Twinkle, twinkle little star is the English name of a popular French melody named Ah! Vous dirais-je, Maman. It was first published in 1761, but the origin is unknown. Today it is one of the most popular nursery rhymes among toddlers and small children.
(Ah! I would tell you, Mom
Variants also exist:
*antienne = texte répétitif et lassant comme une ritournelle
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in ABC notation, C major:
It is also viewable in sheet music notation (http://www.wikipedia.com/upload/twinkle.png), typeset using GNU LilyPond, from the LilyPond music collection.
The melody of Baa Baa Black Sheep[?] is very similar. Several famous compositions are based on it:
Listen to it (http://www.wikipedia.com/upload/twinkle.mid)
The English words are from the poem in couplet form, "The Star (http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/poems/taylraj2c.html)", by Ann Taylor[?] (1782-1866) and her sister Jane Taylor[?] (1783-1824) first published in 1806. The Alphabet song is also set to the 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:
The Bat was the nickname of one of the Dons at Oxford.
Another parody is from Mary Dodge[?]'s When life is young (1894):
what causes my torment.
Papa wants me to reason
Like an adult.
Me, I say that candy
Is worth more than reason.)
Melody
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in sol-fa notation (d r m f s l t d = do re me fa so la ti do)
English lyrics
The English lyrics are normally as follows:
Parodies
A transliteration of the English lyrics into deliberately obfuscated English was made. Though it rhymes well, this version is difficult to sing as it does not fit the traditional melody. (anyone know who and when?)
