LyricsAs commonly sung (three verses)
Celotno besedilo pesmi »Žabja svatba« z angleškim prevodom.
Žabe svatbo so imele, zbrane od sosednih mlak, jedle, pile so in pele, re-ga, re-ga, reg, kvak, kvak, kvak, kvak.
#Skokica nevesta mlada, ženin bil je dolgokrak, rajala oba sta rada, re-ga, re-ga, reg, kvak, kvak, kvak, kvak.
#Po večerji zavrte se, ko je bil že pozen mrak, rajajo, da vse se trese, re-ga, re-ga, reg, kvak, kvak, kvak, kvak.
#LyricsJosip Stritar's third verse, as printed in Lešniki (1906)
„Živi ženin naš z nevesto!" glas povzdigne Krakuš svak; zagrmi jih kakih dve sto: rega rega reg, kvak kvak!
#English translation
The frogs were having a wedding, gathered from the neighbouring ponds, they ate and drank and sang, re-ga, re-ga, reg, kvak, kvak, kvak, kvak. Little Hopper the young bride, the groom was long of leg, the two of them loved to dance, re-ga, re-ga, reg, kvak, kvak, kvak, kvak. After supper they whirl about, when the dusk was already late, they dance so that everything shakes, re-ga, re-ga, reg, kvak, kvak, kvak, kvak.
#"Long live our groom and his bride!" Krakuš the brother-in-law raises his voice, and some two hundred thunder it back: rega rega reg, kvak kvak!
#Žabja svatba at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇸🇮 Slovenia
- Sung in
- Slovenian
- Words by
- Josip Stritar
- First known
- Words by Josip Stritar, printed in Lešniki (1906); set to music by Vinko Vodopivec in Cerknica, 1916–1918
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- playful, dancing
- Last updated
- 27 August 2026
Meaning and origin
This is a wedding feast held entirely by frogs, and it is one of the merriest songs in the Slovenian nursery. From all the neighbouring ponds the frogs gather to eat, drink, sing and dance; the young bride is Skokica — “Little Hopper” — and the groom is splendidly long-legged. After supper they whirl about in the late dusk until the ground shakes, and in Stritar’s full text a brother-in-law named Krakuš raises a toast that some two hundred frogs thunder back — every verse punctuated by a chorus of croaks.
That croaking is the heart of it. Re-ga, re-ga, reg, kvak, kvak is the Slovenian way of writing a frog’s call, and children love to join the whole pond in belting it out at the end of each verse.
The song has two named authors, though it is so widely sung that it is often printed as ljudska, a folk song. The words are by Josip Stritar (1836–1923), one of the central figures of nineteenth-century Slovenian literature; “Žabja svatba” appears in Lešniki, his 1906 book of verse for young readers, in five stanzas that end with the crayfish lying awake all night wondering what the racket is. The music is by Vinko Vodopivec (1878–1952). Slovenian Wikipedia records that he set Stritar’s text while living in Cerknica in 1916–1918, with the frogs croaking on summer evenings, and that the piece has since become the unofficial anthem of the choir named after him. Both authors have been dead for more than seventy years, so the song is in the public domain. The three verses given first are the ones most people sing; Stritar’s toast verse is given separately in his own wording.
Common questions
- What is "Žabja svatba" about?
- A frog wedding. Frogs gather from all the neighbouring ponds to eat, drink, sing and dance — the young bride is "Skokica" (Little Hopper), the groom is long-legged — and after supper they whirl about in the late dusk until everything shakes, all to a croaking refrain of "re-ga, re-ga, reg, kvak, kvak".
- What does the refrain mean?
- It is frog-song. "Re-ga, re-ga, reg" and "kvak, kvak" are the Slovenian way of writing a frog's croak (like "ribbit"), so the whole wedding party is heard croaking together — which is much of the fun for children to join in.
- Who wrote "Žabja svatba"?
- The words are by the Slovenian poet Josip Stritar (1836–1923); they appear as "Žabja svatba" in his 1906 collection Lešniki. The music is by the composer Vinko Vodopivec (1878–1952), who, according to Slovenian Wikipedia, set Stritar's text while living in Cerknica in 1916–1918, listening to the frogs croaking on summer evenings. Both have been dead for more than 70 years, so the song is in the public domain. It is so widely sung that song sites such as besedilo.si print it as "ljudska" — a folk song — and Wikipedia calls it "almost a folk song", but it has named authors.
- Where does the verse about Krakuš come from?
- From Stritar's printed text. The three verses most people sing today are the first, second and fourth of Stritar's five; the verse in which "Krakuš svak" — Krakuš the brother-in-law — raises the toast is his third, and a final verse about the crayfish kept awake by the noise is usually left out altogether. Sung versions also smooth a few words: Stritar's "vriskajo" (they whoop) becomes "rajajo" (they dance), and "svak" becomes "svat" (wedding guest).
Sources
- Josip Stritar — Lešniki (Celovec: Družba sv. Mohorja, 1906), "Žabja svatba", p. 13 (scan on Wikimedia Commons)
- Wikipedija — Vinko Vodopivec (composition of "Žabja svatba" on Stritar's text)
- Wikipedija — Josip Stritar
- ChoralWiki — Žabe (Vinko Vodopivec)
- Besedilo.si — Žabe svatbo so imele (Žabja svatba), three-verse sung version, credited there as "ljudska"
