I remember so well my father telling the story of how he and his brothers and sisters learned that song. They had all attended a barn dance at a neighboring town somewhere in the Badlands of South Dakota and that song had been performed, probably around 1930. After the dance was over and it was time to go home they all piled in their model T Ford and headed back to their ranch near Conata. On the way home they started singing it together. Some remembered one line, some another, and by the time they got home they had pieced it all together. My dad still remembered it til his dying day. He would sometimes sing it for some of our kids if we asked - I loved to hear him sing and tell stories of life in South Dakota. It is a very fond memory of my dad I keep close to my heart. Here is our version:

O Mother come see how the moon looks tonight
It's brighter than ever before!
It's two little ends are so pointy and bright,
I hope they won't grow any more.
If I were up there
And you were my friend,
I'd rock you so nicely, you'd see;
I would sit in the middle,
And hold its both ends,
And what a nice cradle 'twould be!

We would tell the bright stars
To get out of our way,
Lest we should rock over their toes;
And there we would rock
Till the dawn of the day,
To see where the pretty moon goes.
And there we would stay
In the beautiful skies,
And through the bright clouds we would roam;
We would see the sun rise,
And we'd see the sun set,
And on the next rainbow come home.