Lullaby, Oh, Lullaby! Lyrics
A bedtime poem with a refrain that comes back five times. Between the refrains the flowers are closed, the lambs are sleeping, stars are up, the moon is peeping and the birds are quiet, all leading to "Sleep, my baby, fall a-sleeping". Nine lines by Christina Rossetti.
Lullaby, Oh, Lullaby!
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Flowers are closed and lambs are sleeping;
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Stars are up, the moon is peeping;
Lullaby, oh, lullaby
While the birds are silence keeping,
(Lullaby, oh, lullaby!)
Sleep, my baby, fall a-sleeping,
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/lullaby-oh-lullaby/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Lullabies, Rhymes for Babies
- Written by
- Christina Rossetti
- Tune
- Slow and rocking, each 'Lullaby, oh, lullaby' sung on the same falling tune
- Best for ages
- 0 to 4 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Lullaby, oh, lullaby! | Rock a baby, a doll or your own arms from side to side. |
| Flowers are closed | Slowly close your hand into a fist, like a flower at night. |
| Stars are up, the moon is peeping | Hold up open fingers for stars and peek one eye round a hand for the moon. |
What Does Lullaby, Oh, Lullaby! Mean?
The refrain, Lullaby, oh, lullaby, is the first line, the third, the fifth, the seventh (in brackets) and the ninth. Between them are four lines that each name a quiet thing: the flowers are closed, the lambs are sleeping, the stars are out and the moon is peeping, which means showing a little at a time, and the birds are "silence keeping", meaning they are not singing. Everything in the garden has gone still.
The last line before the final refrain turns to the baby: Sleep, my baby, fall a-sleeping. The a- in a-sleeping is an old way of saying that something is in progress, so it means be sleeping, slowly drifting off. The words sleeping, peeping and keeping end the lines in a row, so the poem sounds like rocking.
One of the refrains is printed in brackets, which makes it feel like an echo of the one before. A parent can sing it softer, or sing it to the baby on the way down to sleep.
History and Origin
Rossetti's Sing-Song, which first appeared in 1872, includes cradle songs, and this one fits a whole quiet evening into nine plain lines. Its refrain is what makes it a lullaby: the same words come back again and again, as they do when a baby is rocked.
No tune is printed with the poem, so a family can sing it to a melody of its own, or simply say it in a low, slow voice.
Learning Activities
- Hum it: hum a slow two-note tune and fit 'Lullaby, oh, lullaby' to it, then say the other lines in between.
- Quiet everything: go round the room and 'put to sleep' the toys one by one, using the lines of the poem.
- Louder, softer: sing each refrain a little quieter than the one before, down to a whisper.
- Night sky picture: stick paper stars and a moon on dark paper, and read the poem over it.