What lullabies do your children hear?

Subject: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 24 May 00 - 01:42 PM

I saw a thread about lullabies and what you-all like, but it's a couple of years old now, and things might have changed. Anyone more technical than I, please do a blicky to that thread, it was very interesting too. Also, it wasn't about what you sing to your kids, it was more about what you had sung to you.

So I was wondering - I used to sing Hush-a-bye(the Peter Paul & Mary version), The Castle of Dromore (Clancy Bros & Tommy Makem version), the MLF Lullaby (Tom Lehrer), and Hush Little Baby (the way my father sang it to me, which is also the Weaver's version). I would sing them all. Now the younger twin only wants to hear Hushabye, the older one only wants to hear The Castle of Dromore (which he calls Hushabye Lu), so I don't get to sing the others very much nowadays. I actually mind that they don't want me to sing to them what Daddy sang to me, it makes me all heartwarmed to be able to sing it without crying, but they don't prefer it, and I don't push. Much.
So, what do you-all sing to your wee ones?

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: MMario
Date: 24 May 00 - 02:07 PM

"Gentle shepherd", "Bye Baby Bunting", Rock-a-bye-baby, and anything else that came to mind..., and a chapter or two of whatever book *I* was reading at the time....

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Metchosin
Date: 24 May 00 - 02:11 PM

Our family standard, sung to me by my mother and her's before, that I sang for my children had just one word, "Wee".

Unfortunately I have no way of imparting the Scottish tune.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Dave (the ancient mariner)
Date: 24 May 00 - 02:16 PM

Melanie Safka. Tell Me Why, and the Welsh song, All Through The Night. Teddy Bears Picnic, Yours, Aye. Dave

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Hollowfox
Date: 24 May 00 - 02:36 PM

Aside from the standard ones, I found that Dillon Bay and One Man Shall Mow My Meadow went over well. But what worked best were novelty songs and drinking songs, done in a slow tempo. One night my husband came in to see (he thought) the touching, heartwarming scene of mama singing to baby. He managed to stay quiet through Him and His Good Companions and Cowboy Fireman, but he lost it during Hang on the Bell, Nelly and he had to leave.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Chocolate Pi
Date: 24 May 00 - 02:58 PM

I was babysitting for the resident heads's kids about a week ago, and sung Shule Aroon and All Through the Night to their screaming infant.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 24 May 00 - 03:18 PM

My little ones are growing up, but I sang all manner of songs to them when they were younger. Sweet Baby James was a favorite bedtime song for my son. I sang lots of innocuous older pop songs to my daughter -- The End of the World (not REM, but the old "why does the sun go on shining?" one), and the other one from around the same time period that goes "I've told every little star/just how great I think you are/why haven't I told you? Ba da, ba da da da da da da...". I was always pleased that my daughter's favorite was one I had written, though; score one for Dad! (She's 17 now, and doesn't ask for it so much any more.)

It doesn't matter what you sing to your kids as long as you DO sing to them.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: TerriM
Date: 24 May 00 - 07:22 PM

My kids liked " The Fox went out on a Chilly Night, Puff the Magic Dragon and The Skye Boat Song". I like to remember that when, these days, I hear Nirvana and Korn blasting away upstairs!

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: DougR
Date: 24 May 00 - 07:50 PM

My kids were lulled to sleep by "The Riddle Song."

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: sophocleese
Date: 24 May 00 - 08:08 PM

I sing them Castle of Dromore, Hush Hush, Bridget O'Malley, Skye Boat Song, a song I wrote for them and any other song I'm thinking of and working on at the moment. For a while I stopped singing to them because they wanted to hear stories instead but now they like singing again.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: JenEllen
Date: 24 May 00 - 10:28 PM

My god-son dearly loves Prince's 'Raspberry Beret' done quiet and slow....
~Elle

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Mbo
Date: 24 May 00 - 10:31 PM

People on HearMe seem to enjoy me singing them Guns & Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine" as a lullaby.

--Mbo

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Chicky
Date: 24 May 00 - 10:36 PM

They each had their own "special" lullabyes as bubs.
The eldest got an Italian one "Falanana Bambino".
The next one got a spiritual "Gonna Rest Now".
The new baby (3 mths) gets whatever I'm rehearsing at the time - tho I'm leaning towards a Kashmiri lullabye translated as "Drink Your Milk" as his official lullabye.

cheers

- Chicky

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Timbobbin
Date: 25 May 00 - 08:27 AM

My 7 month old daughter responds well to Johnny Bugger. I'd better come up with something more appropriate before she learns to talk.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 25 May 00 - 10:57 AM

And on the same topic, anyone know the words to Suliram?

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Mrs.Duck
Date: 25 May 00 - 07:00 PM

Apart from Lily Marlene and one or two I learnt as a child most of the songs we sing to the ducklings(twins age 9 months) are made up. With lyrics such as Pretty little baby sitting in a pudding Waving at his sister sitting in a pie I'm not sure what they will turn out like! Actually at the moment Rowan seems to settle best to Roll the Old Chariot Along

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 May 00 - 12:41 AM

My daddy sang to me such Golden Country Classics as Filipino Baby, Rainbow at Midnight, etc. Granpa sang When You and I were Young, Maggie. I used to sing one to Kate patterned after Rosalie Sorrels. In a sweet soft tone, sing things like I am going to chop you up and flush you down the commode, because even tho I love you you are driving me batty, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 26 May 00 - 12:52 AM

Sorcha, do you lullaby in ASL too?

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Mbo
Date: 26 May 00 - 01:19 AM

Sorch, my sister is learning ASL, in minoring in Sign Language Interpreting! She's good...

--Mbo

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Sorcha
Date: 26 May 00 - 01:31 AM

Definitely NOT fluent in ASL, have a couple dozen words/phrases, and VERRYY slow finger spelling, but that is all. When I was in school, it was Lip Reading. NO sign allowed at all. Anyway, how would you hold a baby and do sign at the same time? This whole subject is fascinating to me and I could course and discourse for hours on it, for instance, hearing parents talk to their babies ALL the time--how would you sign to a baby while changing diapers? It takes both hands! I have been told that children of totally deaf parents often have ASL long before children of hearing parents have verbal skills, but their hands are so tiny they are hard to read. I am not totally deaf, either, have 85-90% loss in right ear, but only about 40%loss in left. Mostly, specific pitches are gone in left ear.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: TerriM
Date: 26 May 00 - 11:10 AM

there has been news of a new movement in child communications which teaches a form of sign language, looks like it's based on Makaton, to small pre-verbal children. They are having some remarkable results with it too.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Anika
Date: 26 May 00 - 11:18 AM

I had wonderful success in falling asleep (usually myself first) with "All The Pretty Little Horses".

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: L R Mole
Date: 26 May 00 - 12:07 PM

Both of my littles liked the Merry Widow Waltz, hummed slowly. Someone has a nice birthday quatrain to the melody, too:"Happy birthday, happy birthday, we love you/Happy birthday, and may all your dreams come true/When you blow out the candles, one remains aglow/It's the lovelight in your heart where'e'er you go. " I, personally, have never been able to work this into a kids' birthday party, since they can be a tad obsessive about ritual, but it's fun to sing.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: GUEST,Mbo_at_ECU
Date: 26 May 00 - 12:11 PM

Actually when I was tiny my Mom used to sing "High Hopes" to me. But she'd replace "ant" with "Matt".

--Mbo

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: The Walrus (at work)
Date: 26 May 00 - 12:20 PM

This is going to make me sound ancient (I'm not ! honestly! ;-{> ) but one lullaby my mother used on me was "The Boers Have Got My Daddy", it's one she heard from her mother.

Walrus

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Caitrin
Date: 26 May 00 - 04:52 PM

My mother used to sing "Song to Celia" to me, as well as "Today while the blossom still clings to the vine" (I'm not sure what the actual title is). Dad sang "Rockabye Sweet Baby James", The Grateful Dead's "Casey Jones" and a quiet,slow version of America's "Sister Golden Hair". Dad's a bass, and always sang all of those an octave lower than the original...it may very well have just been the rumbling bass notes that put me to sleep.
I've used "Over the Hills and Far Away," "Unforgettable," and "Secure Yourself" (The Indigo Girls) as lullabies for my baby cousins.

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 27 May 00 - 12:14 AM

Shayna always loved "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins, and one that Tom Rush recorded whose title and author I've forgotten--I like it because it's one of the few Daddy lullabies. It's also appropriate for Hilo where it rains nearly every night!

Outside your window
Rain is pouring down
You know by tomorrow morning
Won't be no rain around

Hushabye, my baby
Hushabye, my darlin' child
You can tell, you know darn well
Your daddy wouldn't lie to you

She also likes the one I sang to her when I was holding her right after she was born--

Go to sleep you little baby
Let the time go slowly by
Listen to your daddy singing
Singing Shayna's lullaby

Now we live beside the ocean
Watching rainbows in the sky
Hear the birds up in the palm trees
Singing Shayna's lullaby

For my stepson Ben when he was younger, any song would do, as long as you could sing it for the hour or two it took him to fall asleep! :-)

Nice thread, Mrrzy, thanks.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: What lullabies do your children hear?
From: Racer
Date: 27 May 00 - 04:20 AM

Whistle Stop, I think someday you're daughter will be singing that song to her children. Then you'll get another Daddy Point plus a Grandpa Point.

"Man of Double Deed" is always nice. It's always important to work violence into a lullaby. I personally lean towards "Love's Old Sweet Song." I have no children, so I'm speaking without experience.

My mother used to sing The Beatles to me. Now, I listen to The Beatles regularly. They are not my favorite band, but some of their songs have personal significance that I can't explain.

I especially remember "Blackbird", "I Will", and "Michelle, My Bell."

-Racer