The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #105859   Message #2197053
Posted By: Jim Dixon
18-Nov-07 - 06:09 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: lost lullaby: O hush thee
Subject: Lyr Add: LULLABY OF AN INFANT CHIEF (Walter Scott)
From The Poetical Works of Walter Scott, 1820:

LULLABY OF AN INFANT CHIEF.
AIR—"Gadil gu lo." *

I.
O hush thee, my babie, 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.
O ho ro, i ri ri, cadil gu lo,
O ho ro, i ri ri, &c.

II.
O fear not the bugle, though 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.
O ho ro, i ri ri, &c.

III.
O hush thee, my baby, the time soon will come,
When thy sleep shall be broken by trumpet and drum;
Then hush thee, my darling, take rest while you may,
For strife comes with manhood, and waking with day.
O ho ro, i ri ri, &c.

* "Sleep on till day." These words, adapted to a melody somewhat different from the original, are sung in my friend Mr Terry's drama of Guy Mannering.