Besedilo (Lyrics)
Celotno besedilo pesmi »Baba sede v balon« z angleškim prevodom.
Baba sede v balon in se pelje v london, v londonu kupi papriko, da se pelje v afriko, v afriki kupi kis, da se pelje v pariz, v parizu kupi čevlje, da se pele v kočevje, v kočevju pada dež, baba mkra kakor meš (miš).
#English translation
An old woman sits in a balloon and rides off to London, in London she buys paprika, so she can ride to Africa, in Africa she buys vinegar, so she can ride to Paris, in Paris she buys shoes, so she can ride to Kočevje, in Kočevje the rain is falling, and the old woman's wet as a mouse.
#Baba sede v balon at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇸🇮 Slovenia
- Sung in
- Slovenian
- Words by
- Traditional
- First known
- traditional nonsense rhyme; author unknown
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- playful, traditional
- Last updated
- 25 July 2026
Meaning and origin
This is a rhyming chain of pure nonsense, the kind of rhyme children love precisely because it makes no sense at all. An old woman climbs into a balloon and goes whirling around the world — London, Africa, Paris, and finally Kočevje in Slovenia — buying something absurd at every stop: paprika, vinegar, shoes. Each destination is chosen only because it rhymes with whatever she has just bought, so the whole journey tumbles along on sound alone.
It ends with a good local joke: after all that glamorous globe-trotting, she lands in rainy Kočevje and gets soaked mokra kakor miš — “wet as a mouse”. No author is recorded; it is a traditional Slovenian nonsense rhyme, handed down among children for the sheer pleasure of its ridiculous itinerary and its tumbling, rhyme-led logic. It goes wonderfully fast, and the faster you say it, the funnier the old woman’s soggy homecoming becomes.
Common questions
- What is "Baba sede v balon" about?
- A whirlwind nonsense journey. An old woman ("baba") climbs into a balloon and flies to London (where she buys paprika), then Africa (vinegar), then Paris (shoes), then Kočevje in Slovenia — where it's raining, and she ends up soaked "wet as a mouse". Each rhyme leads absurdly to the next place.
- Why does "Baba sede v balon" jump from place to place like that?
- Because each destination is chosen purely to rhyme with what she buys — London with paprika-for-Africa, and so on. It is a rhyming chain of nonsense, the fun being in the ridiculous itinerary, not in any logic.
- Who wrote "Baba sede v balon"?
- No author is recorded; it is a traditional Slovenian nonsense rhyme, of the kind passed around among children for the pleasure of its silly, tumbling rhymes.
