Sun, Moon, and Stars Lyrics
Three verses, one for each shining thing in the sky. The moon is fair and bright, the stars come out a few at a time until there are too many to count, and the sun is so bright that you have to shut your eyes to look his way.
Sun, Moon, and Stars
The moon is very fair and bright,
And seems so very high;
I think it is a pretty sight
To see it in the sky:
It shone upon me as I lay
Until 'twas almost bright as day.
The stars are very pretty, too,
And scattered all about;
At first there seems a very few,
But soon the rest come out:
I'm sure I could not count them all,
They are so very bright and small.
The sun is brighter still than they,
He blazes in the skies;
I dare not turn my face that way,
Unless I shut my eyes:
Yet when he shines our hearts revive,
And all the trees rejoice and thrive.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/sun-moon-and-stars/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Tune
- An easy, even tune, with a hush for the stars and a bright lift for the sun
- Best for ages
- 3 to 6 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| The moon is very fair and bright, | Make a big circle with both arms above your head. |
| They are so very bright and small. | Open and close your fingers like twinkling stars. |
What Does Sun, Moon, and Stars Mean?
The rhyme goes through the sky in the order a child sees it at night and then in the morning. First is the moon, fair and bright, which here means lovely, and it shone on the speaker as they lay in bed until 'twas almost bright as day. Then come the stars, scattered all about. The second verse has a true observation in it: at first there seem to be very few, but soon the rest come out, which is just how stars appear as the sky gets darker.
The last verse is the sun, brighter still. The speaker dare[s] not turn my face that way, unless I shut my eyes, and that is good advice for any child, since looking straight at the sun can hurt the eyes. But the sun also warms things up: our hearts revive, which means we feel fresh and cheerful, and all the trees rejoice and thrive. Pairs of lines rhyme, such as high with sky and about with out.
History and Origin
The verses are taken from a collection of songs for small children compiled by Mary O. Ward (first made in 1884, revised in 1911). The original has one more verse after the sun, a closing verse with a lesson, which is not included here.
Learning Activities
- Count the stars: on a clear evening, count the stars you can see as the sky darkens, and count again ten minutes later.
- Draw the three: fold a paper in three and draw the moon, the stars and the sun, one in each part.
- Sun safety: talk about why we do not look straight at the sun, and try on a sun hat or sunglasses.
- Moon diary: look for the moon each evening for a week and draw its shape each time.