The Rock-a-By Lady Lyrics
A gentle visitor creeps in at bedtime, carrying poppies, and each poppy holds a little dream: a drum, a sugar-plum, dolls, boats and fairies. All you have to do is close your eyes.
The Rock-a-By Lady
The Rock-a-By Lady from Hushaby street
Comes stealing; comes creeping;
The poppies they hang from her head to her feet,
And each hath a dream that is tiny and fleet:
She bringeth her poppies to you, my sweet,
When she findeth you sleeping!
There is one little dream of a beautiful drum,
"Rub-a-dub!" it goeth;
There is one little dream of a big sugar-plum,
And lo! thick and fast the other dreams come
Of popguns that bang, and tin tops that hum,
And a trumpet that bloweth!
And dollies peep out of those wee little dreams
With laughter and singing;
And boats go a-floating on silvery streams,
And the stars peek-a-boo with their own misty gleams,
And up, up, and up, where the Mother Moon beams,
The fairies go winging!
Would you dream all these dreams that are tiny and fleet?
They'll come to you sleeping;
So shut the two eyes that are weary, my sweet,
For the Rock-a-By Lady from Hushaby street,
With poppies that hang from her head to her feet,
Comes stealing; comes creeping.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-rock-a-by-lady/
- Type
- Lullabies
- Tune
- Spoken or sung lullaby
- Best for ages
- 1 to 7 years
What Does The Rock-a-By Lady Mean?
The Rock-a-By Lady is a made-up figure of sleep who lives on "Hushaby street". She carries poppies, flowers long linked with sleep in stories, and each one holds a dream that is "tiny and fleet", meaning quick. The dreams are a child's favorite things: a toy drum, a sugar-plum (a small sweet), tin tops, dolls, boats on silver streams and fairies flying up to the moon.
History and Origin
The poem is by Eugene Field (1850 to 1895), the American poet who also wrote "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod". It is collected in his Poems of Childhood, and its soft, swaying rhythm makes it a favorite to read aloud at bedtime.
Learning Activities
- Dream list: ask what dream your child would like the Rock-a-By Lady to bring.
- Slow reading: read it more quietly with each verse as your child settles.
- Draw the dreams: draw the drum, the boats and the fairies.