Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
A popular French melody of unknown origin named Ah! Vous Dirai-Je, Maman first published in 1761.
- Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman,
- Ce qui cause mon tourment
- Papa veut que je raisonne,
- Comme une grande personne.
- Moi je dis que les bonbons
- Valent mieux que la raison
(variants also exist)
The English lyrics are normally as follows:
- Twinkle, twinkle, little star
- How I wonder what you are.
- Up above the earth so high
- Like a diamond in the sky
- Twinkle, twinkle, little star
- How I wonder what you are.
The English words are from the poem in couplet form, "The Star", by Ann Taylor (1782-1866) and her sister Jane Taylor (1783-1824) first published in 1806.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in sol-fa notation (d r m f s l t d = do re me fa so la ti do)
- d d s s l l s
- f f m m r r d
- s s f f m m r
- s s f f m m r
- d d s s l l s
- f f m m r r d
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in ABC notation, C major:
- CCGGAAG
- FFEEDDC
- GGAAEED
- GGAAEED
- CCGGAAG
- FFEEDDC
The melody is almost identical to that used for Baa Baa Black Sheep and the Alphabet song.
Famous compositions based on it:
Links to samples and MIDI versions:
A transliteration of the English lyrics into deliberately obfuscated English was made (anyone know who and when?):
Scintillate, scintillate, globule vivific Fain would I fathom thy nature specific. Loftily poised on ether capacious Strongly resembling a gem carbonaceous.
Though it rhymes well, this version is difficult to sing as it does not fit the traditional melody.
A parody of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', spoken by the Mad Hatter, appears in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It reads:
- Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
- How I wonder what you're at!
- Up above the world you fly,
- Like a teatray in the sky.
- Twinkle, twinkle --
And the Latin version:
- Mica, mica, parva stella,
- Miror quaenam sis tam bella.
- Super terra in caelo,
- Alba gemma splendido.
- Mica, mica, parva stella,
- Miror quaenam sis tam bella.