Let's sing together! A collection of nursery rhymes everyone knows
Nursery songs that many people have sung in day-care centers, kindergartens, and schools.
These children’s songs, passed down through generations, are still sung today in childcare settings, schools, and even senior facilities.
That said, fewer people are singing them nowadays, and some children can be found who don’t know nursery songs at all.
In this article, we’ll introduce nursery songs that everyone—young and old—will recognize.
If you’re not very familiar with nursery songs, start by listening to the ones we introduce here.
Try singing nursery songs together with your child, your friends, or your grandparents, and have fun!
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[Let's Sing Together!] A Collection of Nursery Rhymes Everyone Knows (1–10)
Dog PolicemanLyrics by Yoshimi Sato / Music by Onaka Megumi
This nursery rhyme portrays the interaction between a lost kitten and a police-dog who worries about it.
It’s a song often performed on NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho.” The appeal lies in Yoshimi Sato’s friendly wording and Megumi Ohnaka’s rhythmic melody.
Since its release in September 1960, it has been sung across generations.
We recommend singing it with your child while imitating animal sounds.
It’s also popular in daycare and kindergarten, making it perfect for parent–child communication.
Through this piece, why not feel the importance of kindness and helping one another?
dragonfly glassesLyrics by Seishi Nukaga / Music by Kozaburo Hirai
This children’s song, which sings about a dragonfly’s cute eyeglasses, is a charming tune that sparks kids’ imaginations.
The very idea of a dragonfly wearing glasses conjures up an adorable scene.
You can sing while imagining what kind of glasses the dragonflies soaring through the sky might wear—light blue ones, red ones, even glittering ones.
First broadcast on NHK Radio in the summer of 1949, this song is still loved by many people today.
How about feeling the autumn breeze, searching for dragonflies with your child, and humming this song together?
Ice Cream SongLyrics by Yoshimi Sato / Music by Koichi Hattori
The person who wrote the lyrics to the children’s song “The Policeman Dog” is Yoshimi Sato—the same person who wrote the lyrics to this song, “The Ice Cream Song.” Mr.
Sato is also well known as a children’s story author who received the Sankei Children’s Publishing Culture Award and the Akai Tori Literary Award.
The lyrics, which say, “Ice cream that anyone can eat now couldn’t be eaten even by princes or princesses in the old days,” are simple and approachable.
The onomatopoeia that expresses the coldness and sweetness is fun, and the slow, gentle melody naturally gets your body keeping time.
It’s a highly recommended song that’s easy to sing!
[Sing along together!] A collection of nursery rhymes everyone knows (11–20)
butterflyLyrics by Akiashi Nomura / Music by Spanish folk song
As a spring children’s song, “Butterflies” is one you just can’t leave out—virtually everyone knows it.
Like many nursery rhymes, it’s actually a foreign song that later received Japanese lyrics.
The original is the German song “Little Hans,” which depicts a young boy setting out on a journey.
While the first verse is the most famous, there are actually four verses: sparrows appear in the second, dragonflies in the third, and swallows in the fourth.
It’s the kind of tune that makes you feel like spring the moment you hum it.
I accidentally broke the clarinet.Lyrics by Yoshiko Ishii / Music by French nursery rhyme
Known in Japan as “I Broke My Clarinet,” this song is popularly thought of as French, yet there is no solid evidence that it originated in France, and both its lyricist and composer remain unknown—adding a touch of mystery.
The original is said to be a march called “The Onion Song,” with an anecdote that it was sung to boost military morale in Napoleon’s era.
The tongue-twister-like chorus lyrics are in French and translate to “Comrades, let us advance together,” which, heard that way, makes it sound like a spirited march.
In Japan, the group Dark Ducks performed and released it on record.
Hearing “I Broke My Clarinet” sung in deep male voices might feel surprisingly fresh.
soap bubbleLyrics by Ujō Noguchi / Music by Shinpei Nakayama
Here’s a beloved children’s song that never fails to capture kids’ hearts! You can almost picture soap bubbles floating gently up into the sky in time with the melody.
This classic was created through the collaboration of Ujo Noguchi and Shinpei Nakayama, with the poem published in 1922.
The lyrics convey the beauty and fragility of fleeting life.
It’s a wonderful song for teaching children the value of life through the simple play of blowing bubbles.
It’s perfect not only for singing in nurseries and kindergartens, but also for enjoying together as a family.
Cherished across generations, this piece brings warm, heartwarming moments.
Ho! Ho! Ho!NEW!Lyrics: Akira Ito / Music: Nobuyoshi Koshibe
A piece marked by cheerful chants that make you want to join in without thinking.
The swaying, rocking rhythm is so much fun, isn’t it? This song has become a beloved staple of NHK’s “Okaasan to Issho,” with a recorded vocal version by Kurumi Kobato in August 1999.
It was also included on the album released in December of the same year, “NHK ‘Okaasan to Issho: 40 Years, 300 Songs.
’” It’s a playful song that values the sound of the words more than their meaning.
Be sure to move your bodies together as a parent and child!