Children’s songs, school songs, and nursery rhymes with a river theme. Beloved classics about nostalgic watersides.

The banks of a wide riverKonsei Gasshōdan Kusatsu Kantābire

The Banks of the Wide River <Mixed Choir Kusatsu Cantabile>

It is a folk song of Scottish origin, known overseas as “The Water Is Wide” or “O Waly, Waly.” In Japan, the song appeared in the NHK morning dramas Hanako to Anne and Massan, which brought it renewed attention in recent years.

maple leavesSeri Yoko

“Autumn Leaves (Momiji)” by Yoko Seri

Like “Spring Brook” and “Furusato,” this is a school song with lyrics by Tatsuyuki Takano and music by Teiichi Okano.

It first appeared in 1911 in “Elementary School Songs (II),” and in 2007 it was selected as one of the 100 Best Japanese Songs.

The second verse depicts a scene of autumn leaves floating on a mountain stream.

Rasa SayangDick Lee

Rasa Sayang Dick Lee

This is a folk song well known in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, to which Mikiharu Kobayashi added Japanese lyrics praising nature.

In September 1962, a version sung by the Tokyo Broadcasting Children’s Choir was aired on NHK’s “Minna no Uta.”

running riverHāmonī Ochiai

Running River - Harmony Ochiai

This is the second piece from the choral suite “Mizu no Tsubasa” (Wings of Water), composed by Yoshinori Kurosawa with lyrics by Chieko Kanazawa.

Released in 1993, it, along with “Izumi” (Spring) and “Umi e” (To the Sea), expresses the journey of water as it becomes a river, returns to the sea, and sets out on a new voyage.

It has become a staple in middle school choral competitions.

Down the Mother VolgaHitotsubashi Daigaku Tsudajuku Daigaku Gasshoudan Humanite

Down the Mother Volga

It is a piece composed by Alexander Glazunov in 1921.

The Volga is a great river flowing through western Russia.

In Russia, the Volga River has long been a vital transportation route, and there are folk songs such as the Song of the Volga Boatmen, which describes the work of hauling boats upstream from the land with ropes after they had drifted downstream.

Summer has comeTōkyō Hōsō Jidō Gasshō

Summer has come

The lyrics were written by Sasaki Nobutsuna and the music was composed by Koyama Sakunosuke.

It was released in 1896 and was selected for the 2007 list of 100 Selected Japanese Songs.

The content depicts early-summer scenes, including riverside landscapes.

The title, in classical Japanese, means “summer has come.”

Afton’s flowKōbe Chūō Gasshōdan

Afton’s Stream – Mixed Chorus arranged by Hitosaku Nakamura

This is a 19th-century American song that uses a poem by Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns.

The composer is Jonathan E.

Spilman, a lawyer from Kentucky, USA, and it is said to have been written in 1837.

The River Afton is a small stream flowing through South Ayrshire in southwestern Scotland.