Oh, but this is right up my alley. Humanist (check!), regularly perform naming ceremonies (Unitarian Universalist minister - check!), folksinger (check - within certain parameters of the word "folksinger" that include one whose music includes, but is not limited to, the traditional).

Here's a couple to start with - Sally Rogers's Circle of the Sun -

Babies are born in the circle of the sun
Circle of the sun on the birthin' day....

"Everything Possible," mentioned above, would be ideal - I sang this as the "Children's Time" at our Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and there were actual tears coming from the parents. And I think it was a compliment. I've recently recorded it, but the CD is still in mixdown. The song was written by topical singer (and, completely coincidentally, now a UU minister) Fred Small. The chords are a little complicated to work out, depending on your skill level, but can be found in Fred's songbook, Breaking from the Line, or from the UU hymnal supplement, Singing the Journey. You could probably borrow that from your local UU congregation.

While you're at it, there's a nice rewrite of "All Through the Night," that makes it not a Christmas song. It's under the title "Sleep, My Child" in the regular hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition. I can't use it for dedications, though - I've used it for symbolic memorials for children (a Matthew Shepherd memorial and a memorial for a little Iraqi girl killed by an American cluster bomb) and can't get through it without crying.

Any number of lullabies could work nicely. Though I still like Kat's suggestion. Maybe if I get a chance I'll do a quick home recording of my own "Cora's Lullaby" or "Tumble Home to Me" and post a link - those would work too.

There are some marvelous Woody Guthrie children's songs, and some of those could work nicely. Right now my two-year old's favorite comes to mind:


Do you wanta see me grow?
Do you wanta see me grow?
Zoop zoop zoopity zoop
Thats the way I grow.

Do you wanta see me eat?
Do you wanta see me eat?
Zoop zoop zoopity zoop
Like a piggy eats.

Do you wanta see me drink?
Do you wanta see me drink?
Zoop zoop zoopity zoop
Like a horsie drinks.

Chorus:
Zoop zoop zoop zoopity zoop
Zoop zoop zoop zoopity zoop

similarly:
swim: like a fishie swims
run: like a doggie runs
grow: that's the way a grow
hop: like a rabbit hops
climb: like a monkey climbs
(Repeat Chorus)
sleep: like a baby sleeps
grow: that's the way I grow.

That one's on a recording from Rounder called Daddy-o-Daddy - Rare Family Songs of Woody Guthrie.

For me the trick would be coming up with songs that respect the child as a child - not songs about how quickly they grow up, or how precious and perfect their lives are. Just songs that honor the baby or small child as who they are - potential and all.


Incidentally, noticing your time frame - of all of these, the easiest to learn is "Circle of the Sun." And it works for a garden.

Dan