Lullaby Poetry
Along with beautifully written and composed lullaby songs from centuries ago, many lullaby themed or titled poems
also were penned by some notable figures in world history, including British poets Alfred Lord Tennyson and
William Blake, as well as Scottish poet and playwright Sir Walter Scott.
A collection of poems by them and several others, many with Celtic and Irish origin, are presented below.
Mary’s LullabySee the child that Mary bore
On her lap so softly sleeping
In a stable cold and poor
Ox and ass their vigil keeping
Sing lullaby, sing lullaby
My own dear son, my child
Lullaby, sing lullaby
Lullaby, my little baby
Flights of angels round his head
Sing him joyful hymns of greeting
Peace on earth, goodwill to men
Each to each the song repeating
Shepherds kneeling by his bed
Offer homage without measure
Wise men, by a bright star led
Bring him gifts of richest treasure
VERSION II
Lullaby, lullaby, my little one.
Lullaby, my child so dear.
Thy precious life has just begun
Thy mother holds thee
near.
Mary’s Lullaby appears as an instrumental on “Close Your Eyes, Love” but thought
you might like the lyrics. It is of course about Mary the Mother.
The Ash Groveby Talhaiarn (John Jones 1810-1870)
Shine, blessed sun, on the home of my boyhood,
Bright be thy rays on the ancient "Ash Grove";
Dear to my heart is the home of my parents,
Home of my infancy, home of my love;
Far, far away I have sailed o'er the ocean,
Still guided by fate on the wings of unrest;
Oh! that I had the swift wings of the swallow,
To fly to my home, to return to my nest.
Here in the night when I'm sleeping and dreaming,
Far, far away in the Land of the West;
Innocent friends of my childhood surround me,
Visions of happiness lull me to rest:
Ah! when I wake with a start in the morning,
Bedewed are my cheeks as I silently mourn;
Longing for home and my youthful companions,
How hopeless the wish! I shall never return.
The Ash GroveAnother version
by John Oxenford
The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly 'tis speaking,
The wind [harp] through it playing has language for me.
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking
A host of kind faces is gazing on me.
The friends of my childhood again are before me,
Each step wakes a memory as freely I roam.
With soft whispers laden its leaves rustle o'er me,
The ash grove, the ash grove again [alone] is my home.
All Things Bright and BeautifulMrs. Cecil Frances Alexander (1823-1895) wrote the lyrics for this beloved hymn
which made its first appearance in her “Hymns for Little Children” (1848)
Originally set to the melody of the tune “Royal Oak,” several melody versions have
appeared since then. Thought to be inspired by Genesis 1:31, it is regarded as an
Anglican hymn although it appears through the Christian canon. Mrs. alexander
was the wife of the then Archbishop of Armagh stationed in Derry, Northern Ireland.
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all. Seo
Sweet and Lowby Alfred Lord Tennyson 1809-1883
Sweet and low, sweet and low,
Wind of the western sea,
Low, low, breathe and blow,
Wind of the western sea!
Over the rolling waters go,
Come from the dying moon, and blow,
Blow him again to me;
While my little one, while my pretty one, sleeps.
Sleep and rest, sleep and rest,
Father will come to thee soon;
Rest, rest, on mother's breast,
Father will come to thee soon;
Father will come to his babe in the nest,
Silver sails all out of the west
Under the silver moon:
Sleep, my little one, sleep, my pretty one, sleep
Connemara Cradle Song (Traditional Irish)
On the wings of the wind o'er the deep rolling sea
Angels are coming to watch o'er thy sleep
Angels are coming to watch over thee
So list to the wind coming over the sea
CHORUS:
Hear the wind blow, love, hear the wind blow
Lean your head over and hear the wind blow
Oh, winds of the night, may your fury be crossed,
May no one who's dear to our island be lost
Blow the winds gently, calm be the foam
Shine the light brightly and guide them back home
The currachs are sailing way out on the blue
Laden with herring of silvery hue
Silver the herring and silver the sea
And soon there'll be silver for baby and me
The currachs tomorrow will stand on the shore
And daddy goes sailing, no never no more
The nets will be drying, the oars put away
And daddy is home babe and home he will stay.
For a New Baby Len Graham / Skylark
Original words and music by Peggy Seeger, Harmony Music Ltd.
New words by Len Graham, Music by Garry O Briain
The autumn was long and the winter too
Long and slow and dreary.
Til the Spring it parted her and you,
Singing, hush-a-bye my dearie,
Singing hush-a-bye my laddie.
Her back is broke and her belly is sore,
And your mammy she can’t come near me.
And it’s up all night to walk the floor,
Singing, hush-a-bye my dearie,
Singing hush-a-bye my laddie.
Though you keep me waking night and day,
Your crying it makes me weary
You’re as welcome as the flowers in May,
Singing, hush-a-bye my dearie,
Singing hush-a-bye my laddie.
The time is come and the time ie here,
And I know that it’s going to fear me,
To set you drifting on the tide,
Singing, hush-a-bye my dearie,
Singing hush-a-bye my laddie.
See also – music of Wil Tan per Bridget Fitz
Goodnight Song (Amhrán Ouch’ Mhaith) English Translation
It’s time to go home
and go to rest;
my chair is urging me to rise.
This is a sign to us
to move
drawing us toward our beds.
My good lads,
it’s an omen to us to go home.
The darkness is falling on the hearth,
telling us
to go to rest;
it’s nearly time to say good night.
Scottish LullabyHo-ro-ro, hi-ri-ri
Sleep until dawn
O, 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 are all belonging,
Dear baby, to thee.
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, hush thee, my baby,
The time will soon 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.
Lullaby of an Infant ChiefSir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
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 babie, to thee.
O ho ro, i ri ri, cadul gu lo,
O ho ro, i ri ri, cadul gu lo.
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 drew near to thy bed.
O ho ro, i ri ri, cadul gu lo,
O ho ro, i ri ri, cadul gu lo.
O hush thee, my babie, 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, cadul gu lo,
O ho ro, i ri ri, cadul gu lo.
Brahm’s LullabyLullaby, and good night,
With pink roses bedight,
With lilies o'erspread,
Is my baby's sweet head.
Lay you down now, and rest,
May your slumber be blessed!
Lay you down now, and rest,
May thy slumber be blessed!
Lullaby, and good night,
You're your mother's delight,
Shining angels beside
My darling abide.
Soft and warm is your bed,
Close your eyes and rest your head.
Soft and warm is your bed,
Close your eyes and rest your head.
Sleepyhead, close your eyes.
Mother's right here beside you.
I'll protect you from harm,
You will wake in my arms.
Guardian angels are near,
So sleep on, with no fear.
Guardian angels are near,
So sleep on, with no fear.
Lullaby, and sleep tight.
Hush! My darling is sleeping,
On his sheets white as cream,
With his head full of dreams.
When the sky's bright with dawn,
He will wake in the morning.
When noontide warms
the world, He will frolic in the sun.
All Through The Night (Welsh)Angels watching, e'er around thee,
All through the night
Midnight slumber close
surround thee,
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,
Hill and vale in slumber sleeping
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,
All through the night
While the moon her watch is keeping,
All through the night
While the weary world is sleeping,
All through the night
O'er thy spirit gently stealing,
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy feeling,
All through the night.
All Through The Night (Welsh) VERSION II
All Through the Night
Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee
All through the night
Guardian angels watch beside thee
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping
I my loving vigil keeping
All through the night
While the moon her watch is keeping
All through the night
While the weary world is sleeping
All through the night
O'er thy spirit gently stealing
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy (happy) feeling
All through the night
While the earth in calm reposes,
All through the night.
Thou shalt sleep as sleep the roses,
All through the night.
O'er thy cradle stars are beaming,
Silver bright the moon is gleaming;
Thou shalt tread the land of dreaming.
All through the night.
Christ Child LullabyMy love, my pride, my treasure oh
My wonder new and pleasure oh
My son, my beauty, ever You
Who am I to bear You here?
The cause of talk and tale am I
The cause of greatest fame am I
The cause of proudest care on high
To have for mine, the King of all
And though You are the King of all
They sent You to the manger stall
Where at Your feet they all shall fall
And glorify my child, the King
There shone a star above three kings
To guide them to the King of kings
They held You in their humble arms
And knelt before You until dawn
They gave You myrrh and gave You gold
Frankincense and gifts untold
They traveled far these gifts to bring
And glorify their new born King
A Bunch of Rosesby John Bannister Tabb
The rosy mouth and rosy toe
Of little baby brother
Until about a month ago
Had never met each other;
But nowadays the neighbors sweet,
In every sort of weather,
Half way with rosy fingers meet,
To kiss and play together.
Dance, Little Babyby Ann Taylor
Dance, little baby, dance up high,
Never mind baby, mother is by ;
Crow and caper, caper and crow,
There little baby, there you go ;
Up to the ceiling, down to the ground,
Backwards and forwards, round and round;
Dance little baby, and mother shall sing,
With the merry coral, ding, ding, ding.
Variation:
Read, little baby, read and grow,
Look at the pictures, we'll go slow.
Read and wonder, listen and know,
There, little baby, there you go!
Read, little baby, read and learn;
Backwards and forwards, pages turn.
Read, little baby, Mother will, too,
Such a happy story,
All for you!
Cradle Songby William Blake 1757-1827
Sleep, sleep, beauty bright,
Dreaming in the joys of night;
Sleep, sleep; in thy sleep
Little sorrows sit and weep.
Sweet babe, in thy face
Soft desires I can trace,
Secret joys and secret smiles,
Little pretty infant wiles.
As thy softest limbs I feel
Smiles as of the morning steal
O'er thy cheek, and o'er thy breast
Where thy little heart doth rest.
O the cunning wiles that creep
In thy little heart asleep!
When thy little heart doth wake,
Then the dreadful night shall break.