In
each language you can hear a short sample of the lullaby . You can also
see some information about each lullaby (if available)
Lavender's
blue
Scottish
Lullaby
By
Baby Bunting
Hush, little baby
Twinkle
twinkle little star
Lavender's
blue
Sample (MP3)
Lavender's
blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender's green
When I am King, dilly dilly,
you shall be Queen
Call up your man, dilly, dilly
Set them to work
Some to the plough, dilly dilly,
Some to the fork
Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender's green
When you are King, dilly dilly,
I shall be Queen
Call up your man, dilly, dilly
Set them to work
Some to the plough, dilly dilly,
Some to the fork.
Lavender's blue,
Lavender's green
When I am King, dilly, dilly,
you shall be Queen
Lavender's blue,
Lavender's green
When I am King, dilly, dilly,
you shall be Queen
Lavender's blue,
Lavender's green
When I am King, dilly, dilly,
you shall be Queen
Lavender's blue,
Lavender's green
When I am King, dilly, dilly,
you shall be Queen.
Lavender’s blue
is a traditional song used as a lullaby. It is not known by
whom it was written or when, but it dates back to at least
the 1680s.
Like many lullabies it has probably been passed down through
generations and has changed over time. An alternative opening
is Lavender‘s blue, dilly dilly, rosemary’s green.
By
Baby Bunting
Sample (MP3)
Bye
baby bunting
Daddy’s gone a hunting
Gone to get a rabbit skin
To wrap his baby bunting in
In old English,
cradle songs were called Byssinge, the prefix by meaning slumber.
This joyous little song is as old as English nursery rhymes.
English mothers have sung it to their babies and it is familiar
wherever the English language is spoken. The melody has come
through the years unchanged. As in the case of lullabies of
many other lands, the promise of a reward for good behaviour
is offered to the child. In current English the word bunting
may refer to a kind of bird or o a soft, thick cloth. Or it
may often be simply a term of endearment.
Hush,
little baby, don't say a word.
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass
And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat
And if that billy goat won't pull,
Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull
And if that cart and bull turn over,
Papa's gonna buy you a dog named Rover
And if that dog named Rover won’t bark,
Papa’s gonna buy a horse and cart.
And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.
This is another traditional
lullaby and again we do not know who wrote it or when, although
it is thought to be American (mockingbirds are from the American
continent). The lyrics promise all kind of rewards to the child
if he or she is quiet.
Twinkle,
twinkle, little star,
how I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
how I wonder what you are
This is one of
the most popular English nursery rhymes. It combines the tune
of the 1761 French melody ‘Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman’ with
an English poem, ‘The Star’ by Jane Taylor. The poem, which
is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in Rhymes
for the Nursery, a collection of poems by Taylor and her sister
Ann. The English lyrics have five verses, although only the
first is widely known.
Mozart wrote twelve variations on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
star, listed as Variations on ‘Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman’.
Oh, hush thee, my baby,
Thy sire was a knight,
Thy mother a lady,
Both lovely and bright;
The woods and the glens,
From the towers which we see,
They all are belonging,
Dear baby, to thee.
Oh, hush thee, my baby,
Thy sire was a knight,
Oh, hush thee, my baby,
So bonnie and bright.
Ho-ro-ro, hi-ri-ri
Sleep until dawn
Oh, fear not the bugle,
Tho' loudly it blows,
It calls but the warders
That guard thy repose;
Their bows would be bended,
Their blades would be red,
Ere the step of a foeman
Draws near to thy bed.
Oh, hush thee, my baby,
Thy sire was a knight,
Oh, hush thee, my baby,
So bonnie, so bright.
Ho-ro-ro, hi-ri-ri
Sleep until dawn
Ho-ro-ro, hi-ri-ri
Sleep until dawn
From the proud
clans of the Scottish Highlands comes this traditional melody.
Only the air Cdul gu lo (Sleep on till dawn) and not the original
Scottish verses were used when a dramatization of Sir Walter
Scott’s Guy Mannering was presented. For this, Sir Walter
Scott composed the verses ‘Lullaby for an Infant Child’.
The history of the Highlands and the interminable wars by
which the clans were able to reserve their hard-won independence
against overwhelming odds are evoked in this first song for
an infant. The dream is of the trumpet and the ideal is manhood.
The lines of this lullaby are familiar to English speakers
as a nursery rhyme. They are a curtailed version of Sir Walter
Scott’s verses.
