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

Whether trying to get energised to start the day, or finding a soothing way to fall asleep, these classic German 'Kinderlieder' (children’s songs) are hard to resist singing along to once you know the lyrics.

Published: 13 June 2023 10:28 CEST
A duck family
A family of ducks in Berlin's Tegeler See on May 29th. 'Entchen' make a starring role in a beloved children's song. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Annette Riedl

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.

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LEARNING GERMAN

‘Forget about bilingual Kitas’: Key tips for raising bilingual kids in Germany

With greater numbers of international workers choosing to settle in Germany and raise a family, the question of how to best raise bilingual children is often considered. 

Published: 25 April 2024 15:01 CEST
Updated: 28 April 2024 08:35 CEST
'Forget about bilingual Kitas': Key tips for raising bilingual kids in Germany

The Local asked its readers who have raised bilingual children in Germany to tell us how they managed to raise children who speak German in addition to their parent’s mother tongue. 

Trust the (school) system. 

One piece of advice was echoed by several readers: Trust the German education system to take care of teaching German through immersion. 

Siniša, 44, from Hesse, who speaks Croatian and English at home, told The Local: “Speak your native language at home. The school will ‘cover’ German and other languages.”

Steve, 55, who lives in Munich and speaks English and Spanish with his daughter agrees.

“Be consistent and raise your child in your native tongue. At a local school, they will learn German quickly,” he said.

Chris, 44, from Hamburg, who speaks English with his children, backed the idea of leaving kids’ schools to take charge of teaching them German.

“Get the kids into the German education system as early as possible and let them learn themselves from native speakers. As a bonus, they’ll pick it up quickly and not pick up a ‘non-German’ accent either,” he said.

Read more: ‘Multilingualism is an enrichment’ – The challenges of raisin bilingual kids in Germany

Readers also noted that even in the preschool stage, children can handle multiple languages. 

Julie, 41, who lives in Hamburg and speaks English and Italian at home, said: “Relax and go with the flow. Don’t get hung up on finding bilingual Kitas for toddlers if they already get significant exposure to the non-German language at home. Languages seem to develop in different spurts at different speeds.”

However, liaising with schools in Germany was noted as an essential skill. 

Kim, 46, based in Sindelfingen, with a family speaking both English and German, said: “It’s essential for at least one parent to understand German when children attend a German school. They can help explain language and cultural differences. They can also help with administrative matters and even homework.”

Maintain the mother tongue.

While readers were keen to encourage parents to trust the immersion process that German schools provide, they were also quick to advise a concerted effort to maintain speaking the mother tongue in and around the home. 

“For international parents, I think it’s very important that their children do not lose touch with their mother tongue, as it is a very special part of their identity,” said Prashanth, 42, who lives in Munich.

Anne-Marie, 52, from Frankfurt, who speaks ‘Singlish’ (Singaporean English) with her children, stated that it’s essential to be firm.

“Speak in your mother tongue to your kids from the day they are born. Be consequent about it, even in front of other people who do not speak your mother tongue,” she said.

Karl, 44, who lives in Celle and who speaks English and the indigenous American Ute language with his children, said getting family on board is important. 

“Communicate with all family members your decision, intentionally speak all of the languages, when possible provide translations so family members present are not excluded from conversations,” he said.

Charles, 40, from Berlin, even stated that speaking German at home may prove detrimental: “Don’t speak your own mediocre German with them. It may be hard to see them speaking another language as their more comfortable primary language than your own.”

Charles, who speaks English at home, added: “Find books and shows to share with them in your native language to continue the shared experience.”

Read More: What foreign parents should know about German schools

Just let it happen with the kids…

Sometimes, it seems, becoming bilingual takes care of itself. 

Paul, 40, from Munich, married to a German, said: “Our oldest just started speaking English one day around age 3. She had heard so much she could understand and just started talking. 

“The twins are starting to speak more and more English. It wasn’t a problem since she was fluent in both by age 4. I advise patience and not expecting perfection at a young age.

Crystal, 38, who lives in Nuremberg and speaks English at home, responded: “At first, my main concern was getting as much German into our lives as possible so my son would be ready for Grundschule. 

“Now I’m swinging the other way. My advice is to try to relax. There are always other things to worry about, and kids learn so much really quickly.”

…but also challenge yourself

Finally, respondents to The Locals’ survey repeated that raising bilingual children is something that requires a degree of effort – on the parent’s behalf. 

J.K, 40, who lives in Hanau and speaks English and Telugu at home, told The Local: “Language is very important for the kids to grow in a culture. 

“Parents should facilitate situations around the kid to better integrate locally. Parents (at least one) should be able to speak German at a level better than B1. 

“If not, supporting kids in their education is difficult, and this will hamper their chances of reaching a higher education level.”

Read More: Six surprising facts about Germany’s school system

Moreno, 40, who lives in Munich and speaks Portuguese with his children, was firm in his advice: “Don’t choose the easy way for you, parents. Don’t hide in your language community bubble. 

“If you intend to live in Germany for a long time, put your kids in German schools and get them in touch with the German community.

“If you don’t speak German like me, deal with it. But don’t transfer your problem to your kids.”

Have we missed any crucial advice for raising bilingual children in Germany? Tell us in the comments section below.

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