Ah! vous dirai-je, maman

"" (, English: Oh! Shall I tell you, Mama) is a popular children's song in France, which has had numerous lyrics on different themes since its composition in the 18th century. This song was popularized in Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
History.
According to Henri-Irénée Marrou, the origin of the melody is an anonymous pastoral song dating from 1740, with children's lyrics added relatively recently. The melody was first published in 1761. In 1774, the earliest known printed publication of the lyrics together with the music was in volume two of by M.D.L. () published in Brussels, under the title "".
Nursery rhyme.
The French lyrics of the nursery rhyme exist in several variations, of which the following one is one of the most common versions.
"La Confidence naïve".
The lyrics of the nursery rhyme are a parody of the original lyrics, an anonymous love poem, "" ("The naive Confidence").
 Variations of the male lover's name found around the same time are Sylvandre, Lysandre, and Clitandre.
Appearances of the melody.
Many songs in various languages have been based on the "" melody. In English, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", the "Alphabet Song" and "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" are all based on this melody.
The German Christmas carol " with words by Hoffmann von Fallersleben, also uses the melody, as does the Hungarian Christmas carol ", the Dutch ", the Spanish ", the Greek "Φεγγαράκι μου λαμπρό" and the Turkish "".
Several classical compositions have been inspired by this tune: