Dolly Going to Sleep Lyrics
Bedtime for a doll: a nightgown and cap go on, a handkerchief becomes the blanket, and a lullaby of by-by follows. In the last verse morning comes, and the doll is woken for a little breakfast in a china cup.
Dolly Going to Sleep
There, go to sleep, Dolly, in mother's own lap;
I've put on your nightgown and neat little cap:
So sleep, pretty baby, and shut up your eye;
By-by, little Dolly, lie still and by-by.
Now I'll lay my clean handkerchief over your head,
And then you may think that my lap is your bed;
So hush, little dear, and be sure you don't cry;
By-by, little Dolly, lie still and by-by.
There, now it is morning, and time to get up;
I'll crumb you a mess in my own china cup:
Awake, little baby, and open your eye,
For now it is time to be done with by-by.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/dolly-going-to-sleep/
- Type
- Lullabies, Poems for Children
- Tune
- Soft and sing-song, a lullaby for the doll that wakes up brighter on the last verse
- Best for ages
- 2 to 6 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| So sleep, pretty baby, and shut up your eye | Hold a doll against your shoulder and rock it from side to side. |
| Now I'll lay my clean handkerchief over your head | Lay a small cloth over the doll as a blanket. |
| Awake, little baby, and open your eye | Lift the cloth and wake the doll with a soft tickle. |
What Does Dolly Going to Sleep Mean?
The poem lets a child practise being the grown-up. The speaker is a child playing at parent, using words a parent would use: the lap, the nightgown and cap, the by-by that means sleep. In the second verse a clean handkerchief stands in for a blanket, and the speaker says the lap will do for a bed.
The last verse is the morning. The speaker will crumb a mess in a china cup, which means crumbling bread into milk to make a small, soft helping of breakfast. Mess is an old word for a portion of food. The poem ends by telling the doll it is time to be done with by-by.
Doll play like this helps small children rehearse bedtime and morning, with all the soothing words in the right order.
History and Origin
The verse is from Songs for the Little Ones at Home, an anthology first gathered in 1884 and revised in 1911. The book gives no author for it.
Learning Activities
- Bedtime for a doll: use a doll or teddy, a small cloth blanket and a toy cup, and act the three verses in order.
- Swap roles: let the child be the one who is put to bed while a grown-up reads, then switch.
- Make the bed: fold a tea towel into a cradle and talk about what the doll needs to sleep well.
- Morning snack: in the last verse, give the doll a pretend cup and let the child say what is in it.