"Borrowed" Lullabies

Ah... the lazy, hazy days of summer.... perfect time to check in on how all your lullaby-singing is going out there?? Are you spending a few minutes at the end of your child's day in sweet words and song?

A good point to make is that children sleep peacefully when they are prepared well for it. You're all working or have worked hard on getting your little darlings to sleep well, I'm sure...

But... if helpful for any of you, here are some suggestions for nighttime routines:

Pick a bedtime and stick to it (I know... it's summertime... bedtime is a bit more flexible... but not too flexible!)
Have a getting-ready-for-bed routine... Like: Take bath, brush teeth,  drink water, read story, sing lullaby, lay down. Goodnight.
When they are prepared lovingly for bed, it makes their sleep that much sweeter.

Although... they don't always stay in bed.... One of our favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan, in one of his stand-up routines, describes getting a young child to stay in bed is like a reverse hostage scenario: "I'll give you whatever you want, just STAY IN THERE!!!!"


Anyway - my point today is (if you're already confused, as I am), keep that lullaby in your routine! Every night, three times a week, once a week - just keep it there! It does a world of good for your child to be comforted by the singing sweetness of your voice and to drift off to sleep with a melody in his/her head.

Don't just resort to turning on a CD of lullabies... yes, those are nice also. But, think if you were a child, you may prefer the tangible love of your parent to just the mechanical presence of a CD.

Here are two lovely lullabies "borrowed" from other traditions:

I.   "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" 
This is an American Negro Spiritual from the late 1800's, ascribed to W. Willis, who was a freed slave. He was inspired by the story in the Bible of Elijah being taken away to heaven in a chariot, and the song may also have ties to Harriet Tubman's work, as many looked to being freed by the "chariot" of the underground railroad.

Text: (This is a sampling, as there are several verses)
Chorus: 
Swing low, sweet chariot,
coming for to carry me home;
Swing low, sweet chariot,
coming for to carry me home.

I looked over Jordan, what did I see?
coming for to carry me home;
A band of angels coming for me;
coming for to carry me home.
Chorus

Sometimes I'm up, sometimes I'm down

coming for to carry me home; 

But still my soul is heaven bound
coming for to carry me home.

Chorus

Here's the melody in good 'ole gospel style by Etta James (a bit faster than you might sing it for a lullaby, but fun nonetheless): Click Here!


II.  "Numi, Numi" (Hebrew Lullaby) 
This is a beautiful song and the real "Numi, Numi" (Sleep, Sleep) is all in Hebrew, which is a bit of a challenge for me...  So, I keep "Numi, Numi" and then add English words - roughly like this:

Numi, Numi, Little Baby,
Numi, Numi, nim
Numi, Numi, Little One,
Numi, Numi, nim.

Daddy's gone to work,
He went, Daddy went,
He'll come when the moon comes out,
and bring you a gift.

 Numi, Numi, Little Baby,

Numi, Numi, nim

Numi, Numi, Little One, 

Numi, Numi, nim. 

etc...

For the melody: Click Here!

There are other verses, or you can just create your own.
The melody is too beautiful to pass up though! (P.S. It's on itunes - in the album "From generation to generation: A Legacy of Lullabies by T. Solnik. I've been wanting to check this album out!)

Keep loving on those babies!