Move and dance
El cocherito leré
The traditional Spanish jump-rope song «El cocherito leré», turned into a carriage ride to dance, clap and jump to.
Lyrics in Spanish with English translation
The English meaning is under each line.
¡Sube, sube!Get in, get in!¡Vamos a pasear!Let’s go for a ride!¡Uno, dos, tres!One, two, three!¡El coche va a arrancar!The carriage is about to start!¡Leré!Leré!¡Leré!Leré!¡Vamos!Let’s go!
El cocherito, leré,The little coachman, leré,me dijo anoche, leré,told me last night, leré,que si quería, leré,asking if I wanted, leré,montar en coche, leré.to ride in his carriage, leré.Y yo le dije, leré,And I told him, leré,con gran salero, leré,with lots of charm, leré,no quiero coche, leré,I don’t want a carriage ride, leré,que me mareo, leré.it makes me dizzy, leré.
¡Leré, leré!Leré, leré!¡Qué divertido!What fun!¡Leré, leré!Leré, leré!¡Vamos juntitos!Let’s all go together!
Rueda que rueda,Rolling and rolling,vamos a pasear.we’re going for a ride.Por el caminito,Along the little path,sin dejar de cantar.singing all the way.¡Leré!Leré!
Pasa por las flores,It passes by the flowers,pasa junto al sol.it passes by the sun.Todos van cantandoEveryone is singingcon el corazón.with all their heart.¡Leré!Leré!
El cocherito, leré,The little coachman, leré,me dijo anoche, leré,told me last night, leré,que si quería, leré,asking if I wanted, leré,montar en coche, leré.to ride in his carriage, leré.Y yo le dije, leré,And I told him, leré,con gran salero, leré,with lots of charm, leré,no quiero coche, leré,I don’t want a carriage ride, leré,que me mareo, leré.it makes me dizzy, leré.
Manos arriba,Hands up,¡leré, leré!leré, leré!Manos abajo,Hands down,¡leré, leré!leré, leré!Una palmita,A little clap,da una vueltitaa little spiny vuelve a empezar.and start all over again.¡Otra vez!Once more!
Un paso a un lado,One step to one side,un paso al otro.one step to the other.Mueve los hombrosMove your shoulderspoquito a poco.little by little.Uno, dos, tres,One, two, three,¡vamos a brincar!let’s jump!Cuatro, cinco, seis,Four, five, six,¡y vuelve a cantar!and sing again!¡Leré!Leré!
Por una montaña,Up a mountainel coche subió.the carriage climbed.Por una bajada,Down a slope,¡qué rápido bajó!how fast it went down!¡Uuuuuh!Woooooh!
Pasa por el puente,It goes over the bridge,pasa junto al río.it passes by the river.Todos van riendo,Everyone is laughing,¡qué paseo divertido!what a fun ride!¡Leré, leré!Leré, leré!¡Leré, leré!Leré, leré!
El cocherito, leré,The little coachman, leré,me dijo anoche, leré,told me last night, leré,que si quería, leré,asking if I wanted, leré,montar en coche, leré.to ride in his carriage, leré.Y yo le dije, leré,And I told him, leré,con gran salero, leré,with lots of charm, leré,no quiero coche, leré,I don’t want a carriage ride, leré,que me mareo, leré.it makes me dizzy, leré.
¿Vamos despacito?Shall we go slowly?¡Leré!Leré!¿Vamos rapidito?Shall we go fast?¡Leré!Leré!¿Todos preparados?Is everyone ready?¡Sí!Yes!¡Pues vamos a brincar!Then let’s jump!¡Uno!One!¡Dos!Two!¡Tres!Three!¡A brincar!Jump!
El cocherito, leré,The little coachman, leré,nos lleva a pasear, leré.takes us for a ride, leré.Canta y Brinca, leré,Canta y Brinca, leré,¡vamos todos a cantar!let’s all sing!
El cocherito, leré,The little coachman, leré,ya vuelve por aquí, leré.is coming back this way, leré.Palmas, risas, leré,Clapping and laughing, leré,¡qué bonito es compartir!how lovely it is to share!
¡Leré, leré!Leré, leré!¡Vamos a cantar!Let’s sing!¡Leré, leré!Leré, leré!¡Vamos a brincar!Let’s jump!¡Leré, leré!Leré, leré!¡Una vez más!One more time!¡El cocherito leré!The little coachman, leré!¡Leré!Leré!¡Leré!Leré!¡Canta y Brinca!Sing and jump!
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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.
- el cocherito
- ehl koh-cheh-REE-toh · the little coachman
- leré
- leh-REH · a sung sound, like “tra-la-la”
- montar en coche
- mohn-TAHR ehn KOH-cheh · to ride in a carriage
- me mareo
- meh mah-REH-oh · I get dizzy
- manos arriba
- MAH-nohs ah-RREE-bah · hands up
- a brincar
- ah breen-KAHR · let’s jump
Off-screen
Sing it with actions
- On «¡Sube, sube!» (“Get in, get in!”), pretend to climb into the carriage, and in the chorus give a little hop on every «leré».
- In the movement game, do what the song says: hands up, hands down, a little clap, a little spin, a step to each side and your shoulders little by little.
- On «¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tres! ¡A brincar!» (“One! Two! Three! Jump!”), everybody jumps!
- On «¿Vamos despacito?» (“Shall we go slowly?”), answer «leré» softly; on «¿Vamos rapidito?» (“Shall we go fast?”), nice and loud!
- With a long rope, it’s the classic jump-rope song in Spain: two children turn the rope, another jumps to the beat and, on every «leré», crouches down while the rope passes overhead.
- Singing together:
- Sing the chorus slowly the first time and pause before each «leré» so your child can say it.
- Good for practicing:
- Following directions, opposites (up and down, slow and fast) and counting from 1 to 6.
All the lyrics in the songbookLesson plan for the classroomMore songs with actions
Where it comes from
«El cocherito leré» (“The little coachman, leré”) is a traditional jump-rope song by an unknown author. It is documented in 1945, when Arcadio de Larrea collected its words in Belchite (Zaragoza, Spain), and in 1949 Ricardo Olmos noted in Lorca (Murcia) how it was played: on each «leré», the jumper crouches down and the rope passes overhead.
Sources: