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Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman: the French song behind Twinkle Twinkle

Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman is the French children's song whose tune English speakers know as Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star. The tune was first printed in France in 1761. In the French words, a child tells Mummy that sweets beat being sensible.

Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman

  • Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman, Oh, shall I tell you, Mummy,
  • Ce qui cause mon tourment ? what's troubling me so?
  • Papa veut que je raisonne Daddy wants me to be sensible
  • Comme une grande personne. like a grown-up.
  • Moi, je dis que les bonbons I say that sweets
  • Valent mieux que la raison. are worth more than being sensible.

Say the lines first

  • Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman Oh, shall I tell you, Mummy Say it AH, voo dee-RAYZH, ma-MAHN
  • une grande personne a grown-up Say it oon grahnd pair-SON
  • les bonbons sweets Say it lay bon-BON

One tune, four songs

The same melody carries Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, the alphabet song and Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. Mozart wrote twelve piano variations on it in the 1780s, under its French name.

What the child is saying

The French words are a small, perfect argument. Daddy wants me to be sensible like a grown-up; I say sweets are worth more than sense. Anyone who has negotiated with a four-year-old has heard the English version.

Sing it both ways

Sing Twinkle Twinkle in English, then the French words to the same tune. Your child already knows the music, so all their attention goes to the words.

One thing to do tonight

Hum the tune at bedtime and slip in the first French line: Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman.

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Free bedtime script

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The Le Dodo script gives you ten bedtime phrases to say once the song is done.

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Questions parents ask

Is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star French?

The tune is. It was first printed in France in 1761 as Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman. The English words came later, in 1806.

What does ah vous dirai-je maman mean?

Oh, shall I tell you, Mummy.

Did Mozart write Twinkle Twinkle?

No. He wrote twelve piano variations on the French tune, which already existed.

What are the words to Twinkle Twinkle in French?

The traditional French song with this tune is Ah ! vous dirai-je, maman. French translations of the English words exist too, but they're modern.

Keep going

All the songs and rhymes →

Updated 16 October 2026