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Views from the Choir Loft

A little bit of fun

Veronica Brandt · May 23, 2015

EACHING LATIN TO CHILDREN is both exciting and daunting – maybe more daunting because I have not been taught Latin myself for more than a few lessons. It could be a recipe for disaster, but until a better option comes along, I’ll keep learning as much as I can and passing this on.

One morning I settled down with my children to tackle matching the Latin and English in Psalm 53 word for word. We got sidetracked and managed to cobble together a Latin version of Heads and shoulders, knees and toes.

Caput, scapulae, genua, pedes,
  genua, pedes, genua, pedes,
Caput, scapulae, genua, pedes,
  plaudite manibus.

Oculi, nasus, os et aures,
  os et aures, os et aures,
Oculi, nasus, os et aures,
  plaudite manibus.

And if that sounds odd to you, then you probably grew up with the There’s a Tavern in the Town version which seems more prevalent on youtube at least. Here is the tune I grew up with from Play School of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 I think it is a little easier than the tune for There’s a Tavern in the Town.

      * *   Download the music as a PDF ready to print and as a recording of my boys singing the song.

Note: this is not for liturgical use!

Though it is interesting to notice how often these words appear in liturgical texts.

At Sunday vespers we read: De torrente in via bibet; propterea exaltabit caput. (Psalms 109:7) He shall drink from the torrent in the way, therefore he shall lift up the head.

Scapula gives us the term scapular to describe a garment worn over the shoulders.

Genua gives us genuflect – literally to bend the knee.

Psalm 24:15 Oculi mei semper ad Dominum, quoniam ipse evellet de laqueo pedes meos. My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare.

Sometimes we start prayers with this versicle and response: Domine, labia mea aperies. Et os meum annuntiavit laudem tuam. Lord, thou shalt open my lips. And my mouth shall declare thy praise.

Psalm 113:14 talks about false gods: Aures habent, et non audient; nares habent, et non odorabunt. Ears they have, and they do not hear. Noses they have, and they do not smell.

My Latin isn’t great but sounds like nares is somehow related to nasus – maybe nostrils?

So, there’s your lesson plan – a song with actions, plus digging around in prayer books and Scripture for examples. I’ll have to find a place to add it to kidschant.com.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Play School has another connection with church music. The theme song was written by Richard Connolly, who wrote many hymns, including Holy Father, God of Might.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Latin Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

It is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day.

— Pope Francis (13 January 2014)

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