A classic Mother Goose tune. A Mother Goose song that’s popular with children.

Vintery, Mintery, Cutery, corn (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)

Intery mintery cutery corn – a circle, skipping game or ‘dip’ counting out activity

In 1975, the American film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring Jack Nicholson, caused a major sensation.

Its title is derived from this song.

Pay attention to the lyrics, which strikingly depict the birds taking off into the sky one by one, each in its own freedom.

Three little kittens (three kittens)

Three Little Kittens | Three Kittens | Mother Goose | Pinkfong English Nursery Rhymes

Many old songs have somewhat scary or chilling, even brutal, imagery, and people often say some Mother Goose rhymes are “scary.” But the song “Three Little Kittens” is very cute and doesn’t feel scary at all—it’s a children’s song.

In Japanese, the title would be “3匹の子猫” (Three Little Kittens).

The lyrics tell how three little kittens lose their mittens and get scolded by their mother, then find them and are praised, then soil them and get scolded again, and so on.

It’s a charming song where the kittens’ moods rise and fall with their mother’s reactions.

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utatane

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ABC Song (The ABC Song)

ABC Song and More Nursery Rhymes With Mother Goose Club

This is a song that everyone has heard at least once—a song for learning the English alphabet.

It has a long history: in the late Edo period, it was first introduced to Japan in an English conversation book translated by Manjiro Nakahama (John Manjirō), who was active across both Japan and the United States.

The original tune is the nursery rhyme “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” though other versions of the “ABC Song” also exist.

The version sung to the “Twinkle, Twinkle” melody was first copyrighted in 1835 as “The A.B.C.—A German Air with Variations for the Flute, with an easy accompaniment for the piano.”

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Kotaro

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Did You Ever See A Lassie? (Have you ever seen a girl like this?)

Did You Ever See A Lassie?

This is a Mother Goose rhyme titled “Have You Seen Such a Child?” in Japanese.

It shares the same melody as the Austrian folk song “O Du Lieber Augustin,” so many people may recognize it.

The tune is often used in TV commercials, but many might not know the lyrics.

Hush little baby (Good night, baby)

Hush Little Baby – Lullaby song by EFlashApps

Here is a traditional lullaby long passed down in the United Kingdom.

It isn’t very familiar in Japan, but it is often used as a music box tune.

There seem to be two theories about its origins: one that it comes from the American South, and another that it is a Mother Goose rhyme.

The lyrics express a mother’s affection for her child—she finds the child irresistibly cute and promises to buy various things if they’ll just sleep quietly—making it a charming and amusing song.

It’s similar to the Japanese lullaby “Nenne Korori yo.”

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Hirakawa Masako (Bōkarisuto: Sakata Mizumako)

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Blow, Wind, Blow! (Fuke fuke, kaze yo)

Blow, Wind, Blow Nursery Rhyme Mother Goose

At the time, windmills were needed to grind flour, so when the wind didn’t blow, mothers in England must have been quite anxious.

The Japanese title is “Blow, Blow, Wind!”—you can feel their desperation.

This one is a poem without a melody, but it’s a Mother Goose rhyme that has been passed down for many years.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee (Tweedledum to Tweedledee)

Tweedledum and Tweedledee | Nursery Rhymes for Babies by LittleBabyBum – ABCs and 123s

Tweedledum and Tweedledee also appear as characters in Through the Looking-Glass.

The lyrics tell of the identical pair getting into a quarrel, but being startled by a crow and forgetting all about it.

Some people may know the characters from Disney’s animated film Alice in Wonderland.