Friday, August 21, 2026

Latin Nursery Rhyme: O lacobe! O lacobe!


I'm working on a new Latin nursery rhyme project, so instead of the usual vocabulary review, I'll be sharing a nursery rhyme here every other Friday, starting with a fun and easy one to sing: I made a Latin version of Frère Jacques. Here's the original:

Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous ? Dormez-vous ?
Sonnez les matines! Sonnez les matines!
Din dan don! Din dan don!

This is the English version I remember singing as a child:

Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Brother John, Brother John!
Morning bells are ringing! Morning bells are ringing!
Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.

But in the French, sleepy Brother John is being told to wake up and ring the bells, imperative. So that's what I did in the Latin:

O lacobe! O lacobe! 
Dormisne? Dormisne?
Pulsa iam campanas, pulsa iam campanas!
Din dan don! Din dan don!

O Iacobus, O Iacobus!
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Ring the bells now, ring the bells now!
Din dan don! Din dan don!

I feel badly about not having frater in there (although when I was a little kid, of course I thought this was someone's brother, not a monk), so this could also work for the first line: O lacobe! Frater piger! "O Iacobus! Lazy brother!

You can read more at Wikipedia, which is where I found the music and also these illustrations:






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