Children's Songs

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The tune is in your head but the third verse is gone. That is exactly what this app is for: 88 old children's songs with the complete words, to look up in the moment when the child is already sitting on your knee.

The quickest way is the search — and not only by title but across every single line. Typing “Schwänzchen” finds “Alle meine Entchen”, even without knowing the title. Umlauts may be left out.

For many songs it also says how the movement goes: the knee-ride for “Hoppe, hoppe Reiter”, the arch game for “London Bridge”, the circle for “Ringel, Ringel, Reihe”. That is usually half the fun and is in hardly any songbook.

One button switches to the sing-along view: very large text, nothing else, and the screen stays on. A second leads to a YouTube search, in case the tune will not come after all.

What you get

• German and Austrian50 songs
• English25 songs
• Italian13 songs
• Verses263, complete rather than only the first
• Movements describedfor 31 songs

Why only old songs

Because only old songs are in the public domain. A song was included only where its lyricist died more than 70 years ago or the words are demonstrably in print before 1900 — in case of doubt it stayed out. The evidence is given with each song, in small type under the origin.

That costs a few well-known pieces. “Wie schön, dass du geboren bist” is from 1981 and is therefore missing, as is “The Wheels on the Bus”. Some things that feel ancient are not: “This Old Man” was only written down in 1906, and for “Pop Goes the Weasel” it is the most famous verse of all that is documented no earlier than 1905.

Technical

Runs entirely in the browser. Songs you mark stay on your device and are transmitted nowhere — no account, no sign-up, no advertising, no tracking. Via the share menu the app can be added to your home screen; after that it works without an internet connection. Only the YouTube button needs a connection, and it leads to a search, not to an embedded video.

Support

This app is free and stays free. If it has been of use to you, a voluntary contribution helps to build the next one.

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