Lyrically Educational

When I was in Osaka on exchange my little host sister and I bonded over language acquisition when we watched "Okasan to issho" ("With Mother," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okaasan_to_Issho, or check out YouTube for the many many videos).

The songs on "Okasan to issho" used props, often had subtitles, and were simple (the target audience was the pre-kindergarten crowd, after all!). They helped me learn a whole whack of Japanese vocabulary and I loved singing the silly catchy songs with my little sister.

Having progressed in my Japanese ability (not too many songs using 20th century archaic Japanese, sadly, else I'd happily listen to them on my commute!) and no longer having a little one to watch tv with (never mind the fact that my "little" sister will be graduating from high school next year!), I don't watch "Okasan to issho" anymore. This morning when I got out of the shower, however, I found U had left the tv on when he left for the morning. No longer showing reruns and highlights from the Olympics, the channel was now onto midday kids programming - a show introducing farm animals to the increasingly urbanized young generation.

At first this didn't seem odd. Until a cartoon character, acting as narrator, broke into song (I'm translating roughly, to the tune of "London Brodges"):

♫ Mrs Cow has four boobies,
Four boobies, four boobies!
Mrs Cow has four boobies,
Boobies that give us milk! ♫

So there you go. In case you (or any three year-olds in your life) didn't know. Cows have four boobies.