In their cultural notes in Sing Chinese, Cindy Mao and Ma Baolin explain that "Little swallow" is taken from the movie "The Diary of a Nurse". It has become one of the most popular children's songs since the 1950's, when China was undergoing economic reconstruction. Today very few people know about the movie, but the song is still well-known. Many children's art groups continue to perform it on stage.
The lyrics are attributed to Wang Lu, Wang Yunjie and the music to Wang Yunjie.

Little swallow in bright clothes,	xiǎo yàn zi, cuān chuā yī
I see you here every spring	nián nian chūn tiān lái dào zhè lǐ
Can I ask you why you're here?	wǒ wèn yàn zi nǐ wèi shà lái?
You can tell me: in the spring time it's pretty here.	yàn zi shuō: zhè lǐ de chūn tiān zuì méi lí.
Little swallow, let me tell you:	xiǎo yǎn zi, gào sù nǐ:
It is even better this year.	jǐn nián zhè lǐ gèng měi lì
We have built a big factory,	wǒ mén gài qǔ le dà gōng chāng
with a lot of new machines.	zhuāng shàng le xīn jī qì
Will you please come here 'n' stay with me.	huǎn yíng nǐ cháng qī zhùzài zhè lǔ.