7 German children's songs international parents will inevitably have to learn

Whether in a children’s class, Kita (daycare centre) or birthday party, you’ll undoubtedly encounter at least one of these long-standing Lieder (songs) and maybe even pick up the lyrics yourself.

Maybe you’re an international parent who wants to be in the know - or are simply looking to better your German with a few Ohrwürmer ("ear worms", or songs you just can’t get out of your head).

We look at seven of the most popular, as well as their lyrics in both English and German. 

READ ALSO: Music to our ears: The top 10 melodic German phrases

Schlaf, Kindchen, schlaf

It’s been a long day, and it’s finally time to turn off the lights and go to sleep: that’s not always an easy task for little kids, nor their parents. So this gentle ballad has long been a classic to try to woo children to sleep. Sometimes Kindlein (little child) is also replaced by the equivalent, and more modern word, Kindchen.

The first version of the song was published in 1611 and the lyrics and tunes sung today date back to 1781. Nowadays it's the goodnight song that Germans can recite from their childhood and, in turn, pass on to their own offspring.

But the song - which describes a whimsical world in which everything is worry-free - isn't just popular among parents. Over the years many bands, especially rock ones, have extrapolated the tune and lyrics into their own songs.

Its uses have ranged from pure covers, such as that of German pop singer Nena, to a remix from the Punkband Der dicke Polizist with Brüderlein Schlaf. 

READ ALSO: The lingo you need to talk about sleep like a true German

Here are the famous lyrics of the classic Lied.

Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf,

Der Vater hüt die Schaf,

Die Mutter schüttelts Bäumelein,

Da fällt herab ein Träumelein.

Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf!

And a rough English translation:

Sleep, little child, sleep,

The father herds the sheep,

The mother shakes the little tree,

A little dream is falling down.

Sleep, little child, sleep!

Alle meine Entchen

Like their English counterparts, German children’s songs love to feature animals, whether a cat lying down in the snow (‘A,B,C, die Katze lief im Schnee’) or a fox who swiftly steals a goose ('Fuchs, du hast die Ganz gestohlen'). 

But the most recognisable animal song is a sweet ballad about birds, starting with lyrics about ducks. The song ‘Alle meine Entchen’ (All my ducks) originated in the mid-19th century and is traditionally sung as children walk around in a circle, imitating the gestures of the various birds - and especially the ducks - in their environments.

The first two verses go:

Alle meine Entchen

schwimmen auf dem See,

schwimmen auf dem See,

Köpfchen in das Wasser,

Schwänzchen in die Höh‘.

Alle meine Täubchen

gurren auf dem Dach,

gurren auf dem Dach,

fliegt eins in die Lüfte,

fliegen alle nach.

And in English:

All my ducklings

swimming on the lake,

swimming on the lake,

Head in the water,

Tails in the air.

All my little pigeons

cooing on the roof,

cooing on the roof,

one flies into the air,

everyone's following.

Singing happy birthday

Nowadays many people in Germany simply sing the English version of “Happy Birthday” when someone’s special day arrives. But especially at children’s birthday parties, it’s common to keep the traditional German variant alive, which is sung to the same tune as its English equivalent:

Zum Geburtstag, viel Glück (All the best for your birthday). 

These lyrics are repeated, throwing in a liebe/lieber (dear), depending on the name of the birthday girl or boy. 

Another popular song for the Geburtstagskind (birthday child) is Wie schön, dass du geboren bist (How wonderful that you were born). While there are several verses, the core (and most catchy is):

Wir hätten dich sonst sehr vermisst

Wie schön, dass wir beisammen sind

Wir gratulieren dir, Geburtstagskind

Wie schön, dass du geboren bist

Wir hätten dich sonst sehr vermisst

Wie schön, dass wir beisammen sind

Wir gratulieren dir, Geburtstagskind

That roughly translates to:

We would have missed you very much otherwise

How nice that we are together

Congratulations, birthday boy

How wonderful that you were born

We would have missed you so much

How wonderful that we are together

Congratulations, birthday boy

Backe, backe Kuchen

In a country like Germany, that’s pretty much obsessed with baked goods, it comes as little surprise that one of the most popular children’s songs already teaches the littlest of kids to recite in rhyme all of the key ingredients and steps needed to make the perfect Kuchen (cake). 

READ ALSO: Kaffee und Kuchen: The history behind a very German tradition

This classic, Bake, bake a cake, can be traced back to the eastern German states of Saxony and Thuringia in 1840. The lyrics have remained the same since then, so it’s worth noting that the Middle High German word gehl (today written as “gelb” meaning yellow) is used to rhyme with Mehl, meaning flour.

Backe, backe Kuchen, der Bäcker hat gerufen!

Wer will guten Kuchen backen, der muss haben sieben Sachen: 

Eier und Salz, Butter und Schmalz, Milch und Mehl,

Safran mach den Kuchen gehl. Schieb in den O-fen rein.

In other (English) words:

Bake a cake, bake a cake.

The baker has called.

Whoever wants to bake a good cake,

must have seven things,

Eggs and lard,

Sugar and salt,

Milk and flour.

Saffron makes the cake yellow

Push it into the oven. 

Es regnet (It’s raining)

A group of kids is eager to get outside and play but, alas, it’s pouring down with rain. In order to convince them that it’s not so bad to stay inside, this song boasts of the benefits of rain for the earth - everything is going to grow and be bright and green afterwards - and describes how lucky they are to take cover where it’s dry and warm.

The song stems from the 19th century, when there was likely even more rain in Germany, and nowadays is sung mostly in Kitas and primary schools.

Es regnet, es regnet

Die Erde wird nass

Und wenn's genug geregnet hat

Dann wächst auch wieder Gras

Es regnet, es regnet

Es regnet seinen Lauf

Und wenn's genug geregnet hat

Dann hört's auch wieder auf

Es regnet, es regnet

Was kümmert uns das?

Wir sitzen im Trocknen

Und werden nicht nass

In English, it goes:

It's raining, it's raining

The earth gets wet

And when it has rained enough

Grass will grow again

It rains, it rains

It rains its course

And when it's rained enough

It's gonna stop

It rains, it rains

What do we care?

We sit in the dry

And we don't get wet

Alle Leut’

When a group of children is dispersing, be it from a swim class or the Kita, this is a popular goodbye ballad bidding everyone farewell. Several of the German words are abbreviated, as they often are in colloquial form, so Leute (people) becomes Leut’ and heute (today) as heut’.

Alle Leut', alle Leut' geh'n jetzt nach Haus'

Alle Leut', alle Leut' geh'n jetzt nach Haus'

Grosse Leut', kleine Leut',

Dicke Leut', dünne Leut'

Laute Leut', leise Leut'

Alle Leut', alle Leut' geh'n jetzt nach Haus'

Alle Leut', alle Leut' winken sich zu,

Sagen auf wiedersehen,

Das war heut' wieder schön.

Alle Leut', alle Leut' winken sich zu

In translation:

Everyone, everyone is going home.

Everyone, everyone is going home.

Big people, little people,

Fat people, thin people,

Loud people, quiet people,

Everyone, everyone is going home.

Everyone, everyone is waving goodbye.

We say goodbye,

That was fun again today!

Everyone, everyone is waving goodbye.