Winkum, Winkum Lyrics
A bedtime lullaby. The dew is falling, the chickens and birds are asleep, and the baby will soon join them, closing her eyes with only half a try.
Winkum, Winkum
Winkum, winkum, shut your eye,
Sweet, my baby, lullaby;
For the dew is falling soft,
Lights are flickering up aloft,
And the head-light's peeping over
Yonder hill-top capped with clover;
Chickens long have gone to rest,
Birds lie snug within their nest,
And my birdie soon will be
Sleeping with the chick-a-dee,
For with only half a try,
Winkum, winkum, shuts her eye.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/winkum-winkum/
- Type
- Lullabies
- Tune
- Spoken or sung lullaby
- Best for ages
- Newborn to 4 years
What Does Winkum, Winkum Mean?
Winkum, winkum is a sleepy, made-up word for closing the eyes, like wink. The poem paints a quiet evening: dew falling, a light peeping over the hill, chickens gone to roost and birds tucked into their nests. A chick-a-dee is a small, round songbird. The baby is the parent's own little bird, and by the last line her eyes are shut.
History and Origin
The lullaby comes from Mother Truth's Melodies by Mrs. E. P. Miller, an American kindergarten book first copyrighted in 1887. Its author set out to replace Mother Goose with sensible new rhymes, "Mother Truth" instead of Mother Goose.
Learning Activities
- Who is asleep? name the animals in the rhyme that are already asleep.
- Slow down: say each line a little more slowly and softly than the one before.
- Eye game: blink slowly on every winkum.