Sing a Rainbow – Nursery Rhyme with Lyrics in French and in English

Sing a Rainbow

Languages: English, French
Ressource Type: song, nursery rhyme
Theme: colours
Age-range: infant-preschool, 3 – 8 years

Download the words of the song:
♦ Sing a Rainbow Lyrics

“Sing a Rainbow“, also known as “I Can Sing a Rainbow“, is a popular song written by Arthur Hamilton and sung by Peggy Lee in 1955 in the film Pete Kelly’s Blues. The song “Sing a Rainbow” can be used to teach children names of colours. Despite the name of the song, two of the seven colours mentioned (“red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue”) are not actually a colour of the rainbow (pink and purple).

English Lyrics:

Sing a Rainbow

Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow too

Listen with your eyes
Listen with your eyes
And sing everything you see
You can sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow
Sing along with me

Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow too

French translation:

Chanter l’arc-en-ciel

Rouge et jaune et rose et vert
Violet et orange et bleu
Je sais chanter l’arc-en-ciel
Chanter l’arc-en-ciel
Chanter l’arc-en-ciel aussi

Écoute avec tes yeux
Écoute avec tes yeux
Et chante tout ce que tu vois
Tu sais chanter l’arc-en-ciel
Chanter l’arc-en-ciel
Chanter avec moi

Rouge et jaune et rose et vert
Violet et orange et bleu
Je sais chanter l’arc-en-ciel
Chanter l’arc-en-ciel
Chanter l’arc-en-ciel aussi

Culture and Vocabulary:

• colours: red, yellow, pink, green, purple, orange and blue.

Grammar:

• “Can” is a modal verb that can be used to express ability: I can sing.

Phonology:

• the [əʊ] sound: rainbow /ˈreɪnbəʊ/.
• pronunciation of the colours: red /rɛd/, yellow /ˈjɛləʊ/, pink /pɪŋk/, green /ˈgɹiːn/, purple /ˈpəːp(ə)l/, orange /ͻ.ʁãӡ/ and blue /bluː/.