The lyrics of the children's song "Two Tigers" are as follows:
Two tigers, two tigers.
Run fast, run fast.
One has no eyes and one has no tail.
How strange, how strange!
Two tigers, two tigers.
Run fast, run fast.
One has no ears and one has no tail.
How strange, how strange!
The origin of the children's song "Two Tigers"
The children's song "Two Tigers" by the Jacques brothers In the 10th and 11th centuries, church music in the Middle Ages was absolutely dominant.
In order to cooperate with the liturgy of the Roman Church, music named after Pope Gregory I appeared, namely Gregorian chant. Because of its solemn expression and simple style, it is also called plain music. Song.
The melody tone is generally gentle, and the range is often controlled in a narrow range. Today, the classic melody of "Two Tigers" can be traced back to Gregorian chant.
In the late Renaissance, Italian composer Girolamo Frescobaldi published "Harpsichordica" in 1615, of which No. 14 was the Soprano Aria Capriccio. .
In this Caprice, the soprano sings at the beginning a melody that is very close to the first melody of "Two Tigers". What's even more interesting is that the Italian lyrics "Fra Jacopino" is roughly equivalent to the French "Frère Jacques" (ie "Jacques Brothers"). Knowing this key information, it is not difficult for us to understand where the song "Brother Jacques" that was circulated in the French church in the 17th century (as a children's song, it is the predecessor of "Two Tigers") came from.