Did Mozart Write “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”?

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Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. </div> <div class="label mt-20 mb-10">Select Citation Style</div> <select class="js-citation-format-select form-select"> <option selected value="mla">MLA</option> <option value="apa">APA</option> <option value="chicago">Chicago Manual of Style</option> </select> <div class="citation font-serif border rounded p-15 mt-20" data-authors="John M. Cunningham" data-title="Did Mozart Write “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”?" data-published-date="29 Oct. 2021" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/story/did-mozart-write-twinkle-twinkle-little-star" > <div class="citation-text"></div> </div> <button class="js-copy-citation-button mt-20 btn btn-xs btn-outline-blue border shadow-sm pr-10" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="file_copy"></em> <span class="js-citation-status-text">Copy Citation</span> </button> </div> </div> </div> <div> <button class="js-share-modal-button js-modal gtm-topic-tool btn btn-xs btn-outline-blue border shadow-sm pr-10" data-modal=".md-share-modal"> <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="share"></em> Share </button> <div class="md-share-modal size-lg d-none qa-share-modal"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10" data-icon="share"></em> Share </div> <div class="label my-20">Share to social media</div> <div class="md-social-toolbar-circle d-flex align-items-start inverted" data-value="share" title="Did Mozart Write “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”?" data-url="https://www.britannica.com/story/did-mozart-write-twinkle-twinkle-little-star" > <a class="social-icon facebook justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>Facebook</span></a> <a class="social-icon x justify-content-center d-flex align-items-center align-self-center" data-provider="x" href="https://x.com/britannica" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span>X</span></a> </div> <div class="label pt-20 mt-20 mb-5 border-top">URL</div> <a class="font-serif text-truncate d-inline-block" href="https://www.britannica.com/story/did-mozart-write-twinkle-twinkle-little-star">https://www.britannica.com/story/did-mozart-write-twinkle-twinkle-little-star</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing font-12"> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/John-M-Cunningham/3520691" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">John M. Cunningham</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">John M. Cunningham graduated from Kalamazoo College in 2000 with a B.A. in English. He worked at Britannica from 2004 to 2018. A student of pop culture and the arts, he wrote about popular (and semipopular)...</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> John M. Cunningham</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div></div> </div> <article class="topic-content content mt-20"><figure class="md-assembly md-feature-assembly print-false" data-type="1" data-descid="1"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/154340-050-3C5A71CD/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart.jpg" target="_blank" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center " data-href="*"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/154340-050-3C5A71CD/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart.jpg?w=600&q=60" alt="Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart portrait. Austrian composer. (Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)" data-width="1116" data-height="1428" loading="eager"><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class=""><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><cite class="credit d-block mt-5">Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (file no. LC-USZ62-87246)</cite></figcaption></figure> <p class="topic-paragraph">The composer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart</a> is remembered for his precociousness, his prolific output, and his beautiful and memorable melodies. With all due respect to the famous opening bars of <em><em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eine-kleine-Nachtmusik" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Eine kleine Nachtmusik</a></em></em>, probably the most familiar melody associated with Mozart is known to English speakers as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Indeed, it is commonly believed that the tune was one of Mozart’s earliest compositions, written when he was a child for his elder sister, Nannerl. <strong>Alas, the story isn’t true.</strong></p><span class="MOD1"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">What is true is that Mozart composed a set of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/musical-variation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">variations</a> of the tune for piano. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Twelve-Variations-on-Ah-vous-dirai-je-Maman" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Those variations</a> were probably written in the early 1780s, when Mozart was a young man, and they may have been intended as piano exercises for the music students he taught. The complete work was published in 1785 and was described as variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman,” a French <strong><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-music" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">folk song</a></strong> that was popular at the time. Here’s a rough translation of that song’s lyrics (ah, the silliness of pre-Revolutionary France):<blockquote>Ah, Mother, if I could tell you / What causes my torment / Father wants me to reason / Like a grown-up / But I say that sweets / Are worth more than reason</blockquote></p><span class="MOD2"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">So who composed the tune itself? No one knows. The melody of “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman” was first published (without words) in <a class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b90790216" data-show-preview="true"><em>Les Amusements d'une Heure et Demy</em></a> (1761), a collection of music to be played at garden parties. The collection is attributed to a man named Boüin, but there is no evidence that he personally wrote the music. Although some scholars have suggested that the tune might be as old as 1740, the identity of its composer is still a mystery.</p><span class="MOD3"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">As for “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” it originated as a poem written by the English author <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jane-Taylor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jane Taylor</a> and was published in 1806 as “The Star.” Sometime later the poem was set to the melody of “Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman.” (The earliest known appearance of the words and music together dates to 1838.) As you may have already realized, it’s not the only set of alternative lyrics for the tune. Among other songs that have made use of the melody are “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,” the alphabet song (“A-B-C-D-E-F-G”), and a German sing-along (“Ist das nicht ein Schnitzelbank?”).</p><span class="MOD4"></span> <span class="AM-END-OF-ARTICLE am-inline"></span></article> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="cm-rightrail d-none d-md-block ad-rail"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col"> <div class="md-loading hidden display-4 font-weight-normal"></div> <div class="text-center my-20 mb-100"> <button class="md-infinite-load-next btn btn-blue" data-value="next-page">Load More</button> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-da-320 hidden-xs"> </div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Story","templateName":"DEMYSTIFIED","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":11,"pageId":5608,"pageLength":null,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/story-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Story","pageSubtype":"DEMYSTIFIED","articleTemplateType":null,"gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Did Mozart Write “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”? | Britannica