Jamie Lee Curtis made headlines in Hungary last week not only for winning Oscar for best supporting actress, but more for singing in Hungarian during her backstage interview. In response to a question about her connection to her Hungarian background, she sang the first two lines of a well known Hungarian nursery rhyme that she remembers from her childhood.
I got questions about what that song was, so here is what you need to know about “Mókuska, mókuska…” or as she sang it: “Katica, katica…“
The actress sang a somewhat older version of this song that features the ladybug (katica or katicabogár) instead of the squirrel, a version best known among children these days. It is not uncommon for folks songs and rhymes to have multiple versions of both their lyrics and music notes. Different versions can be quite accurately linked to certain geographical regions as well as different times in history. The fact that Ms. Curtis knows the katica version makes perfect sense given that her connection to the Hungarian culture is through her ancestors who lived in Hungary almost a century ago. Her father, Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; 1925–2010) was a son of emigrants from Mátészalka, Hungary.
Mókuska
Mókuska, mókuska, felmászott a fára,
Leesett, leesett, kitörött a lába.
Doktor bácsi ne gyógyítsa meg,
Huncut a mókus, újra fára megy.
Squirrel
Squirrel boy, squirrel boy, climbed up to the treetop
He fell down, he fell down, then he broke his kneecap
Doctor, doctor, please don’t heal his leg
Mischievous is the squirrel, he’ll climb the tree again.
The song (played by violin) can be found, as recorded by Béla Halmos and Géza Kósa in 1977, on the website of the Hungarian National Archives of Folk Music. (Click on the red button “Hangfelvétel lejátszása” at the top.)
And here is the music sheet in case you got inspired and would like to learn it:
I used to sing this to my children when they were little, but to be honest, I have never been a big fan of it. Not healing the squirrel’s leg because it will climb the tree again….well…that just doesn’t sit well with me.
Nevertheless, the fact that a Hungarian nursery rhyme has been sung at the Oscars, is definitely a first and THANK YOU for this, Jamie Lee Curtis!!!! 🙂
