Maman, les p'tits bateaux Lyrics
Do little boats have legs? A child asks whether the little boats that go on the water have legs, and gets a quick, teasing answer: of course, or they could not walk. Two lines, one question and one answer, make a very short French rhyme. The songbook's two lines are below, with an English translation.
Maman, les p'tits bateaux
Papa, les p'tits bateaux qui vont sur l'eau, ont-ils des jambes?
Mais oui, petit bêta, s'ils n'en avaient pas, ils n'march'raient pas!
In English
Papa, the little boats that go on the water, do they have legs?
Why yes, little silly, if they had none, they could not walk!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/maman-les-ptits-bateaux/
- Type
- Action Songs
- Tune
- A question rising and a cheerful answer falling, sung or said as a pair
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
What Does Maman, les p'tits bateaux Mean?
You can say the title as mah-mahn, lay ptee ba-toh. Les p'tits bateaux are the little boats, maman is mother, and the songbook writes the first word as papa (father) instead: it prints the question to Papa. The page is titled with Maman because that is the name most people search for. The rest is the same: the child asks whether little boats that go on the water have des jambes (legs).
The answer is the joke. A boat "walks" on the water, as French says that boats go along (marcher can mean to go or to work, and also to walk). The parent answers with logic: if the boats did not have legs, they would not walk. Petit bêta is a teasing name for a child who asks something silly. Larousse defines bêta as sot, niais, which means silly or simple, and in a parent's mouth it is said lightly, with a smile.
It is a game of words more than a song. A small child hears two lines, laughs at the idea of boats with legs, and soon asks the next question of their own.
History and Origin
Widor's Paris songbook Vieilles chansons pour les petits enfants is the source of the words, and no year is printed in the book.
The songbook prints the two lines under the title Papa, les p'tits bateaux, with the answer "Mais oui, petit bêta". The book does not say who made the lines up.
Learning Activities
- Boats with legs: draw a boat with legs on the water and give it a name.
- Ask and answer: one child asks the question and another gives the answer in a teasing voice, then swap.
- Float a boat: float a paper boat in a bowl and push it gently so that it 'walks' across the water.
- Your own question: ask a similar one, such as 'do clouds have feet?', and let the children answer.