[Smt-talk] German christmas hymns.

[Bob Kosovsky]

Before Marie, there was Hansel (of Hänsel und Gretel), who also sang Eia
popeia.  Since he's responding to Gretel's "Suse, liebe Suse" - in which
the first last and words are the same, or have the same vowelization, so
too "Eia popeia" is probably also meant to rhyme.

A hasty Google Books search reveals that the phrase is most often
associated with lullabies or cradle songs.  One that sticks out to me has
a refrain:

"Ei eia popeia."

To me that strongly suggests (in American pronunciation): "eye, eye-ya
popeye-a" since I don't think there are any alternative pronunciations to
"ei" (that is, eye).


Bob Kosovsky, Ph.D. -- Curator, Rare Books and Manuscripts,
Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
blog:  http://www.nypl.org/blog/author/44   Twitter: @kos2
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