Čížečku, čížečku ("Siskin, o Little Siskin") is a traditional Czech children's folk song and a singing game which was performed in the past as an annual custom supposed to enhance the yield of poppy.[1]
The song is a chain of verses of the same pattern of call and response:
Call:
Siskin, o little Siskin, a little birdie,
Tell me o Siskin how the poppy is sown
Response:
This is how the poppies are sowed (repeated, with variations)
In Czech:
Čížečku, čížečku, ptáčku maličký,
pověz mi čížečku, jak sejou mák?
Aj tak, tak sejou mák, aj tak, tak sejou mák,
aj tak, tak sejou mák, tak sejou mák.
The call/response is repeated, with the verb "sowed" being replaced with the other stages of growing, harvesting and processing the poppies:
With every response the children are supposed to perform an action of how exactly the poppy is sown, grown, eaten, etc. It may also be arranged in the form of a dance.[2]