A Candle, a Candle Lyrics
A child getting ready for bed asks for a candle, a pillow and a blanket while the moon grows sleepy, the stars look down and a mother robin rocks her babies to rest.
A Candle, a Candle
A candle, a candle
To light me to bed;
A pillow, a pillow
To tuck up my head.
The moon is as sleepy as sleepy can be,
The stars are all pointing their fingers at me,
And Missus Hop-Robin, way up in her nest,
Is rocking her tired little babies to rest.
So give me a blanket
To tuck up my toes,
And a little soft pillow
To snuggle my nose.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/a-candle-a-candle/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Lullabies
- Written by
- Leroy F. Jackson
- Tune
- Soft and slow, with the voice getting quieter on each line
- Best for ages
- 2 to 6 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| A pillow, a pillow To tuck up my head | Lay both hands together beside your cheek, like a pillow. |
| The stars are all pointing their fingers at me | Point your fingers up and wiggle them like twinkling stars. |
| So give me a blanket To tuck up my toes | Wiggle your toes, then pull an imaginary blanket up to your chin. |
What Does A Candle, a Candle Mean?
The poem is a child's going-to-bed list. The first four lines ask for a candle to light the way to bed and a pillow for the head. Then the child looks outside: the moon is "as sleepy as sleepy can be", the stars "are all pointing their fingers", and Missus Hop-Robin, the poem's name for a mother robin, is rocking her tired babies to rest in the nest. One way to read the stars is that the whole sky seems to be saying it is bedtime. The last four lines come back indoors and ask for a blanket for the toes and a soft pillow for the nose.
The short lines around the middle rhyme bed with head and toes with nose, and the four long lines in the middle rhyme in pairs: be with me, and nest with rest.
History and Origin
The poem is from The Peter Patter Book of Nursery Rhymes by Leroy F. Jackson, which has a copyright line of 1918 from Rand McNally & Company. It is a bedtime verse for slowing down at the end of the day.
Learning Activities
- Bedtime list: ask the child what they ask for at bedtime and add each thing to a verse of their own.
- Light for bed: a candle is an old picture of bedtime. Use a torch or a battery tea light for the game, never a real flame.
- Tuck-in game: tuck a soft toy in with a blanket, from toes up to nose, while you say the last four lines.
- Nest talk: look at a picture of a bird on a nest and ask who is keeping the babies warm.