International Lullabies

[DaddyJ]

I have recently started singing to our dd at bedtime
and she seems to appreciate it despite my supremely untrained voice.

So far I mostly sing to her in German. These are two of my favourites:
Weisst Du wieviel Sternlein stehen
Guten Abend Gut Nacht

Before I posted I did some googling and found a gorgeous Spanish one which demands to be memorised:
A La Nanita Nana

Would you lovely Mumsnetters mind posting your personal favourites, please?
Italian, French, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, all languages welcome!

Oh WOW, Welsh (how exotic ) and more high quality French stuff,
brilliant, brilliant - thank you very much!! Will get my teeth into them tonight..

I have had a breakthrough on the Italian front:
By chance I was given a CD by this chap, Paul Potts (off t'telly), who sings
My Way and Time to Say Goodbye both in Italian (lyrics here)
The latter is hard to sing in places but My Way in Italian
should be jolly good fun!

mange tous mange tous
for a minute I thought Paul Potts off t'telly had given you a CD!

LOL
No, I didn't go to his carephone warehouse branch
just to pick up the CD directly!

Talking of Cloclo, his "comme d'habitude" is, of course, the original of "My way" so that's a laugh, eh? Worth a croon, certainly.

Things I learn on this thread..
Didn't realise My Way is originally from France
and it's on Youtube - marvellous!

So far I have managed to memorise A la nanita nana..
at this rate the various posts on this thread should keep me
busy until Jan 2009.

ManIFeel, your French stuff is properly hitting the spot.
I found a French pop thread which I'll be reviewing soon.

Correction on the Potts song:
He sings My Way in Spanish not Italian..lo siento

The ultimate Welsh lullaby is Suo Gan as famously lip-synched by Christian Bale in 'Empire of the Sun'.

It is a beautiful and haunting melody and DD doesn't seem to mind my massacring of it. Several recordings on you-tube, like this cheesy one or Bryn Terfel

Calon Lan is another lovely Welsh tune, though not trictly a lullaby

that's lovely lionstar, the Bryn Terfel version.

Thanks for french pop thread tip - something else to post my wisdom on ...

If you're really keen, there's the webradio "chanson francaise" on www.nostalgie.fr

Hey, baby, je danse!

Can't listen to Suo Gan without crying. Have just been blubbing at Bryn Terfel's version.
lionstar wouldn't Calon Lan wake the baby up?! although I'm imagining it sung by rugby fans after a few beers..

Blimey, Lionstar, those are GORGEOUS songs!!!
This Calon Lan version brought a tear
to the eye, absolutely beautiful tune!

Google tells me Thank You in Welsh is:
Diolch yn fawr iawn. With bells one

Glad you like, Wales is of course the spiritual home of beautiful songs/singing

Yep, the rugby version of Calon is 'rousing', but it is also beautiful sung softly into a pearly baby shell-like ear. Have sung it to DD since she was a bump, and it still puts her to sleep now. DaddyJ I hadn't heard that Cerys Matthews version, but it is gorgeous (I still listen to my Catatonia albums!)

And the meaning of Calon Lan is eerily fitting on a day like today!

I have nearly memorised the chorus, having listened to the song about 20 times..
just stunning, thanks again, Lionstar!!

I have been working my way very slowly through
this thread, still loving Calon Lan and
about to add il etait un petit navire to the repertoire.

There is another French song that I have been blown away by this week:
Jean Louis Aubert - Dis quand reviendras-tu

hi daddyJ, i thought i would post this one in portuguese (from brazil):

uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RQcc0ZWIMbE&feature=related

its about this naughty frog that lives in the lake but refuses to wash his feet. therefore, he got chulé! chulé means 'stinky feet'. i really think english could make with a word like this, instead of having to described it

Very funny song, thanks

Daddy J, sing this one:

www.singenundspielen.de/id51.htm

1. Die Blümelein sie schlafen schon längst im Mondenschein.

Sie nicken mit dem Köpfen auf ihren Stängelein. Es rüttelt sich der Blütenbaum, er säuselt wie im Traum: Schlafe, schlafe du, mein Kindlein schlafe ein.

Hat mir gefallen, danke!!