Bald ist Nikolausabend da... English words?

[finknottle]

Ds1 & ds2 have been practising "Lasst uns froh und munter sein... Lustig lustig, tra-la-la-la, bald ist..." for a C'mas party and I'm convinced there's an English version.

Am I imagining things?
It's on my brain and driving me tra-la-la-la-la
Am also supposed to be offering English carols and Christmassy songs so can anyone help with ideas for ones which are easiest to play on the piano? Ds1 is 10.
Oh, apart from Jingle Bells
Thanks

Think you might be imagining things, sorry... Can't think of an English carol with that tune. Unless it's Deck the Halls you're thinking of because of the fa la la la?

English carols: I saw three ships (not too diff for a sing-along either). We three kings? Would they like Silent Night in English or do you think they'd find that daft?

Germans are more sedate about Christmas so I don't know if this is too flippant for their taste - We wish you a merry Christmas. Personally I quite like the Twelve Days of Christmas and it wouldn't be too hard to play shouldn't think.

Forgotten that one thanks - think 12 Days will go down a storm Must find the words.
Def not sedate this lot - they're sailing folk By the time the youngsters get on, half the audience will be 3 sheets to the wind

Away in a Manger is easy with simple words.

Not what you're after but there is a lovely Gerhard Schöne (very free indeed) translation of 12 Days.

somewhere I have a songbook with English Christmas carols... Will have a rummage about tonight

www.carols.org.uk/the_twelve_days_of_christmas.htm

here you go. Well done you doing the English Christmas carol session! I'm impressed. Shades of the von Trapp family...

Thanks you two
Berolina will look for that.
I thought "Away.." too but dh made fun of it and kept calling it a Maingggger with a hard 'g'
I do love it though, heathen that I am.

lol at the von Trapps
It's traditionally the youngsters who provide the music at the Christmas party and ours are now taking over from the older ones so we want to make a good show of it.
Dd wants a triangle now!

Triangle should be an enormous relief after the violin

Yep. Ds2 is going to give up I think. It's non-stop homework/violin/sailing theory atm and his heart's not in it any more.
Says, "It's a lovely instrument and can I play it again when I'm older? It's soooo hard."

Oh that's a shame, such a beautiful instrument. I love the violin. Maybe though the sailing is slowing up a bit at this time of the year (?) brr... so he'll have a bit more time for the violin till spring comes round.

Dd is asking for violin lesosns, no idea where she got the idea from but I don't think I could stand it. I love the violin but when it is not played right then it is painfull to the ear!

You could try it for a month at the Musikschule admylin with an instrument from there just to see how she gets on with it. Think the violin is really very difficult because not only do you need to find your note but it is quite uncomfortable I'd imagine. Maybe she would like the guitar

Yes, we would also prefer the guitar! She remains adament that it has to be violin!

How about the little donkey Christmas song finknottle. That was my favourite! (I always felt sorry for the donkey having to carry fat heavy Maria down the long road!)

He's done it for 2 years (started at 6) and I really do think he's wanted to stop for a while. Was so relieved when I broached the subject.
Admylin it does sound quite dreadful at first! Here there's no trial period and the Musikschule make you pay for the whole quarter following the quarter you give notice in
Sandy - the boats are out of the water - brr indeed - but the boys were doing theory. Now we're on a break till Spring.
Little Donkey is lovely for the children; I knew MN would help. Shall now devise a gag (or better a muzzle) for dh as I can picture his reaction to it

What donkey song is this? Somehow I've missed out on this one

Speaking of guitars. I was hanging about waiting for dd to finish chess the other night.She'd blasted me for being too late the week before so I was bang on time and waited for 20 minutes. Anyway whilst I was waiting in this cafe, a guy began strumming and playing his guitar. It was amazing. He was also singing now and again in some language I couldn't recognise. Might have been Hebrew since he looked like an Orthodox Jewish man - judging by his clothes and hat. Anyhow his voice and the guitar - far out. It went right through me, it was just so beautiful. I was thinking then I might start learning the guitar myself. Do you play an instrument yourself finky?

Here is the little donkey song! I found it on youtube too but couldn't get it to work as a link.

Little donkey, little donkey on the dusty road
Got to keep on plodding onwards with your precious load
Been a long time, little donkey, through the winters night
Dont give up now, little donkey,
Bethlehem's in sight

Ring out those bells tonight
Bethlehem, Bethlehem
Follow that star tonight
Bethlehem, Bethlehem

Little donkey, little donkey, had a heavy day
Little donkey, carry Mary safely on her way
Little donkey, little donkey, journey's end is near
There are wisemen waiting for a sign to bring them here

Do not falter little donkey, there's a star ahead
It will guide you, little donkey, to a cattle shed

Ring out those bells tonight
Bethlehem, Bethlehem
Follow that star tonight
Bethlehem, Bethlehem

Little donkey, little donkey, had a heavy day
Little donkey, carry Mary, safely on her way
Little donkey, carry Mary, safely on her way

Thanks admylin. I have honestly never heard that one before.

How did the phone interview go? Dh find it ok? I think they're better than personal ones because at least you don't intercept glances or worry about how you look. I never look very grown up somehow so I think phone interviews are a good thing for me IYSWIM

Did we all have a nice 1. Advent?

As you can see by the name, we got stuck into the Stollen and lit the first candle on our wreath (with dd praying : thank you Jesus for lighting a candle in our hearts. Not sure where she got that one from but it was sweet). Dh, bless him, took dd to the Weihnachtsmarkt (teaming with rain). She came back with a lot of weird junk she'd won by hooking plastic ducks on a fishing rod or some such thing. I'm so grateful to him for weathering the Weihnachtsmarkt each year, I hate the crowds - although I do like the almonds...

here about the interview sandy

ooh I like your Weihnachtsname! Hard to know what impression you make on people though, isn't it? Even in face-to-face interviews you sometimes think: I've definitely wowed them here and find in fact you haven't!

Now, tell me have you applied to the Französisches Gymnasium? Have you, have you, huh? The reason I'm pestering you is I've been churning it over since speaking to this Lebanese dad on Sunday and I do think it's worth applying, although I don't know how easy it will be to get a place without French (thinking of all the German-French Europa school dc who'll be applying too).

Thing is the French one is supposed to be one the two best. And in all supposedly there are only 4 good ones and 2 are very far from where you live and the other one we discussed and you didn't think it was for you. I think the French one is more viable for ds and you speak French so you can push him along at home, plus you can get Arte, Tele 5 on tv and then there's the Institut Francais in Hackischer Hof. Have I talked you into it yet?!

Adventsgrüße to all

We decorated our wreath on Sat, lit candle no. 1 on Sun. ds1 is struggling with the concept of only one Türchen per day on his Advent calendar

You two are frightening me already re. schools. I have just angwmeldet ds1 in a desperately popular Vorschule here in Friedenau for 2009 He starts Kiga in Jan

I will go look on my Frohliche Kinder album, hold on...

..'gibt's nicht, glaub'ich...

Wir haben:

Alle Vogel
Zehn Kleine Negerlein (!)
Heidschi Bumbeidschi
Widele Wedele
Wir will fleiSige Handwerker seh'n
Wenn ich ein Voglein war

(do you see a bird theme emerging here)

Hannschen klein/kommt ein VOGEL arghhhh they are everywhere
Grun grun grun
Der Mond ist aufgegangen
Ich bin der Dr. Eisenbart
Jetzt far'n wir uber'n See
Als Burlala geboren war

I am sure this list is no help at all but I wanted to share. Printed in 1970
I was going to listen to the one you mentioned but it ain't on there.

You don't have Drei Chinesen mit 'nem Kontrabass!

You HAVE to have that one.

Berolina, don't lose your nerve, girl.
I'm relying on you to set up a decent private secondary in time for dd. So you'll need to get cracking on it (we're in year 2 now). Don't let me down now. And where's your Xmas name?!

Do your dc have chocolate in their Adventskalender? I gave in and got one with chocolate in the end. I was eying some very pretty ones in Hugenduebel but dd wasn't having any of it because they just have a picture behind the Tuerchen and no chocolate or playmobil!

Speaking of Niklausabend (thread title!) that's the next thing on the list to get through! My 2 have acknowledged that the Nikolaus is really me so don't even want to bother with putting their boots outside the door - but do want a treat when they get up!

I'm trying to get motivated but finding it quite hard to get in the mood. Wish I'd booked the flights early on and done a runner like most years back to UK.