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Nonsense
rhymes |
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| Or else, as a variant, gently flexing each finger,
one said: |
P'p'r'niell' |
Tiny one (pinky) |
fior'
r' aniell' |
ring a ding (ring finger) |
cchiù
luogh' r' tutt' |
longest of all (middle) |
allecca
m'r'tal' |
pot licker (index) |
scazza
prucchij' a lu m'nn'zza'r' |
squash lice (thumb) |
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| When a child lost a tooth, he/she would hurl it
onto a roof top and recite this nonsense rhyme. |
| This was done to keep animals from getting the tooth
and eating it, thus causing the child’s new
tooth to grow in just like that of the animal itself. |
Titta
titta, tecck't' u' stuort' |
Roof, roof,
here is my crooked tooth |
e
damm' u' r'ritt'. |
And send me back a straight
one. |
Rammìll'
fort' chi romp' r' port' |
Give me a strong one that
can bust doors, |
rammìll'
san' chi romp' r' pan'. |
Give me a healthy one
that can chew bread. |
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| The following nonsense rhymes were recited to a
child seated on one’s knees, which were moved
up and down to simulate a horse trotting. |
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Car',
caretta, Nap'l' e Barletta; |
nn'
voglij' ric' Napoli, lu pizz'l' r' la papara;
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nn'
voglij' ric' lu pizz'l', lu cor' mij' s'
spizz'la; |
n'
voglij' ric' lu cor', fratta chi mo' mor'; |
n'
voglij' ric' fratta, lu lup' chi m'afferra; |
n'
voglij' ric' lu lup', lu sorg' varvut'; |
n'
voglij' ric' lu sorg', la spina r' lu pol'c';
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nn'
voglij' ric' la spina, ma l'anca purcina; |
nn'
voglji' ric' l'anca, eia... v'stut' r' ianck'! |
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Dear oh
dear, Naples and Barletta; |
I won’t say Naples,
the duck’s beak; |
I won’t say beak,
my heart breaks; |
I won’t say heart,
your brother now is dying; |
I won’t say your
brother, the wolf will get me; |
I won’t say wolf,
the mouse has a beard; |
I won’t mouse,
lice have bones; |
I won’t say bones,
but I’ll say thigh |
I won’t say thigh,
(so and so)........is dressed in white! |
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Car',
car', la vecchia s' n' vaij', |
lassam'nnilla
scì ca craij' torna a bb'nì, |
cu'
'na pizza lenda lenda e Maria s' scaglienda, |
cu'
n' picca r' mier' fort' e Maria s' cunforta, |
cu'
n' picca r' vin' r'acit' e Maria ten' lu
zit'! |
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Dear oh
dear, the old lady goes away. |
Let her go, tomorrow
she’ll come back. |
With over cooked pasta,
and Maria warms up. |
With some strong wine,
and Maria comforts herself. |
With some sour wine,
and Maria has a boyfriend! |
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Cupp'
cupp' cavallucc' sciam' vietta a Mercogliano |
a
accattà nu bell' ciucc' cupp'
cupp' cavallucc'. |
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Hop hop horsy,
let’s hurry to Mercogliano |
To buy a nice mule, hop
hop horsy. |
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