Reide, Reide, Gaile – Ride, Ride the Pony

A childhood memory of Dad is related to this childhood rhyme that he would repeat as he bounced us up and down on his crossed leg and ankle to the rhythm of the rhyme. It ended with his ankle flying us up high and he caught us coming down. We stood in line, but soon we were too big for those types of games with Dad. Below are a couple of different versions of the rhyme and some set to music as Amish folk music.

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POSTED BY JOAN CONCILIO I JANUARY 13, 2011 I THINGS WE SAY I 2 COMMENTS
A Pennsylvania Dutch nursery rhyme about horses. One of my favorite sources for all things Pennsylvania Dutch is Dianne. In a recent letter, she described a Pa. Dutch saying that her grandfather used when bouncing his grandchildren on his knee.
She writes,
“It goes something like this …
Aida, rida gali, Acka-docka-mi ley,
My-a-missa, Hava-dessa,
For des’ gal a food-a-fessa.”
She says, “Apparently it is about riding a horse for a mile. On the last stanza of the verse, the child is lifted into the air. That’s the best I can remember of the pronunciation.” (And she notes she’s soundspelling, but of course that’s fine with me.)
Well, I started digging online, and apparently there are MANY such nursery rhymes in German. This blog_post details a few of them – all relating to horse-riding.
After doing some very,_Jf_filbya sic research on German words for equine terms, all I came up with is that the first line might translate into something like “ride, ride, gallop” and ”food-a-fessa” might be “pferd”something, with pferd meaning horse.
I’d love to know more about this. Any ideas on the Germanic spelling, on a translation, etc.?Pasted from <http://www.yorkblog.com/onlyyork/2011/01/13/a-pennsylvania-dutch-nursery-r

Here is the English translation of the poem lines:

Reida, reida, Geilie / Alle Schtund en Meilie
Ride, ride, horse / Every hour a mile.

Geht’s ivver der Schtumbe, / Fallt’d Bubbli nunner!
It goes over the stump, / The little boy falls
down!

Ivver der Hivvel geht es Nivver; / Noh der Bubbli geht’s ivver!
Over the hill it goes quickly; / Then
the little boy goes over!

Marriye vella mir Havver drescha, / Kan des Geilie Havver fresse!
Tomorrow we want to thresh
oats, / Can the horse eat oats!

Henkt en Bobbli und der Vand / Hot’s en Gackli in der Hand
A little boy hangs on the wall / He has
a little cake in his hand.

Alle Mile en Wattshaus, / Hole en grosser kucha raus
Every mile a tavern, / Bring out a big cake.

Gehn mir jetzt ins Wartshaus ei / Un schenken uns en Tchinnli ei
Now we go into the tavern / And
pour ourselves a little gin.