Italian Nursery Rhymes and Children’s Songs with English Translation
On this page
Children’s songs can make Italian repetition enjoyable and give vocabulary a memorable context. Some are traditional playground rhymes; others are modern songs by identifiable writers. Their difficulty varies, so start with a short section rather than trying to understand every word at once.
Below are ten listening suggestions with English title meanings, vocabulary and original learning activities. Two short traditional rhymes include learner translations. For modern songs, use the recordings and linked official sources to follow the lyrics.
Un elefante si dondolava
Title meaning: One elephant was swinging.
This cumulative counting song adds another elephant each time. It lets you hear how verb endings change between one elephant and several.
Vocabulary: elefante (elephant), ragnatela (spider’s web), dondolarsi (to sway or swing).
Grammar: Si dondolava is singular imperfetto; si dondolavano is plural. The imperfetto presents the ongoing swinging, while forms such as andò and andarono move the story to the next action.
Your own example: Un bambino giocava; due bambini giocavano. — “One child was playing; two children were playing.”
Listen to Un elefante si dondolava.
Se sei felice e tu lo sai
Title meaning: If you’re happy and you know it.
This action song has an English counterpart with a similar title. Italian versions differ in their instructions and wording, so follow the version you listen to.
Vocabulary: felice (happy), le mani (hands), i piedi (feet), un salto (a jump).
Grammar: Listen for informal singular commands, such as forms of battere, fare and dire. Dovrai means “you will have to”; it does not mean “you really want to”.
Activity: Give a partner an original instruction: Alza una mano! — “Raise one hand!” Choose movements that are comfortable for everyone.
Listen to Se sei felice e tu lo sai.
Nella vecchia fattoria
Title meaning: On the old farm.
This Italian farm song introduces animals through a growing list. It shares a familiar cumulative structure with English farm songs, but it is not a word-for-word translation of “Old MacDonald”.
Vocabulary: capra (goat), asinello (little donkey), gatto (cat), maiale (pig), cane (dog), bue (ox).
Grammar: C’è means “there is”; ci sono means “there are”. Quante bestie ha… can introduce an exclamation about how many animals someone has, rather than only a question.
Your own example: Nella stalla c’è una mucca; nel prato ci sono due pecore. — “There is a cow in the stable; there are two sheep in the field.”
Listen to Nella vecchia fattoria.
Giro girotondo
Title meaning: Round and round.
A traditional circle-game rhyme, Giro girotondo has many local versions. It resembles English circle games in how children play, rather than being an exact translation of “Ring Around the Rosie”. Here is one short traditional variant.
| Italian | English learner translation |
|---|---|
| Giro girotondo, casca il mondo, casca la terra, tutti giù per terra! |
Round and round, the world falls down, the earth falls down, everyone down on the ground! |
Vocabulary: terra can mean earth, land or ground. Casca comes from cascare, “to fall”. In another variant, il mare è fondo means “the sea is deep”, rather than “the world is spinning”.
Activity: Explain the game using an original sentence: Camminiamo in cerchio, poi ci sediamo. — “We walk in a circle, then sit down.”
La canzone della felicità
Title meaning: The song of happiness.
This action song uses images of wings, antennae and little paws or feet. The gestures can help you connect the words with their meaning.
Vocabulary: allegria (cheerfulness), malinconia (melancholy), ali (wings), antenne (antennae), zampine (little animal paws or feet).
Grammar: Dammi combines da’ and mi: “give me”. The pronoun attaches to an affirmative informal command. Compare our original example Dammi una matita, per favore — “Give me a pencil, please”.
Activity: Draw a butterfly and label its wings and antennae. In English, insects have “antennae”; “antennas” normally refers to equipment.
Listen to La canzone della felicità.
Ci vuole un fiore
Title meaning: It takes a flower.
This song links everyday objects to the natural materials behind them. Its words are by Gianni Rodari, with music by Sergio Endrigo and an arrangement by Luis Bacalov. The repeated construction makes a useful starting point for learning volerci.
Vocabulary: legno (wood), albero (tree), seme (seed), frutto (fruit), fiore (flower).
Grammar: Ci vuole is used with a singular requirement; ci vogliono with a plural one. These original examples show the agreement: Ci vuole una penna — “A pen is needed”; Ci vogliono due sedie — “Two chairs are needed”.
Activity: Choose something you use every day and name two materials needed to make it. The song’s progression is poetic, rather than a complete scientific account of how ecosystems work.
La bella lavanderina
Title meaning: The lovely washerwoman.
This traditional action rhyme contains several informal singular commands. Versions differ, particularly in the opening lines. The singular lavanderina is one washerwoman, rather than several washerwomen.
| Italian traditional verse | English learner translation |
|---|---|
| La bella lavanderina che lava i fazzoletti per i poveretti della città. Fai un salto, fanne un altro. Fai la giravolta, falla un’altra volta. Guarda in su, guarda in giù. Dai un bacio a chi vuoi tu. |
The lovely washerwoman who washes handkerchiefs for the poor people of the town. Make a jump, make another. Turn around, do it again. Look up, look down. Give a kiss to whomever you choose. |
Grammar: Fanne means “make another one” here, with ne referring back to the jump. Falla means “do it”, with la referring to giravolta. If you play the game, participants can choose a wave or another comfortable gesture for the ending.
Listen to La bella lavanderina.
Il coccodrillo come fa?
Title meaning: What sound does the crocodile make?.
Written by Oscar Avogadro with music by Pino Massara, this song won the 1993 Zecchino d’Oro. It asks about animal sounds and humorously wonders about the crocodile. The official song page provides credits, the full text and a recording.
Vocabulary: cane (dog), mucca (cow), rana (frog), pecora (sheep), coccodrillo (crocodile). Animal sounds are written differently across languages: Italian dogs say bau, while English dogs say “woof”.
Grammar: Listen for subjunctive forms such as mangi, metta, punga and pianga in the reported descriptions. Boh is an informal interjection expressing uncertainty: “I don’t know”.
Activity: Make your own question with come, then answer it. The lyrics are playful personification, rather than factual zoology.
Listen to Il coccodrillo come fa?.
La tartaruga
Title meaning: The turtle.
This song tells a fanciful story about a turtle slowing down and noticing what surrounds her. Its imagery can help you practise verbs and food vocabulary, but it should not be read as animal-care advice.
Vocabulary: lattuga (lettuce), carote (carrots), gelato (ice cream), frittata (an egg dish or omelette), siluro (torpedo).
Grammar: The future forms mangerà and si riposerà refer to eating and resting. A testa in giù literally means “head downward”; in a running description it evokes a lowered head, rather than necessarily running upside down.
Activity: Write an original future-tense sentence: Domani camminerò piano e guarderò gli alberi. — “Tomorrow I’ll walk slowly and look at the trees.”
La canzone della cacca
Title meaning: The poo song.
This humorous children’s song uses imaginative comparisons around going to the toilet. It may suit some families or classrooms and not others. Check a recording before deciding whether to use it.
Register: Cacca is a familiar child-oriented word for poo; it is not the neutral term for a formal or medical conversation.
Vocabulary: pancia (belly), ippopotamo (hippopotamus), bastimento (large ship), sacca (sack or bag), tombino (manhole or street drain).
Grammar: Forse means “perhaps”. Practise it with your own example: Forse domani pioverà. — “Perhaps it will rain tomorrow”. Sta spingendo illustrates stare plus a gerund, an action in progress.
Listen to La canzone della cacca.
How to practise with a song
- Listen once for the rhythm and overall idea.
- Choose three words and check their meanings.
- Listen again for those words and one grammar pattern.
- Make an original sentence using the pattern.
Versions of traditional songs differ. Match your listening notes to the recording you choose, and remember that playful song language is not always ordinary conversational language.
