Animal songs
La lechuza
The traditional Spanish song for quieting down, «la lechuza hace shhh» (“the owl goes shhh”), with a new story: five friends walk through the forest at dusk, say hello to the owl, see her two babies in the nest and say goodbye under the stars, all very quiet.
Lyrics in Spanish with English translation
The English meaning is under each line.
Cinco amigos van de paseo,Five friends go for a walkpor el bosque al atardecer.through the forest at dusk.En la rama de un viejo roble,On the branch of an old oak,dos ojitos acaban de ver.they have just seen two little eyes.
La lechuza, la lechuza,The owl, the owl,hace shhh, hace shhh.goes shhh, goes shhh.Todos calladitos,Everyone very quiet,como la lechuza,like the owl,hacen shhh, hacen shhh.they go shhh, they go shhh.
La lechuza mueve las alas,The owl flaps her wings,los saluda desde su hogar.she greets them from her home.Cinco amigos miran arriba,Five friends look upy se quedan quietos a escuchar.and stand still to listen.
La lechuza, la lechuza,The owl, the owl,hace shhh, hace shhh.goes shhh, goes shhh.Todos calladitos,Everyone very quiet,como la lechuza,like the owl,hacen shhh, hacen shhh.they go shhh, they go shhh.
En el nido hay dos pequeños,In the nest there are two little ones,acurrucaditos junto a mamá.snuggled up next to mom.Uno esconde el pico en sus plumas,One hides its beak in its feathers,y el otro pronto se dormirá.and the other will soon fall asleep.
La lechuza, la lechuza,The owl, the owl,hace shhh, hace shhh.goes shhh, goes shhh.Todos calladitos,Everyone very quiet,como la lechuza,like the owl,hacen shhh, hacen shhh.they go shhh, they go shhh.
Una hoja baja despacio,A leaf drifts slowly down,una estrella empieza a brillar.a star begins to shine.Cinco amigos siguen la senda,Five friends keep walking along the path,con pasitos suaves al andar.with soft little steps as they go.
La lechuza, la lechuza,The owl, the owl,hace shhh, hace shhh.goes shhh, goes shhh.Todos calladitos,Everyone very quiet,como la lechuza,like the owl,hacen shhh, hacen shhh.they go shhh, they go shhh.
Con las manos dicen adiós,With their hands they wave goodbye,la lechuza los ve marchar.the owl watches them go.Bajo el cielo lleno de estrellas,Under the sky full of stars,otro día podrán regresar.another day they can come back.
La lechuza, la lechuza,The owl, the owl,hace shhh, hace shhh.goes shhh, goes shhh.Todos calladitos,Everyone very quiet,como la lechuza,like the owl,hacen shhh, hacen shhh.they go shhh, they go shhh.
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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.
- la lechuza
- lah leh-CHOO-sah · the owl
- calladitos
- kah-yah-DEE-tohs · very quiet
- las alas
- lahs AH-lahs · the wings
- el nido
- ehl NEE-doh · the nest
- plumas
- PLOO-mahs · feathers
- estrellas
- ehs-TREH-yahs · stars
Off-screen
Sing it with actions
- On every «shhh», everyone puts a finger to their lips, and on «todos calladitos» (“everyone very quiet”) they keep very still.
- On «dos ojitos acaban de ver» (“they have just seen two little eyes”), make glasses with your fingers around your eyes and look for the owl.
- On «la lechuza mueve las alas» (“the owl flaps her wings”), move your arms slowly; on «miran arriba» (“they look up”), look up at the branch and stand still to listen.
- In the nest, snuggle up like the owlets and hide your face in your arms, like a beak in its feathers.
- On «con pasitos suaves al andar» (“with soft little steps”), tiptoe very slowly.
- At the end, wave goodbye. Each refrain can be sung a little softer than the one before, until you finish in a whisper.
- Singing together:
- Sing the refrain softer each time and pause before «shhh» so your child can say it with a finger on their lips.
- Good for practicing:
- Lowering the voice, keeping still for a moment, listening and moving slowly.
All the lyrics in the songbookLesson plan for the classroomMore songs with actions
Where it comes from
«La lechuza» (“The Owl”) is a children’s song for asking for quiet, by an unknown author. We found no old record: the earliest dated mention we found is from 2002, when the children’s supplement of the Buenos Aires newspaper Crónica quoted «la lechuza hace sssh» (“the owl goes sssh”) as a song kids heard over and over. In 2012, a book from the Universidad del Cauca (Colombia) recorded a version in which the owl goes «¡chist!», sung by student teachers to calm a class. In our video, the refrain is the familiar one and the verses about the forest and the nest are new.
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