Lullabies
A
A
bonny boat
A
bushel and a peck
A
candle, a candle
A la
nanita nana
A
sleepy song
A
song of fairies
A
star for you to wish on
A
summer lullaby
All
the little ones are sleeping
All
the pretty little horses
All through
the night
All
the world is sleeping / Suo-Gân
Ally
bally bee
At
the gate of heaven / La puerta del cielo
Last updated: 3/1/2021
11:41 AM
The songs below are compiled, illustrated and
sometimes adapted by Dany Rosevear
Return to the ‘Singing games for children’ home
page
To listen to music from these
songs click on 🔊
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved
You
are free to copy, distribute, display and perform these works under the
following conditions:
·
you must give the original author credit
·
you may not use this work for commercial purposes
·
for any re-use or distribution, you must make clear to others the
licence terms of this work
·
any of these can be waived if you get permission from the copyright
holder
Your
fair use and other rights are no way affected by the above.
|
A bonny boat 🔊
The moon as a
boat is a common theme around the world. A poem by Margaret Johnson from ‘A child’s own book
of verse’ book 1, published 1917. Music by Dany Rosevear. 1. Raise a finger for each number. Cup hands and
move gently from side to side. Move hands like waves past each other. 2.
Raise a finger for each number. Point to head then self. Continue rocking
hands and then shape the sun and move hands as before. |
|
One, two, three! A bonny boat I see; A silver boat, and all afloat Upon a rosy sea. One, two, three! The riddle tell to me. The moon afloat is the bonny boat, The sunset is the sea. |
|
A bushel and a peck 🔊
Words and
music by Frank Loesser from the musical ‘Guys and Dolls’. A bit lively
for a lullaby but a song to sing to a baby at anytime! My mother had
LPs of all the 1950s musicals and this was one of our favourites. |
|
I love you a bushel and peck, A bushel and peck and a hug
around the neck, A hug around the neck, and a
barrel and a heap, A barrel and a heap, and I'm
talking in my sleep, About you, about you, ‘Cause I love you a bushel and a
peck, You bet your pretty neck, I do. Doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle,
oodle, oodle, A-doodle, oodle, oodle ooo. I love you a bushel and peck, A bushel and peck though you
make my heart a wreck, Make my heart a wreck and you
make my life a mess, Make my life a mess, yes, a mess
of happiness, About you, about you, ‘Cause I love you a bushel and a
peck, You bet your pretty neck, I do. Doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle,
oodle, oodle, A-doodle, oodle, oodle ooo. I love you a bushel and peck, A bushel and peck and it beats
me all to heck, Beats me all to heck, how I'll
never tend the farm, Never tend the farm when I wanna
keep my arm, About you, about you, ‘Cause I love you a bushel and a
peck, You bet your pretty neck, I do. Doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle,
oodle, oodle, A-doodle, oodle, oodle ooo. |
|
A candle, a candle 🔊
This rhyme from
the ‘Ladybird Favourite Nursery Rhymes’ is not credited to anyone so I
presume it is traditional. Music by Dany Rosevear.
|
|
A candle, a candle To light me to bed; A pillow, a pillow To tuck up my head. The moon is as sleepy as sleepy
can be, The stars are all pointing their
fingers at me, And Missus Hop-Robin, way up in
her nest, Is rocking her tired little
babies to rest. So give me a blanket To tuck up my toes, And a soft little pillow To snuggle my nose. |
|
A la nanita nana 🔊
A beautiful Spanish
lullaby often sung at Christmas. Change her to him depending on the recipient
of the lullaby. Uses both the minor and major key. This translation
by Dany Rosevear. |
|
A la nanita nana, nanita ea,
nanita ea, mi niña tiene sueño, bendita
sea, bendita sea. X2 Lul lullaby, my dear
one, it’s time to sleep now, it’s time to sleep now, My little one is
sleepy, oh so sleepy, bless her, bless her. X 2 Fuentecita que corre clara y
sonora, ruiseñor que en la selva
cantando llora: calla mientras la cuna se
balancea, a la nanita nana, nanita ea. Little spring bubbles
gaily, so clear and musical, Nightingale in the
forest cries out so plaintively, “Hush while the
cradle’s swaying, swaying soft, to and fro, Lul lullaby, my dear
one, it’s time to sleep now, it’s time to sleep now. |
|
A sleepy song 🔊
This tune from
a Czech folk song will make you feel very sleepy. These English words are
written by Herbert Wiseman for ‘A third sixty songs forlittle children’
published 1960. |
|
I love the grandfather clock: Hark to its sleepy “tick-tock”, Drowsy and still in my warm bed
I lie, And I watch the bright stars in
the sky. Now the moon’s over the hill, Even the crickets are still; But in the corner the
grandfather clock Never ceases its drowsy
“tick-tock”. |
|
A song of fairies 🔊
A song for
bedtime. Words and music by C. Horn Irmengarde C. Horn; can be found in
‘Songs of childhood’ published in 1923. |
|
When the moon comes up so still
and bright, And the stars are in the skies, Then children know it’s time for
bed And time to close their eyes. For the fairies wait till you’re
asleep To bring sweet dreams to you, And the moon and stars through
the lattice peep To see what the fairies do. |
|
A star for you to wish on 🔊
A dear little bedtime
verse for the nightly routine. Draw a star on one hand, draw the sun on the other, draw the moon on
the forehead, kiss child. |
|
A star for you to wish on, The sun for warmth and light, The moon for you to sleep on, Sweet dreams, And
so goodnight. |
|
A summer lullaby 🔊
Written by in
1930 by Eudora S. Bumstead these lovely verses can be found in ‘A book of a
thousand poems’. It can also be found in ‘Primary music and worship’
published by Presbyterian Board of Christian Education, Philadelphia, Penn.,
1930. The words and
title have been changed by others considerably since then to include bees and
other ideas. |
|
The sun has gone from the
shining skies; Bye, baby, bye, The dandelions have closed their
eyes; Bye, baby, bye. The stars are lighting their
lamps to see If babies and squirrels and
birds, all three, Are sound asleep as they ought
to be. Bye, baby, bye. The squirrel keeps warm in a
coat of grey; Bye, baby, bye. He wears it by night as well as
by day; Bye, baby, bye. The robin sleeps in his feathers
and down, With a warm red breast and wings
of brown; But baby wears a little white
gown. Bye, baby, bye. The squirrel’s nest is an old
oak tree, Bye, baby, bye, And there he sleeps as snug as
can be, Bye, baby, bye; The robin's nest is high
overhead, Where the leafy boughs of maple
spread, But my baby's nest is a little
white bed. Bye, baby, bye. |
|
All the little ones
are sleeping O
A beautiful song written by Jean
Ritchie from her album ‘Marching
through the Green Grass’ |
|
Chorus: All through the night, all through the night, All the little ones are sleeping. All through the night, all through the night, All the little ones are sleeping. In a hole down underground, Little bunnies can be found. Chorus Sparrow sleeps up in a tree, My warm bed is best for me. Chorus Bless the babes and beasts and birds, All small things that have no words. Chorus |
|
All the pretty little
horses O
There are so many recordings of
this song, some quite beautiful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clqj1j9PrgQ but having sung it often to myself in the
1960s I needed an excuse to play it yet again! Find out more about this song at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Pretty_Little_Horses |
|
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep my little baby. When you wake, you shall have, All the pretty little horses. Dapples and greys, pintos and bays, Coach and six-a little horses. Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep my little baby. Way down yonder, in the meadow, There’s a poor little lambie; Birds and butterflies flutter round his eyes, Poor little thing is cryin' "Mamie". Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep my little baby. When you wake, you shall have, All the pretty little horses. |
|
All the world is sleeping / Suo-Gân 🔊
Another
beautiful Welsh lullaby. Find out more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suo_Gân
There are
many translations into English, not sure where this first verse originated;
the second two were adapted by Dany Rosevear inspired from several sources to
keep true to the original Welsh version. |
|
Go to sleep upon my breast, All the world is sleeping. ‘Till the morning's light you'll
rest, Mother watch is keeping. Birds and beasts have closed
their eyes, All the world is sleeping. In the morn the sun will rise, Mother watch is keeping. Sleep my treasure, night is
falling, Rest in slumber, sound and deep; Can you tell me why you’re
smiling, Smiling sweetly in thy sleep? Do the angels smile in heaven, When thy happy smile they see; Close those eyelids, little darling, On my breast sleep peacefully. Do not fear, the leaves are
trembling, Tapping, tapping ‘gainst the
door; Do not fear, small waves are
breaking, Lapping, lapping on the shore. Sleep child well for naught can
harm you, Mother watches by and by And angels gently gather round
you To sing this lovely lullaby. |
|
All through the night 🔊
This tune was first
recorded in 1784, the Welsh lyrics were written later. Find out more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ar_Hyd_y_Nos The English lyrics below were beautifully
written in Victorian times (1884) by Sir Harold Boulton; they have been very
slightly adapted here for a more secular audience. |
|
Sleep, my love and peace attend
thee, All through the night. Guardian angels dusk will send
thee, All through the night; Soft the drowsy hours are
creeping, Hill and vale in slumber
steeping, I, my loving vigil keeping, All through the night. While the moon her watch is
keeping, All through the night. While the weary world is
sleeping, All through the night; As the stars go gently stealing, Visions of delight revealing, Breathes a pure and tender
feeling, All through the night. |
|
A lovely Scottish lullaby that I enjoyed singing in the late 1960s.
‘Greetin’ means crying and ‘bawbee’ a penny. Find out more at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandssongs/earlyyears/coulterscandy.asp . Sing the chorus between each verse.
|
|
At the gate of heaven
/ La puerta del cielo 🔊
This delightful lullaby from Mexico
originally travelled from the Pyrenees region of Spain. |
|
At the gate of heav’n little shoes they are selling For the little bare-footed angels there dwelling. Slumber my little one, slumber my little one, Slumber my little one, arru, arru. Blessed are the children so peacefully sleeping, Blessed are the parents whose love they are keeping. Slumber my little one, slumber my little one, Slumber my little one, arru, arru. A la puerta del cielo venden zapatos, Para los angelitos que andan descalzos. Duermete, niño, Duermete, niño, Duermete, niño, arru, arru. A los niños que duerman Dios benedice A las madres que velan Dios las asiste. Duermete, niño, Duermete, niño, Duermete, niño, arru, arru. |
Return to the ‘Singing games for children’ home
page