(Spoken intro:)
If you wanted to say "hello" to everyone on the planet, you would have to learn almost 3,000 languages and greet around 7 billion people.
(Chorus with echo:)
Hello
Aloha Hawaiian
Bonjour French
Dumela (doo-MAY-lah) Tswana (Southern Africa)
(Verse 1:)
Around the world, when people meet
In a home or on the street
They say hello and it’s so neat
So many different ways to greet
(Chorus:)
Hello
Hola (oh-la) Spanish
Shalom (shah - lome) Hebrew
Konichiwa (ko-nee-chee-wah) Japanese
(Verse 2:)
Some wave "hi" and some shake hands
Some bow down and some just stand
Applaud, embrace or kiss a hand
So many ways in different lands
(Chorus:)
Hello
Jambo (jahm-bow) Swahili
Salaam (sah-lahm) Arabic
Kaixo (kai-show) Basque (Spain)
(Verse 3:)
Greeting the young or greeting the old
You can be shy or you can be bold
An "r" can be flat or it can be rolled
But a smile is the same around the world
(Chorus:)
Hello English
Terve (tehr-vay) Finnish
Privyet (preev-yet) Russian
Namaste (nah-mas-tay) Hindi (India)
(Bridge:)
At the break of day or when the sun goes down
An elder or a child, a stranger or a friend
In the South or the East, in the North or the West
How we say hello, it all depends -
(Chorus:)
Hello, Hello
Molo, Molo (MOH-loh) Xhosa (pron. Kosah--South Africa)
Ni hao, Ni hao (nee how) Mandarin (China)
Zdravo (zdrah-vo) Slovenian
(Chorus:)
Hello, Hello
God dag, God dag (go dag) Norwegian
Aqui, Aqui (ah-kee) Mohican
Guten tag (goo-ten tahg) German
(Chorus:)
Hello, Hello
Hey mon, Hey mon (hay mahn) Jamaican
Iakwe, Iakwe (ya-kway) Marshallese (Marshall Islands)
Chao ban (dow bahn) Vietnamese
Konichiwa (ko-nee-chee-wah) Japanese
Namaste (nah-mas-tay) Hindi (India)
Hello.
Echo on the Chorus sections
Using maps, find all the places in the world where each language is spoken.
Have each student do a bit of research about one of the languages mentioned in the song
CMN's Multicultural Songbook is an anthology of some of the best songs originating from (or about) countries beyond the United States, often sung in languages other than English. In sharing songs of other cultures, we broaden the global understanding of our children so that they might see themselves as part of a larger world of people, not so unlike themselves, who hope, dream, play and learn in far-away lands sometimes in unfamiliar--but equally interesting--languages.