, rulla, rullala, rulla, rulla, rullala,
Stuttgart, Ulm and Biberach, Meckebeure, Durlesbach.
- Backe, backe, Kuchen
- “Backe, backe, Kuchen” is a Nursery Rhyme described to me by my Informant 2, Ben. It is similar to the English “patty cake”, in where a child and their partner play a hand clapping game while singing or chanting it. It is a form of entertainment for children.
Backe, backe, Kuchen,
der Bäcker hat gerufen!
Wer will guten Kuchen backen,
der muss haben sieben Sachen:
Eier und Schmalz, Butter und Salz,
Milch und Mehl, Safran macht den Kuchen gehl!
Schieb, schieb in’n Ofen ’nein.
Bake, bake the cake
The baker has declared.
If one wants to bake a fine cake
He has to have these 7 things:
Sugar and salt,
Butter and lard,
Eggs and flour
Saffron makes the cake yellow,
Slide it into the oven.
- Pinke Panke Schmidt Ist Kranke
- “Pinke Panke Schmidt Ist Kranke” was described to me by my Informant 4, Jasper. It is a rhyme said while playing a game with a child. An object is hidden in one fist and the child is supposed to guess where it is hidden. The game is usually between adults and children, although it can be between children as well. It is mostly used to entertain.
Pinke Panke, Schmidt ist Kranke,
wo soll er wohnen?
Unter oder oben?
Oder ist er umgezogen?
Pinke Panke, Schmidt is sick,
where should he live?
Below or above?
Or has he moved?
- Itzen Ditzen Silberspitzen
- This Rhyme was also described to me by my Informant 4, Jasper. He described it as something adults or teachers will say to children to get them to be calm, quiet, and sit down. It is similar in America to teachers saying things like “criss cross applesauce” or rhythimic clapping as a way to get their student’s attention. The children are meant to repeat it, and then quietly sit down.
Itzen Ditzen Silberspitzen,
alle Finger dürfen sitzen.
Itzen Ditzen Silverpeaks,
all children may sit.
Collector’s Comments:
- The informants all seemed happy to reminisce about their childhoods, as well as curious to know what Nursery Rhymes the other informants told me about in their interviews. I very much enjoyed interviewing them. They are all wonderful people.
Collector’s Name: Haley Zierden
Tags/Keywords:
Children’s Folklore, Germany, Nursery Rhymes.