Nicholas, I Beg Of You
Traditional Dutch Sinterklaas Song:
Sinterklaas kapoentje is the song sung by Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) and the little Dutch girl (Marlene Lyden) in the 1934 movie "The Miracle On 34th Street"
Nicholas I beg of you
Drop into my little shoe
Something sweet or sweeter,
Thank you, Saint and Peter!
Another Translation:
Nicholas remember,
Us on five December.
Fill our little shoe, do,
Thank you, Saint and Peter.
A Third Translation:
Saint Nicholas, I beg of you
Toss into my little shoe,
Put into my stocking.
Thank you, Saint Ni-cho-las.
A Fourth Explanation (from a Dutch site):
Sinterklaas Kapoentje ('Kapoentje' doesn't mean anything. Go figure),
throw something in my little shoe,
throw something in my little boot,
thank you little sinterklaas.
Editor's Note:
On Oct. 19, 2012, I received an email from a friend of the site, Rachèl in The Netherlands, who wanted to point out that the word "Kapoentje" does have a meaning. She wrote that a "kapoen" is a rooster who has been neutered, and that "somehow the meaning got connected to Saint Nikolaas the Bishop, who is supposed to be celibate and thus having no sexual life — like the kapoen."
She also wrote that there was a fictional 19th century character called "Klaas Kapoen." Here, the word "kapoen" means rascal or bandit, and Rachèl felt that while it was possible that "Sinterklaas Kapoentje" is derived from the bandit, she felt that the first explanation was more probable ... and I agree.
Thanks for writing, Rachèl. Your generosity has helped us all!
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