Croodlin' Doo Lyrics
A parent pretends to search everywhere for the baby, asking a bee, a lamb and a fairy for help, then finds the little one and rocks them off to sleep.
Croodlin' Doo
Ho, pretty bee, did you see my croodlin' doo?
Ho, little lamb, is she jinkin' on the lea?
Ho, bonnie fairy, bring my dearie back to me,
Got a lump o' sugar an' a posie for you,
Only bring me back my wee, wee croodlin' doo!
Why! here you are, my little croodlin' doo!
Looked in er cradle, but didn't find you there,
Looked f'r my wee, wee croodlin' doo ever'where;
B'en kind lonesome all er day withouten you,
Where you be'n, my teeny, wee, wee croodlin' doo?
Now you go balow, my little croodlin' doo;
Now you go rockaby ever so far,
Rockaby, rockaby up to the star
That's winkin' an' blinkin' an' singin' to you,
As you go balow, my wee, wee croodlin' doo!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/croodlin-doo/
- Type
- Lullabies
- Tune
- Spoken or sung lullaby
- Best for ages
- Newborn to 4 years
What Does Croodlin' Doo Mean?
A croodlin' doo is a cooing dove: croodle is an old Scots word for coo, and doo means dove. It is a pet name for the baby. Jinkin' on the lea means darting about on the meadow. In the last verse, balow is an old Scottish lullaby word, a bit like hush, and the baby is rocked "up to the star" to sleep.
History and Origin
The American poet Eugene Field wrote the poem, and it was collected in his Poems of Childhood, published in 1904 with pictures by Maxfield Parrish. Field also wrote the well-known lullaby Wynken, Blynken and Nod.
Learning Activities
- Hide and seek: act out the first verse by pretending you cannot find your child.
- Animal helpers: ask a toy bee and lamb where the baby is.
- Rock to sleep: say the last verse slowly while rocking.