Sarasponda facts for kids

Sarasponda is a fun, silly song often sung around a campfire. People sometimes call it a "nonsense song" because its words don't have a clear meaning. It's also known as a "spinning song." This means it might have been sung while people were using a spinning wheel to make thread.

Many people believe "Sarasponda" comes from the Netherlands. There's even a story that Dutch mothers used this song to help their daughters learn how to spin well. This skill was important for finding a good husband back then! However, it's hard to know for sure if this story is true.

The first time "Sarasponda" appeared in print was likely in American song collections from the 1940s. It was in a small songbook called Sing It Again in 1944. It also appeared in Sing for the Fun of It around the same time.

Some people think the words of the song sound like the spinning wheel itself. For example, "sarasponda, sarasponda, sarasponda" might sound like the wheel spinning. Then, "ret, set, set" could be the sound of the foot pedal slowing the wheel down. This is called onomatopoeia, where words sound like what they describe.

Singing the Sarasponda Song

The words to "Sarasponda" can change a bit, and there isn't one exact way to spell them. But here's a common version of the lyrics, often sung by two groups of people.

• Group 1:
  • boom-da, boom-da, boom-da (this part repeats until the chorus)
• Group 2:
  • Sarasponda, sarasponda, sarasponda ret set set
  • Sarasponda, sarasponda, sarasponda ret set set
• Everyone (chorus):
  • Ah do ray oh, Ah do ray boomday oh
  • Ah do ray boomday ret set set
  • Aw say paw say oh.

At some camps, the "boom-da, boom-da, boom-da" part is changed to "oonga, oonga, oonga."