What's your favorite Baby Lullaby?
There is nothing like a mama singing a tune to soothe the littlest of babes. When any of the babies would fuss, my favorite go-to song would be "Hush little baby, don't say a word...." except I didn't know all the words. Then, suddenly, after I bought baby a "looking glass" and said glass got "broke", I'd buy baby a "billy goat". And after said billly goat wasn't "fine", I was somehow buying baby a "porcupine" or "turpentine". It was all downhill from there. The goal was to keep the song going for as long as possible for the best soothing results.
Now, instead of making up strange-but-rhyming lyrics for baby tunes, I am sticking with the "ABC Song" as my go to baby lullaby. But, it gets a little boring. And, I have to say that my two older kids are getting tired of the ABCs too. Help a mama out: What is your favorite baby lullaby to sing? And, are the lyrics easy to remember?!
I've always used the "lullaby, and good night, with roses bedight... with lilies o'er spread, is baby's wee bed" and the kids loved it. When my 1 yr old sung it back to me, word for word, the whole thing, I teared up -- mostly because he said "with wiwies oew spwead" but you know. Now, that they're a bit older, they like the "good ship lollipop" - probably for all the candy references ;-)
Posted by: Shetha | January 14, 2010 at 10:59 AM
We sing some Muppet songs to our little one (9 weeks old) - Rainbow Connection and I'm Going to Go Back There Someday. The latter has been working like a charm.
Posted by: Stacy | January 14, 2010 at 11:10 AM
Day is done, gone the sun, from the hills, from the lakes, from the sky, all is well, safely rest, God is nigh. (set to "Taps")
Of course he says God is "night"
The Ikea "Sun" light fixture goes out on cue.
Posted by: Ethan | January 14, 2010 at 11:14 AM
"You are my sunshine" is one I loved, also because my toddler daughter now sings along sweetly. But when she was an infant, we sang "Camptown races" and "I've been working on the railroad" because they're repetitive in melody. And they're long... she was hard to get to sleep!
Posted by: Elle | January 14, 2010 at 11:14 AM
You are my sunshine for sure and there is a version of Hush Little Baby that is less, um, consumerist? that I got out of the library one day and then memorized due to the sheer number of times my little one asked me to sing it to her! It's a really wonderful version.
Posted by: Melissa | January 14, 2010 at 11:20 AM
i've always loved "rock-a-bye baby" except for the part about the cradle falling when the bough breaks. so i sang it like this thousands of times to my little one... i'll add that until she was 18 months old i never sang any other lullaby. the song itself seemed to become so strongly associated with sleep, that it worked for a time to sing it anywhere and she would take the cue and drop off quickly.
"rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop. when the wind blows the cradle will rock. when the bough breaks, the cradle will fly. and we will go dreaming, baby (i sang her name) and i."
Posted by: jojo | January 14, 2010 at 12:35 PM
I sing a couple of the classics- "Rock A Bye, Baby" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"- mainly because they are easy to remember, but then I have to put myself on repeat since they are pretty short. I also sing the "Doe, a deer, a female deer; Ray, a drop of golden sun..." song from "The Sound of Music" or I just make songs up. He doesn't request anything yet, but will try to sing along with "Twinkle, Twinkle." :)
Posted by: Lisa | January 14, 2010 at 12:41 PM
I always sang "Somebody" by Depeche Mode. My girls loved it!
Posted by: JessieB | January 14, 2010 at 01:35 PM
Believe it or not --- "Home on the Range" makes my 3-yr-old daughter fall asleep every time. I was just desperate one night for something new, that I knew by heart. I slow it way down, and sing it really softly. I've made up two additional verses about "Oh give me my bed, where I rest my head ..." etc. But there are actually several additional verses in the real song, if you want to learn them!
Posted by: EG | January 14, 2010 at 01:55 PM
conjuring julie andrews, I used "doe-a-deer" (sound of music) and "stay awake" (mary poppins). Also use "you are my sunshine" - except I change the ending of the sad second verse to "when I awoke dear, i had a baby, whose become the girl of my charms"
Posted by: Anita | January 14, 2010 at 01:57 PM
Our dd was the "Goodnight,sweetheart" song from the Lawrence Welk show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMvqPffzDMQ
Our son preferred an old colonial drinking song said to be from the time of Ben Franklin.This one in the link is close.. but I learned "Plymouth" instead of London.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnU5QGyuYSg&feature=related
Posted by: philomom | January 14, 2010 at 02:08 PM
We sing "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor every night getting ready for bed (except we change the name from James to my baby's name). I also like Baby Mine, which was originally in the movie Dumbo but Alison Krauss covered it a few years ago.
Posted by: Heather | January 14, 2010 at 02:30 PM
When I was a kid I made up [really bad] lyrics to Brahms' lullaby, as follows:
Lullaby, and good night
Hope the bedbugs don't bite
If they do, bite 'em back
So that you can hit the sack
You're so sweet and so nice
And I hope you like rice
'Cuz we're having it for dinner
tomorrow night.
I sang it to my daughter when she was little and now she sings it. We often substitute pizza or tofu or whatever for the food item. TOTALLY SILLY, but fun.
Posted by: Molly | January 14, 2010 at 03:00 PM
Oh, one more thing. I really wanted to name our second girl "Justine" so I could sing "Goodnight Irene" and sub Justine. [didn't really like Irene.] My husband disagreed. Our daughter's actual name doesn't fit in that song, being just one syllable, so I made up a tune befitting hers to "Edelweiss"! (And no, her name doesn't rhyme with Edelweiss happily!)
Posted by: Molly | January 14, 2010 at 03:02 PM
"dont worry" by bob marley. my husband sang it every night and then one day she sang the whole thing back to him. so cute.
Posted by: ssh | January 14, 2010 at 03:59 PM
we've had a bunch thru the years including, but not limited to:
-home on the range
-pony boy
-shining star [dan zanes, not EWF!]
-good night [beatles]
Posted by: rockstarmama | January 14, 2010 at 04:15 PM
Loch Lomond---"you take the high road and I'll take the low road..." Really lovely little melody.
For naps, though, its Shenandoah. :)
Posted by: amanda | January 14, 2010 at 05:17 PM
The boys ask for Twinkle Twinkle and You are My Sunshine every night, without fail. And then we usually sing one or two others, I love Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Sweet Baby James by James Taylor and there are a few Nora Jones songs that I think I sing well so sometimes I include those! Papa sings lots of Norwegian lullabies and I love to listen in on those...
Posted by: Leah | January 14, 2010 at 06:46 PM
"Amazing Grace"; it's mellow and profound. "Silent Night" also works well for us.
Posted by: Michele | January 14, 2010 at 07:37 PM
My boys really liked Bill Staines' Roseville Fair ("Oh the night was clear and the stars were shining/And the moon came up, so quiet in the sky...")
Posted by: zinemama | January 14, 2010 at 08:07 PM
I mostly sing two lullabies
1. The Peruvian version of Aru ru mi nino. I think most Spanish speaking countries have some version of this, but here is the one I learned from my husband. Please excuse the misspellings because I don't speak Spanish.
Aru ru mi nino
Aru ru mi su
Aru ru perdaso (sp?)
De mi corazon
2. I sing the tune to Pete Seeger's Soon As We All Cook Sweet Potatoes. I don't sing the words, just the tune or even just hum it, but it's got a lovely, soothing simple melody that works beautifully and is easy to repeat forever in whatever key and tempo you want.
Posted by: Janice | January 14, 2010 at 08:25 PM
I wanted to do Hush Little Baby as well and didn't know the lyrics and realized that one can find lyrics for any of these lullabies through Google. Now we sing that song, Edelweis, and one called "I see the Moon, the moon sees me..." that my mom used to sing to me. Thanks for the Bob Marley idea and Muppet songs too.
Posted by: sarasivi | January 14, 2010 at 09:29 PM
"My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean". I have sung it one million times, certainly. Now he is six, does not need it anymore. But it is still there....
Posted by: dana e | January 14, 2010 at 11:10 PM
Favorites here include "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Rainbow Connection," and--believe it or not--the theme from Gilligan's Island. My husband sings that last one, and it is very, very effective. :-)
Posted by: chambu | January 14, 2010 at 11:20 PM
I've made up lots of lullabies for my daughter that are really lame attempts to rhyme her name and do one other thing (say something funny or sweet or rewrite an existing song) and put it to a tune that I'll hopefully remember (Baa Baa Black Sheep, Twinkle Twinkle, 3 Blind Mice, Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel) while trying not to sing myself to sleep. I realized some time ago that I've actually got quite a stock-pile of corny songs for her and have started freaking out that I may have to come up with additional songs some day (that don't sound the same) for a theoretical future kid! I think I'm going to have to consider naming the future kid something that will rhyme as easily as my current child's name...how's THAT for a 'how you were named' story!
Oh, and my child was sung to sleep many nights by my bastardizations of songs on the "World Music for Little Ears, Lullabies from Around the World" CD (cuz I don't speak anything well but sometimes English BUT I'm a great mimicker). They are beautiful songs (on the CD) and when she was preverbal she didn't seem to care that most of what I actually said was gibberish.
Posted by: Kristi | January 15, 2010 at 01:09 AM
Working in camps/environmental education for 10 + years I would say that we have quite the repertoire of songs that are requested nightly. I have made up a personal song for my children but one of the more known and short songs we sing is Whole Heap A Little Horses. And thank you for the recommendation of Roseville Fair by Bill Staines. It will be sung tonight.
Whole Heap A Little Horses
Go to sleep, go to sleep
Go to sleep you little baby
When you wake, have some cake
And ride them pretty little horses
Black and a bay, sorrel and a gray
A whole heap a little horses
Black and a bay, sorrel and a gray
A whole heap a little horses
Little ole horse, little ole cow
Amblin' around on the old hay mow
Little ole horse, he took a chew
Darned if I don't, said the ole cow too
(Repeat verses 1 and 2)
Posted by: Alisha | January 15, 2010 at 06:05 AM
I sing Somewhere over the Rainbow and also a lullaby I heard from the movie "waitress" with Keri Russell
Baby don't you cry
Gonna bake a pie
Gonna bake a pie with a heart in the middle
Baby don't be blue
Gonna bake for you
Gonna bake a pie with a heart in the middle
Gonna be a pie from heaven above
Gonna be filled with strawberry love
Baby don't you cry
Gonna bake a pie
And hold you forever in the middle of my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inqd00PuNqQ
Posted by: Erin W | January 15, 2010 at 07:24 AM
My go to song is "I Will" by the Beatles. I first heard Alison Kraus's version of this song and it is a great love song to sing to my daughters. I love it when my three-year-old sings it with me. When I can't think of anything else, I usually just sing Christmas carols. Those are the only songs I can remember for some reason. Must have sung a lot of those growing up or something...
Posted by: Betsy | January 15, 2010 at 09:22 AM
Erin W.: Thanks for the reminder of the cute song from "Waitress"!
My husband has always used Blackbird by the Beatles and now my daughter will sing along (so cute). I sometimes sing You've got a Friend by James Taylor or I'll Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab (although the lyrics are quite dark...) My daughter LOVES Itsy Bitsy Spider and lately I've been singing "Tomorrow's Now Today" from Music Together's Drums collection:
When we wake up we always have to say
Tomorrow's now today, tomorrow's now today
When we go to sleep we always have to say
Today's now yesterday, today's now yesterday
Round and round go the days and nights
Up and down go the sun, moon and star light
Posted by: Jen F | January 15, 2010 at 09:29 AM
We sing My Favorite Things from the Sound of Music. It just hit me as I was reading this that we've sung that song EVERY night for at least the last three years -- and so, yes, I've sung that song about 1,000 times!!!! We also sing a song my oldest made up when she was about 3 -- where each person in the family gets a round to sing something they are thankful for in the day. It's so fun to see what the kids come up with. Oddly enough, when it's just my husband putting them to bed on the occasional night I'm away, then they sing two different songs: I've Been Working on the Railroad and Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee.
Jen F.: When my second baby was born she cried non-stop whenever you put her down. And I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab was always on my singing list. I felt bad 'cause the lyrics are a bit sad -- but the tune really seemed to soothe her! To this day, and she's only 2 1/2 she loves all of our darker, more serious music. Hmmm....have I scarred my kid? :)
Posted by: Shannon | January 15, 2010 at 10:58 AM
"Maybe Sparrow" by Neko Case. I listened to a lot of Neko Case when I was carrying my daughter, and her songs have always seemed to soothe her.
My husband, who has done musicals and concert choirs, likes to sing "Agony" from the musical "Into the Woods."
Neither songs very lullabyesque, but the melodies seem to be soothing to our daughter.
Posted by: wami | January 15, 2010 at 01:57 PM
I've used lots of songs. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Sleep Baby Sleep are two classics. A la Nanita and Lo how a rose er blooming (both are christmas carols), Sunrise Sunset - we have a book with the most wonderful pictures. I usually only hum after the first song or two, so any song can be slowed down and made soothing...
Posted by: Lis | January 15, 2010 at 03:33 PM
This one used to work like a charm when my daughter was an infant. Now she's 2 1/2 and totally resists it because she knows what it does to her!
Sleep Baby Sleep:
Sleep, Baby, Sleep
Your father tends the sheep
Your mother shakes the dreamland tree
And from it falls sweet dreams for thee
Sleep, Baby, Sleep
Sleep, Baby, Sleep
Our cottage vale is deep
The little lamb is on the green
With snowy fleece so soft and clean
Sleep, Baby, Sleep
Sleep, Baby, Sleep
Posted by: Anna | January 15, 2010 at 04:13 PM
What a sweet topic ---
i pretty much talk to my babies in song for the first six months. Mostly the kind where you change the words to fit the moment.
But here's my top ten sweet songs for when it's time to lull them.
-Kooks by David Bowie
-Milkman of Human Kindness by Billy Bragg
-Sticking with You by Velvet Underground
-I'm Going to Go Back There Someday by Gonzo (Yay Stacy)
-I Love the Living You by Elf Power
To my daughter, I sing:
-Che Sera Sera love Pink Martinis version
-Daughter of Light by Carole King
To my son I sing:
-Be Like You by Asylum Street Spankers
-Child of Mine by Carole King
And number one is a family song. ShooShooShoo Shalala, that has been passed down for I don't know how long. My sister made me swear I'd never write down the words because then it won't be our secret song. So unless she dies first, you'll never know what they are.
Posted by: lea | January 15, 2010 at 05:39 PM
All the pretty little horses
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy my little baby,
When you awake, you shall have
And all the pretty little horses.
Black and bay, dapple and grey,
Coach and six-a little horses,
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy my little baby.
When you awake, you shall have
And all the pretty little horses.
Posted by: Jen | January 16, 2010 at 09:56 PM
Cole recently reminisced that his favorite song as a baby was "Twinkle". You can't go wrong with a classic, right? Also, Laurie Berkner's "Goodnight" is a great lullaby.
Posted by: Hau | January 17, 2010 at 08:42 PM
I always sing Rockabye Baby before bed when they are little as a sleep cue. We also love All The Pretty Little Horses, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and You Are My Sunshine a lot.
Posted by: Brenna | January 17, 2010 at 09:55 PM
Our little girl is 3 1/2 and she's enjoyed two Gillian Welch songs since she's arrived ~ "Winter's Come and Gone" and "Acony Bell". And last year she discovered a couple of her own ~ Fleet Foxes' "Oliver James" and "White Winter Hymnal".
Posted by: Christopher | January 18, 2010 at 09:47 AM
"Rocky Raccoon" by the Beatles and that song that the sirens are singing in "O Brother Where Art Thou?" ("Go to sleepy little baby..." is maybe the name?)
Posted by: egl | January 18, 2010 at 05:11 PM
It is JT's Sweet Baby James for me. IF I only had the proverbial dime for every time I have sung that song over the past three years.
I too have for to the Gilligan;s Island theme song in a pinch...
I am glad for these other suggestions to expand my play list.
Posted by: Ted G | January 19, 2010 at 09:44 PM
The book Melissa is talking about is Hush Little Baby by Sylvia Long and I agree it is just gorgeous.
I love JoJo's lyrics to rock a bye baby! I made up a few new ones also.
My favorite lullaby is Child of Sunshine which I wrote for my son when he was a few months old.
I love lullabies so much that I created http://www.lullabylink.com We have lyrics and video melodies for over 40 lullabies as well as great ways to use music to bond with your baby through preschooler. I hope you will check us out if you are looking for a lullaby.
JoJo if you are reading this I would love to publish your version of Rock a Bye Baby. Contact me at lullabylink!
Posted by: Amy Robbins-Wilson | January 28, 2010 at 07:35 AM
I wrote a lullaby song for my daughter Olivia. She sings along with me now and I hope it is something that we can continue to sing together as she grows up. My musical BFF helped me write music for it and even typed up sheet music for me and put it into a frame for my birthday (Yeah, she is pretty awesome!). It kind of sounds like a slow version of "The Entertainer", but I find it can go with a few different tunes including "ABC's" and a slow version of "Rockin' Robin". Enjoy!
...
She’s my little Livvy and I love her so.
And I really, really want her to know
That she’ll always be my baby how ever tall she may grow
And she’ll always have my love wherever she may go.
She’s my little Livvy and I hope she’ll see
She can be anything that she wants to be:
A dancer or a lawyer, or a chef of pastry,
Anything she wants as long as she’s happy.
(Bridge)
I want her to be strong, so if some kids are mean to her she’ll say “so long”
I want her to be proud, proud of who she is and to laugh out loud.
I want her to be kind, to help other people and to use her mind.
She’s my little Livvy and I hope someday
She can tell me anything that she wants to say.
And when she’s a teen and she says, “no way,”
She still knows that I love her each and every day.
Posted by: Kerry Mehl | February 01, 2010 at 09:15 AM
alright for now by tom petty
catch a falling star by perry como
moon river from breakfast at Tiffanys
pony boy by Bruce Springsteen
I love thinking that maybe someday they'll be singing the same songs to their babies:-)
Posted by: Rachel | February 14, 2010 at 09:06 PM
Your Song--Elton John
Let it Be, Across the Universe, Hey Jude, Blackbird, And I Love Her, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
El Condor Pasa,, Scarborough Fair, To Emily, Wherever I May Find Her, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel (but I'm wondering when my children will figure out that it isn't "Just a come-on from the horse on Seventh Avenue ...")
Posted by: Stacy | February 16, 2010 at 01:23 PM
This is the one my grandmother sang to me and I sang to my children, and now to my grandchildren:
"Go to sleepy little baby
Before the Boogieman gets you
Go to sleepy little baby
And when you awake
You can have some cake
And ride the pretty little pony."
This lullaby can be sung to a couple of tunes that I know. One is soft and sweet, and the other becomes a little more upbeat on the 4th line.
Posted by: Vicki Bauer | November 06, 2012 at 09:07 AM
Baby mine :)
Posted by: Paige | March 15, 2013 at 10:05 PM