Hush, Hush, Hush, Hush! Lyrics
Only four lines long, this old lullaby asks for quiet while a parent dances the baby, and it is over before the baby can complain.
Hush, Hush, Hush, Hush!
Hush, hush, hush, hush!
And I dance mine own child,
And I dance mine own child,
Hush, hush, hush, hush!
More verses from the original
Hush, hush, hush, hush!
And I dance mine own child,
And I dance mine own child,
Hush, hush, hush, hush!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/hush-hush-hush-hush/
- Type
- Lullabies
- Tune
- Soft, rocking sing-song
- Best for ages
- Babies to 3 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Hush, hush, hush, hush! | Rock side to side, patting the baby's back on each hush. |
| And I dance mine own child | Sway in a slow circle around the room. |
What Does Hush, Hush, Hush, Hush! Mean?
To dance a child meant to bounce or dandle a baby on your knee or in your arms, so "I dance mine own child" is a parent promising to rock the baby while the room goes quiet. Each line is easy to sing on one or two notes. The repeated "hush" does the work: it sounds like a breath, it slows the rocking, and a tired baby can feel the pace drop.
Because the lines repeat, you can sing it over and over without needing to remember anything else, which is useful at three in the morning.
History and Origin
James Orchard Halliwell prints the lines in The Nursery Rhymes of England and marks them as taken from a comedy of 1603 called The Pleasant Comedy of Patient Grissell. That makes it one of the older rhymes in his collection with a date attached, from the time of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.
It was probably a song in the play rather than a rhyme made for a nursery, but the plain words suited parents, and it was kept as a baby verse. Halliwell does not say how it was sung, so the tune above is up to you.
Learning Activities
- Rocking pattern: keep the beat steady and sing it five times, a bit quieter each time.
- Dolls' bedtime: let an older child sing it to a doll or teddy before bed.
- Echo hush: whisper each hush and ask the child to copy.