Lovely nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs

Folk Songs of the World | Hometown Songs Passed Down Abroad

Graduated from a music school / 21 years of piano experienceSatomi
I began playing the piano at the age of four and spent six years at a conservatory, focusing mainly on classical music while honing my skills. In addition to solo performance, I studied extensively in chamber music and two-piano repertoire, and I had the opportunity to perform twice on stage as a soloist in piano concertos. While not to the same extent as classical, I also learned jazz and pop through practical performance. I was active as a pianist in various settings, including instrumental and vocal/choral accompaniment, performance assistance for other departments, and recording sessions. Beyond the piano, I devoted five years to the trombone in a wind ensemble. I hope to draw on these experiences to share the charm of music with many people.

Here are some famous songs selected from folk music that has been passed down and sung in various countries and regions around the world.

Even if you don’t know the titles, you may have heard them somewhere or hummed them as a child—foreign folk songs are actually quite familiar in our daily lives.

In some cases, the version widely known in Japan is the adaptation, and you might discover, “So this was the original song!”

Learning which country a song comes from leads to learning about that country’s culture and history, and it will broaden your horizons.

Please take a listen to these time-honored folk songs that are cherished in each country!

Folk Songs of the World | Hometown Songs Passed Down Abroad (21–30)

Let's go to the forest.Polish folk song

Let's go to the forest.

Let's go to the forest - Polish folk song

“Let’s Go to the Forest” is a Japanese song based on the Polish folk tune “Szła dzieweczka.” After members of the University of Tokyo’s Onkan Chorus wrote Japanese lyrics and introduced it in Japan as “Let’s Go to the Forest,” it was first broadcast on NHK’s “Minna no Uta,” and became established as a popular Polish folk song enjoyed by both children and adults.

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Dona DonaYiddish folk song

Chava Alberstein חוה אלברשטיין – Dona Dona (live, 1989)

Donna Donna Yiddish folk song

It is a folk song based on an original musical piece written in Yiddish in 1940.

Dona Dona became internationally famous in the 1960s, when the folk revival was sweeping the United States.

It reached many listeners after it was covered by Joan Baez, who was known as the Queen of Folk.

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Folk Songs of the World | Hometown Songs Passed Down Overseas (31–40)

Aloha ʻOeHawaiian Folk Song / Liliʻuokalani

[With Japanese translation] Aloha ʻOe (Hawaiian folk song) “Aloha ʻOe” – with katakana

Aloha ʻOe Hawaiian folk song / Liliʻuokalani

“Aloha ʻOe” is a Hawaiian song—Hawaiian music—said to have been written around 1878 by Liliʻuokalani, the eighth queen of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and its last monarch.

A leading view holds that the melody was adapted from an existing tune, and such melodic borrowing appears to have been common in Hawaiʻi at the time.

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Kecak

Kecak in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Kecak

Kecak is a musical drama performed on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, this dance-drama is based on the traditional ritual known as sanghyang and takes its subject matter from the Ramayana, the ancient Indian epic.

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All mothersAmerican folk song

[Children’s Song] All the Horses

All horses are American folk songs

The American folk song “Old Gray Mare” is widely known in Japan as “Onma wa Min’na,” with lyrics by Tomoko Nakayama.

The only point it shares with the original is the appearance of a “horse”; the original song does not include a “piglet’s tail.”

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Lovely AugustineAustrian folk song

[German] O du lieber Augustin (Beloved Augustine) (Japanese Subtitles)

Cute Augustin Austrian folk song

The Austrian folk song “Ach, du lieber Augustin” (“Dear/Cute Augustin”) laments the victims of the plague that ravaged Vienna, and the word meaning “plague” is explicitly used in its lyrics.

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In conclusion

We introduced some famous folk songs from around the world.

Were there any you recognized, or any you realized were actually folk songs? Some are songs we sang as children or heard at school, which brings a sense of nostalgia.

There are also many original pieces, so be sure to give them a listen!