Animal songs

Debajo de un botón

The traditional Spanish song about the teeny tiny mouse Martín found under a button, with a new story: they say hello, clap and jump, dance around the button, and the mouse goes to sleep.

Lyrics in Spanish with English translation

The English meaning is under each line.

Debajo de un botón, ton, ton,Under a button, ton, ton,que encontró Martín, tin, tin,that Martín found, tin, tin,había un ratón, ton, ton,there was a mouse, ton, ton,¡ay, qué chiquitín, tin, tin!oh, how teeny tiny, tin, tin!

¡Ay, qué chiquitín, tin, tin!Oh, how teeny tiny, tin, tin!Era aquel ratón, ton, ton,That was the mouse, ton, ton,que encontró Martín, tin, tin,that Martín found, tin, tin,debajo de un botón, ton, ton.under a button, ton, ton.

Sonriendo fue Martín, tin, tin,Smiling, Martín went, tin, tin,a saludar al ratón, ton, ton,to say hello to the mouse, ton, ton,y el pequeño bailarín, rín, rín,and the little dancer, rín, rín,se asomó por el botón, ton, ton.peeked out from the button, ton, ton.

Con pasitos de ratón, ton, ton,With little mouse steps, ton, ton,dio la vuelta por allí, llí, llí,he went around over there, llí, llí,se subió sobre el botón, ton, ton,he climbed up on the button, ton, ton,y miró hacia Martín, tin, tin.and looked over at Martín, tin, tin.

Debajo de un botón, ton, ton,Under a button, ton, ton,que encontró Martín, tin, tin,that Martín found, tin, tin,había un ratón, ton, ton,there was a mouse, ton, ton,¡ay, qué chiquitín, tin, tin!oh, how teeny tiny, tin, tin!

¡Ay, qué chiquitín, tin, tin!Oh, how teeny tiny, tin, tin!Era aquel ratón, ton, ton,That was the mouse, ton, ton,que encontró Martín, tin, tin,that Martín found, tin, tin,debajo de un botón, ton, ton.under a button, ton, ton.

Dio dos palmas don Martín, tin, tin,Don Martín clapped twice, tin, tin,dio dos saltos el ratón, ton, ton,the mouse jumped twice, ton, ton,y bailaron por allí, llí, llí,and they danced over there, llí, llí,dando vueltas al botón, ton, ton.going around the button, ton, ton.

Bostezaba aquel ratón, ton, ton,That mouse was yawning, ton, ton,y lo vio sonreír Martín, tin, tin,and Martín saw him smile, tin, tin,se acostó bajo el botón, ton, ton,he lay down under the button, ton, ton,a dormir, ¡qué chiquitín, tin, tin!to sleep, how teeny tiny, tin, tin!

Debajo de un botón, ton, ton,Under a button, ton, ton,que encontró Martín, tin, tin,that Martín found, tin, tin,había un ratón, ton, ton,there was a mouse, ton, ton,¡ay, qué chiquitín, tin, tin!oh, how teeny tiny, tin, tin!

¡Ay, qué chiquitín, tin, tin!Oh, how teeny tiny, tin, tin!Era aquel ratón, ton, ton,That was the mouse, ton, ton,que encontró Martín, tin, tin,that Martín found, tin, tin,debajo de un botón, ton, ton.under a button, ton, ton.

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How to say it

Spanish vowels are short and clear: a (ah), e (eh), i (ee), o (oh), u (oo). Capital letters mark the stressed syllable.

botón: boh-TOHN · button
ratón: rah-TOHN · mouse
chiquitín: chee-kee-TEEN · teeny tiny
dos palmas: dohs PAHL-mahs · two claps
dos saltos: dohs SAHL-tohs · two jumps
a dormir: ah dohr-MEER · off to sleep

Off-screen

Sing it with actions

Put your hands together like a button and hide one little finger inside: that’s the mouse.
On every «ton, ton», tap your knees twice; on every «tin, tin», tap your fingers together twice.
On «se asomó por el botón» (“peeked out from the button”), the little mouse finger peeks out between your hands!
On «dio dos palmas don Martín» (“Don Martín clapped twice”), clap twice!; on «dio dos saltos el ratón» (“the mouse jumped twice”), jump twice!
On «bailaron por allí» (“they danced over there”), dance once around the button.
On «bostezaba aquel ratón» (“that mouse was yawning”), yawn, rest your head on your hands and keep very still, like the sleeping mouse.

Singing together:: Once the song is familiar, sing «ton» or «tin» and let your child finish with «ton, ton» or «tin, tin» and the taps.
Good for practicing:: Keeping the beat with taps, playing with rhyming sounds and counting to two with claps and jumps.

More ideas for singing with your child

All the lyrics in the songbook Lesson plan for the classroom More songs with actions

Where it comes from

«Debajo de un botón» is a traditional children’s song by an unknown author. The earliest record we found is from 1949: Arturo Francisco Lorido Lombardero collected it in Castropol (Asturias, Spain) as a school song, for a folk-song competition of the Spanish Institute of Musicology. By 1961 it appeared in a school songbook published in Buenos Aires, which lists it as a song from Spain. The words vary from place to place: «debajo un botón» or «debajo de un botón», «que encontró Martín» (“that Martín found”) or «que encontré un martín» (“that I found a martín”).

Sources: