Lullabies M

Magic and moonbeams

Mama loves and papa loves

Mama’s gone to the mailboat

Mammy, mammy told me-o

Manx lullaby

Moon glow, moon glow

Moon, moon, shiny and silver

Moon shining bright

Moon River

Morag’s cradle song

Mozart’s lullaby / Sleep, little one

My owlet

My rocket ship

Last updated: 10/17/2022 9:50 AM

The songs below are compiled, illustrated and sometimes adapted by Dany Rosevear

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To watch the author sing a song click on the title at:

© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved

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Magic and moonbeams 🔊

A Utopian lullaby.

Especially in these more troubling days when things aren’t going so well with our planet and Mother Nature’s welfare is in retreat; this is when we dive into our imaginations and wonder how things could and might be with a little care and thoughtfulness from our divisive politicians.

Words and music by Dany Rosevear.

In the lovely land of lullabies the nightingale gently sings,

The lion and lamb lay talking of wise and wondrous things,

The dragon sleeps in slumber deep and sheds a starlit tear.

Sweet magic and moonbeams weave through your dreams,

Kind thoughts and wishes grow here.

In the lovely land of lullabies it's never too hot or cold.

The little folk think it’s a joke to care for silver and gold;

For Nature’s store is worth so much more, such beauty they hold dear.

Sweet magic and moonbeams weave through your dreams,

Kind thoughts and wishes flow here.

In the lovely land of lullabies shadow rabbits tarry awhile,

The mice play round the old grey cat whose whiskers twitch beguiled

Wild creatures roam through green forest homes where air is pure and clear.

Sweet magic and moonbeams weave through your dreams,

Kind thoughts and wishes flow here.

In the lovely land of lullabies there’s a companion for every child,

Who tells them cosy tales of old and rhymes to make them smile;

Who listens when they’re worried and sweeps away scaredycat fears.

Sweet magic and moonbeams weave through your dreams,

Kind thoughts and wishes flow here.

Sweet magic and moonbeams weave through your dreams,

How I wish that land was here!

Mama loves and papa loves 🔊

A Southern American lullaby for rocking baby to sleep. Arranged and adapted by Dany Rosevear.

Insert other family members names into this song especially if older brothers and sisters are present.

Mama loves and papa loves,

And everybody loves the little baby.

Go to sleepy, go to sleepy,

Go to sleep my little baby.

Mama’s gone to the mailboat 🔊

Collected from Tina Russell, Marvells Inlet, South Carolina, by John and Alan Lomax. Originally got this one is from ‘Songs to grow on’ by Beatrix Landeck published 1950.

Bye-o baby, bye-o.

Bye-o baby, bye,

Mama’s gone to the mail boat,

Mama’s gone to the mail boat,

Bye.

Close your sleepy eyes,

Close your sleepy eyes,

Papa’s gone to the mail boat,

Papa’s gone to the mail boat,

Bye-o-bye.

Bye-o-bye.

Mammy, mammy told me-o 🔊

Music, possibly from Ireland, to lull baby to sleep. What parent doesn’t believe that their baby is the best, the cleverest and the most wonderful one in the world.

The second verse is adapted by Dany Rosevear (grandparents’ licence!) from the Afro-American tradition which in turn links with European nursery rhymes of yore.

Mammy, mammy told me-o,

I'm the sweetest little baby in the country-o.

I looked in the glass and found it so,

Just as mammy told me-o.

Sheep's in the meadow a-mowing the hay.

Honey's in the bee-gum, so they say.

I'm the sweetest little baby in the country-o.

Mammy an' daddy both told me so.

Manx lullaby 🔊

A song from the Isle of Man, find out more about the music from this island nation at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_the_Isle_of_Man

‘O horo hi ri ri’ are just sounds to soothe a baby, while ‘Cadul gu lo’ means ‘keep sleeping / sleep soundly’. It is pronounced ‘Cajool goo low’.

O hush thee my dove, O hush thee, my rowan,

O hush thee my lapwing, my little brown bird.

O hush thee my dove, O hush thee, my rowan,

O hush thee my lapwing, my little brown bird.

O fold thy wings and seek thy nest now,

O shine the berry on the bright tree,

The bird is home from the mountain and valley.

O horo hi ri ri, Cadul gu lo.

O horo hi ri ri, Cadul gu lo.

Moon glow, moon glow O

This rhyme by Margaret Timmons is sometimes sung to the tune of ‘Twinkle, twinkle little star’. Dany Rosevear wrote the melody below.

Moon glow, moon glow, in the night,

Moon glow, moon glow, gentle light.

How I love to see you there,

Softly shining everywhere.

Moon glow, moon glow, in the night,

Moon glow, moon glow, gentle light.

Moon, moon, shiny and silver 🔊

This lovely song comes from ‘Here and Now Story Book’ by Lucy Sprague Mitchell published in 1921. The tune is a German folk song ‘Du, du, liegst mir im herzen’ which has been sung by Marlene Deitrich: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ9VYpxKtFk

It also featured on ABC Playschool in the 1980s.

Moon, moon, shiny and silver,

Moon, moon, silver and white;

Moon, moon, whisper to children,

“Sleep through the silvery night.

There, there, there, there,

Sleep through the silvery night.”

Sun, sun, shining and golden,

Sun, sun, golden and gay.

Sun, sun, shout to the children,

“Wake to the sunshiny day.

There, there, there, there,

Wake to the sunshiny day.”

Moon! Sun! Shiny and silver,

Moon! Sun! Shiny and gold.

Moon! Sun! Shine on the young ones,

Shine until they grow old.

Shine, shine, shine, shine,

Shine until they grow old.

Moon shining bright 🔊

Comforting night-time sights and sounds.

The moon has such a magical warm glow so it is not surprising it features in so many lullabies and bedtime poems.

The full moon in the cold cloudless sky has recently been bright, white and shiny with the plus of Jupiter also putting on a show nearby as it is in ‘opposition’ to the sun.

Words found in an obscure publication online Melody by Dany Rosevear.

Look through the window

At the moon shining bright.

Who can you see

In the twinkling starlight?

Up in the trees,

The grey doves coo.

Calling a friendly

“Good night” to you.

Good night, little squirrel.

Good night, little mouse.

Hurrying, scurrying to bed

In the house.

Listen to Owl calling,

“Who-whoo-whooo!”

While old Mr. Moon

Watches over you.

Moon River 🔊

Though written as a romantic love song its gentle tones make it perfect as a lullaby. This song was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie ‘Breakfast at Tiffanys’ and was very popular at this time.

Composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

Moon River, wider than a mile,

I'm crossing you in style some day.

Old dream maker, you heart breaker,

Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way.

Two drifters, off to see the world,

There's such a lot of world to see.

We're after the same rainbow's end,

Waitin' 'round the bend,

My huckleberry friend,

Moon River and me.

Morag’s cradle song 🔊

A Scottish lullaby.

Would you were here, my little one,

Would you were here, my joy my treasure,

Would you were here, my little one.

Blue her eye, as skies in summer,

Sweet her smile as flowers blooming.

Soft her cheek, as eider down is,

Warm and soft her arms entwining.

Gaze, I seaward in the gloaming,

Gaze, I skyward sad and weary.

Mozart’s lullaby / Sleep, little one 🔊

A lullaby originally attributed to W. A. Mozart but according to the ‘Singing Bell’ the tune is now thought to be written by Bernhard Flies or Johann Friedrich Anton Fleischmann and the words by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter, 1746–1797.

Sleep, little one, go to sleep.

So peaceful the birds and the sheep,

Quiet are meadow and trees,

Even the buzz of the bees,

The silvery moonbeams so bright,

Down through the window give light,

O’er you the moonbeams will creep,

Sleep, little one, go to sleep.

Good night, good night.

My owlet 🔊

A Kiowa Native American lullaby. The term ‘owlet’ is a form of endearment. Mother carefully straps baby on her back and sways gently back and forth as she sings baby to sleep to the rhythmic pattern.

Owlet, my owlet is sleeping,

Wee stars are twinkling in the sky,

Owlet, my owlet is sleeping,

Mother is singing a lullaby.

Owlet, my owlet is sleeping,

Wee stars are twinkling in the sky,

Owlet, my owlet is sleeping,

Father is singing a lullaby.

My rocket ship O

This song comes from ‘Singing Fun’ 1962 and was written by Lucille F. Wood who also wrote the kindergarten standard ‘Five little firemen’.

I’d like to go up in a rocket ship

And some day very soon.

I’ll fly through space and touch the stars

As we sail to the moon.

I’ll eat my lunch with the man in the moon,

He’s a kind old man it’s said,

But when night comes I’ll sail right back

And sleep in my own little bed.

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