What is "Izidor ovčice pasel" about?

A shepherd boy named Izidor. He herds his little sheep, whistling and singing beautifully while the bells jingle — "cingel cing, cingel cingel cong" — and later, when he leaves the sheep behind, he goes off to join the army. It moves from a peaceful pastoral scene to the boy growing up and going away.

What does the "cingel cing" part mean?

It is the sound of the little bells the sheep wear, turned into a jingling nonsense refrain. Singing the bells is half the fun of the song, and children enjoy the long chiming line.

Where is "Izidor ovčice pasel" from?

It is a Slovenian folk song ("ljudska pesem"), handed down without a known author, and a familiar part of the Slovenian children's song tradition.

Slovenia · sung in Slovenian

Izidor ovčice pasel

"Izidor ovčice pasel" ("Izidor Herded the Little Sheep") is a Slovenian folk children's song about a shepherd boy who whistles and sings to his flock — with a jingling "cingel cing" refrain — before leaving to become a soldier.

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Besedilo (Lyrics)

Celotno besedilo pesmi »Izidor ovčice pasel« z angleškim prevodom.

Izidor ovčice pasel, lepo žvižgal, lepo pel, cingel cing cingel cingel cong, cingel cing cingel cingel cong, cingel cing cingel cingel cong, cingel cing cong.

Ko ovčice je zapustil, stopil je v vojaški stan, cingel ...

English translation

Izidor herded the little sheep, whistled beautifully, sang beautifully, cingel cing, cingel cingel cong, cingel cing, cingel cingel cong, cingel cing, cingel cingel cong, cingel cing cong. When he left the little sheep behind, he joined the soldiers' ranks, cingel …

Country of origin: 🇸🇮 Slovenia
Sung in: Slovenian
Words by: Traditional
First known: Slovenian folk song; author unknown
Best for ages: 2–7
Mood: playful, traditional
Last updated: 25 July 2026

Meaning and origin

This gentle Slovenian folk song begins as a picture of a perfect pastoral morning: a boy named Izidor out with his little sheep, whistling and singing while the flock’s bells jingle along with him. That jingling is written right into the song as a long chiming refrain — cingel cing, cingel cingel cong — which children love to draw out, so that the whole thing sounds like a hillside full of bells.

Then, quietly, it grows up. When Izidor leaves his sheep, he steps into the soldiers’ ranks — a small reminder, tucked inside a nursery song, that the shepherd boy will one day become a man and go away. It is a Slovenian folk song with no known author, carried down by ear, and its mixture of sunny bells and a faint note of parting is very much in the character of old country songs, which rarely stay entirely carefree for long.

Common questions

What is "Izidor ovčice pasel" about?: A shepherd boy named Izidor. He herds his little sheep, whistling and singing beautifully while the bells jingle — "cingel cing, cingel cingel cong" — and later, when he leaves the sheep behind, he goes off to join the army. It moves from a peaceful pastoral scene to the boy growing up and going away.
What does the "cingel cing" part mean?: It is the sound of the little bells the sheep wear, turned into a jingling nonsense refrain. Singing the bells is half the fun of the song, and children enjoy the long chiming line.
Where is "Izidor ovčice pasel" from?: It is a Slovenian folk song ("ljudska pesem"), handed down without a known author, and a familiar part of the Slovenian children's song tradition.