Sinterklaas little boy, throw something in my shoe…. But what is a little boy actually? And where do all those Sinterklaas songs actually come from?
And let’s start right away with that capon!
Sinterklaas Kapoentje
Throw something in my shoe
Throw some in my boot
Thank you Sinterklaasje
There are several theories about the word Kapoentje, an online search tells us. For example, it would originally refer to a castrated rooster, possibly as a reference to the celibate lifestyle of Saint Nicholas, Our Language knows.
Another explanation is that ‘kapoentje’ used to be an affectionate term for a rascal or rascal, which fits well with a song for children.
It is also suggested that the song was inspired by Klaas Kapoen, a notorious criminal from cartoons of the time, or was simply chosen because it rhymes with ‘shoe’. In some regions the word was also used to indicate a red dress, such as that of Sinterklaas.
The song Sinterklaas kapoentje is often immediately followed by the equally short song Sinterklaasje bonne bonne bonne.
Sinterklaasje bonne bonne bonne
Throw some in my empty empty barrel
Throw some in my boot
Thank you Sinterklaasje
The last two lines are identical to Sinterklaas Kapoentje, but in more modern versions also sung as ‘Throw some in our house, we’ll nibble like mice.’
This short Sinterklaas song contains a striking word: bonne. What does that actually mean? It cannot be found in the Van Dale dictionary, so it is thought that it probably comes from French. That’s what matters bonwhich means ‘good’. By repeating bonne, bonne, bonne, the meaning is reinforced: something like ‘very, very good’.
A more modern song than the previous two, but no less popular:
Look, the steamer from Spain is arriving again
He brings us Saint Nicholas, I can already see him standing there
How his horse hops up and down the deck
How the pennants are already blowing back and forth
His servant is laughing and already calling to us
Those who are sweet get treats, those who are naughty get the rod
Oh dear Saint Nicholas will also come to me
And don’t drive past my house quietly
Well, modern… ‘See over there comes the Steamboat’ is one of the best-known Sinterklaas songs and dates from 1850. It was a very modern song at the time, because the steamboat was only used around 1800. It was written by Jan Schenkman in his booklet Saint Nicholas and his servantin which he first captured the image of the Sinterklaas arrival as we know it today: Sinterklaas comes from Spain on a steamboat, has a helper, a book with who was sweet or naughty, and hands out gifts.
The booklet thus laid the foundation for the pedagogical Sinterklaas festival, in which good behavior is rewarded and naughty behavior is warned in a playful way.
Companions, stop your wild noise is perhaps the most famous verse from this song. The text as it was written in 1861:
Behold, the moon shines through the trees,
Mates! cease your wild noise;
The wonderful evening has come,
‘t Avendje van Sint-Niclaas!
Our hearts beat with anticipation,
Who gets the cake, who gets the cake!
Our hearts beat with anticipation,
Who gets the cake, who gets the cake!
O! What fun it will be to play
With that colorful arlequin!
Honestly we will share everything,
Candy and marzipan;
But, oh woe! how bitterly sad,
We got a cake for cake!
But, oh woe! how bitterly sad,
We got a cake for cake!
But I fear not that we complain,
Father, Mother are too good!
Were we not every day,
We were happy for many years!
So banish fear from the heart,
I bet there isn’t a single guard!
So banish fear from the heart,
I bet there isn’t a single guard!
But what does it actually say? The song shows what the party looked like in the nineteenth century. Children waited anxiously for cake, candy and marzipan, but those who were naughty could get a whisk, a whip or a rod. The ‘motley arlequin’ refers to Piet in his colored outfit. He plays with the children and hands out candy, a tradition that is still recognizable today.
Language and words such as makkers (friends), lovely avendje (pleasant evening) and bittre smart (bitter disappointment) show how people used to speak and write poetry. The song shows that Sinterklaas songs were not only fun to sing, but tried to teach children about behavior, sharing and politeness.
At this time of year you can’t avoid the harsh cold weather. Rain, sometimes snow, and above all: lots of wind. That’s why this song fits so well with the atmosphere around Sinterklaas:
Hear the wind blowing through the trees.
The wind even blows here in the house.
Will the good Santa still come?
Now that he thinks it’s so ugly again.
Now that he thinks it’s so ugly again.
Yes, he rides in dark nights
On his horse, oh so fast.
If he knew how much we wait,
Yes, for sure, he would come.
Yes, for sure, he would come!
Hear, the wind blows through the trees describes the tension around Sinterklaas. Would he come? Even when the weather is bad? The origin and writer of the song are unknown. The text was first published in 1920, in the collection “Merry St. Nicholas celebration: 20 old and new St. Nicholas songs”, compiled by HA Almoes, which was published in Amsterdam.
While the adult generation still thinks of Sinterklaas’ horse as Amerigo, the youngest generations call the noble steed of Saint Nicholas Ozosnel. Amerigo had to retire, and the name of the new fungus was quickly found: Saint Nicholas comes on his horse, Oh so quickly. In other words, Ozosnel.
Now that we know what they actually mean for five of the most famous Sinterklaas songs, the only question remains… Are there actually also Drenthe Sinterklaas songs? Arja Olthof from the Huus van de Taol looked it up for us: “Olde, original Drenthe, Sunterklaos songs are not there. Singing in Drenthe is something from the last decades, from oldsher gung praoten in Drenthe, but singing ‘in ‘t high’, so in Dutch.
According to Olthof, a number of Dutch Sinterklaas songs have been adapted into Drenthe, such as See the moon shines through the frame (of the old cockle tree), Sunterklaos that good man and Every year the steamboat comes.
Olthof explains: “Original songs, which are a bit younger, are written within educational projects. For the folder ‘Krummels’ (teaching activities of a Drenthe quarter) ‘Sunterklaos, when are you coming’ is written by Marinus Scholten:
Sunterklaos, when are you coming?
Sunterklaos, you will come very soon, won’t you?
Sunterklaos, I always think of you
When I chew on such a tasty gingerbread
When I chew on such a tasty gingerbread
Sunterklaos, when are you coming?
Sunterklaos, you will come very soon, won’t you?
Sunterklaos, I always think of you
When I chew on such a delicious Sunterklaosie
When I chew on such a delicious Sunterklaosie
Sunterklaos, when are you coming?
Sunterklaos, you will come very soon, won’t you?
Sunterklaos, I always think of you
When I chew on one of those crappy letters
When I chew on one of those crappy letters
What is striking in this Drenthe song is the focus on the delicacies that are inextricably linked to the Sinterklaas celebration. Olthof: “The Sunterklaosie that is enuumed in the song is a gingerbread.”
Finally, there is of course the Mooi Wark song, written during corona, so that people could sing along and dance for Sinterklaas en masse at home: