Parents! Songs to sing your kids to sleep with?

[Tomcat]

Hello, my name is Tomcat and I'm a newbie dad. I also predict that this post will be short-lived. I mean, how many SDMB's actually sing to their kids and hold discussions about it? Well, I guess we'll see...

My daughter is a daddy's girl, and seems to calm down a lot when I hold her. So that means I put her to sleep many times. I've been trying to sing to her, but I know no songs. Well, ok, maybe the first lines to a few. I generally just make things up and add a bunch of 'yeah's' and 'mmm-hhhmmmmmm's'

What songs do you sing? Where are the lyrics? How does the tune go? Should I avoid M. Manson songs?

-Tcat

[ivylass]

When my son was a baby, I used to be able to calm him down by singing "Black Velvet" by some Canadian singer.

I don't know why, but it worked.

[cher3]

My 3-year-old son likes "Silent Night," "Little Boy Blue," "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean," and, inexplicably, the title tune from "Hair." Daddy does that one.

[monster]

Well, I'm a dork, but I used to sing "Crazy" by Patsy Cline and "Cry to Me" by someone whose name escapes me, but the song is on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. I think any slow song that you like would be nice. Babies don't know the words, they just like the vibrations on your chest and the soothing voice.

[Ukulele Ike]

That old Appalachian folk favorite, "What'll We Do With the Baby-O?" (http://www.purelyrics.com/print.php?lyrics=amhwxynk)

That one always calms 'em down REAL fast.



(link repaired -- Uke)

[Eonwe]

What about that John Lennon lullabye song? It's a pretty little tune.

[WordMan]

Ah, Tomcat, here is the trick question:

Does your baby respond to rhythm?

If the answer is no, then any gentle song, coupled with some rocking if the baby responds to rocking, will do - okay, rocking involves rhythm, but not in a big way.

But if your daughter is a "she only goes to sleep in the car" or a "she goes to sleep when we put her bassinet on the dryer" kind of baby, then she is rhythm sensitive.

My son very much was, my daughter far less so. It really varies.

If the answer is yes, try this - hold the baby up against you with her head in the crook of your elbow, and your hand cradling her bum. Then sing a rhythmic song and lightly but firmly play the drums with both hands on her bottom.

Yeah, I know: Bongo Butt - Howard Stern would be *so* proud, but this isn't about porn, it's about getting the kid to sleep. Seriously - it works. I tended to sing "You've really got a hold on me" - slow but with a beat.

All right - get the kidding out of your system. But when you are a new dad, this stuff is critical!

[Profane]

I sing "Dream a Little Dream of Me" a lot. If only I sounded as good as Mama Cass. Its funny, I was singing it one night while my mom was visiting, and she told me she used to sing it to me when I was a baby too.

Whatever you choose to sing, make sure you like it. You will have to sing it over and over and over...

[fader]

I can't say that I've had kids before, but I do sit the kids for my sis a lot. She just gave me this For the Kids cd that has Sarah Mclaughlin, Remy Zero and Barenaked Ladies singing kids stuff. Very, very tame and sweet. I think you'll like it.

[Avalonian]

Weird, but the soft tones of Peter Gabriel's "Mercy Street" always worked for my girls. Maybe it was just that I could sing it without destroying it. *grin*

[MikeG]

Sit Down by the Fire (http://www.geocities.com/pogueslyrics) by The Pogues was always a favorite of mine at least till the kids were old enough to understand:)

[Tomcat]

I looked on amazon for the For the Kids CD...it releases Nov. 5, I'll try and pick it up then...

Thanks for the info, and keep 'em coming! I'll try spanking her Wordman, that'll teach her not to go to bed on time! ;) Joking of course. She is a rhythm child though...I'll try it.

[Rube E. Tewesday]

I've had very good luck with Dylan's Tangled up in Blue, followed if necessary by Simple Twist of Fate and If You See Her, Say Hello, all from the Blood on the Tracks album. Hell, buy the album...it often did the trick when I was tired of singing, or when the little guy was alone with my wife, who can't remember lyrics.

[shelbo]

Blackbird singing in the dead of the night . . .
Swing looow, sweeet, chariot . . . .
The old Lawrence Welk theme song: Good night, sleep tight, and pleasant dreams to you . . .
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
Almost any James Taylor song.
Almost any Cat Stevens song.

[Balance]

I don't have kids, but I sang to my niece and nephew when they were infants (which may be why their parents blame me for the weirdness of their offspring). I sang all sorts of odd things to them--anything gentle and/or rhythmic seemed to work for them. Some examples:

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
Eleanor Rigby
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (softly)
The Mingulay Boat Song (http://www.theshantyman.com/Lyrics/Mingulay%20Boat%20Song.htm) (The lyrics I learned were a bit different, but close enough.)
The Sailor's Prayer (http://crydee.sai.msu.ru/public/lyrics/cs-uwp/folk/s/sailors_prayer) (This should explain their parents' viewpoint.)

[Kyomara]

My Dad used to sing (to the tune of "I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover):

I'm looking over my dead dog Rover,
Who I overran with the mower.
One paw is missing, the other is gone,
The third paw is splattered all over the lawn.
The fourth remaining is overhanging
The back of the kitchen door.
I'm looking over my dead dog Rover,
Who I overran with the mower.

Never did much to put me to sleep, though. Then there was "The Other Day My Doggy Died."

Mom, on the other hand, used to sing "White corral bells upon a silver stalk" and "When my little ships come sailing home to me." That put me right out.

I also second the vote for Joh Lennon's "Good Night, Sleep Tight."

[Johnny L.A.]

Dammit, MikeG, I was going to post that!

Actually, I don't have kids and I've pretty much given up hope of ever having any. :(

[carnivorousplant]

Eleanor Rigby? Tabgled Up In Blues?
I thought I was gonna be subversive with Wagner's Seigfreid Idyll.
(Warning: may be too German for some children.)

Sleep little baby, sleep.
On the hill there are two sheep.
One is black and one is white.
anf if the little baby does not go to sleep,
the black one will give it a bite.

[InternetLegend]

Gee, and I thought I was the only parent in the world who knew so few actual lullabies that she had to resort to pop songs!

I used to sing Joni Mitchell's Morgantown and Circle Game, Neil Young's Sugar Mountain (as a companion piece), Wendell Gee and Good Advices (R.E.M.), This Must Be The Place (Talking Heads), and The Blood of Eden (Peter Gabriel) to my children when they were little. Nowadays, if I try to sing to them, they just roll their eyes.

[KarlGrenze]

You could also try inventing your own song...nothing difficult, it's a baby and unless you screech he/she won't mind. Worked for my grandparents and my parents when they were trying to make me sleep.

[Theobroma]

Your voice is enough. I used to sing Gilda Radner's "Let's Talk Dirty to the Animals", which he loved. My sister's eldest liked "He Plays the Violin" from "1776", and her youngest insisted on "Stars and Stripes Forever" sung by the whole family, with Pop-Pop on sax part, Mom on trombone part, Baba on clarinet part, and Yours Truly on piccolo.

Weird...but whatever works.

I also used to sing "Part of That World" or whatever it's called from "Little Mermaid"...the big advantage of that one is that I knew all the words at the time.

[TeaElle]

My daughter likes the lullaby that Billy Joel wrote for his daughter, Goodnight My Angel (http://www.leoslyrics.com/listlyrics.php?sid=3%14%40%1DO%5C%88%81) as well as a slow rendition of Elton John's Blessed (http://www.eltonography.com/songs/blessed.html) but her favorite is simply Rock-a-Bye Baby, with these lyrics:

Rock-a-bye baby
Here in my arms
Watching your sweetness
And all your charms
As the night breaks
The baby will lay
Safe in her cradle
Until the new day

[Doublemint]

My boys liked folk and traditional with a couple soundtrack tunes thrown in for zest. The big two are:
http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=392

http://www.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=8618

Warning: Lavender Blue is one of those songs that can go on and on and on forever. They like the 'dilly, dilly' part.

They also like the Beatles I Will, Golden Slumbers, and Blackbird.

[AbbySthrnAccent]

Hush Little Baby
Author and copyright unknown

Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird.

And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.

And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama's going to buy you a looking glass.

And if that looking glass gets broke,
Mama's going to buy you a billy goat.

And if that billy goat won't pull,
Mama's going to buy you a cart and bull.

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Mama's going to buy you a dog named Rover.

And if that dog named Rover won't bark,
Mama's going to buy you a horse and cart.

And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

[MamaHen]

Mostly I make up songs with my kids names in them. When I feel creative I sing them some Elton John songs or even the odd 70's AM soft rock hit. I always make sure I slide their name in somewhere.

[Lyllyan]

I routinely sang everything from the "Live Bullet" Album by Bob Segar. Or how about "Tiddly Winky"?

Tiddly winky winky winky
tiddly winky woo
I
love
you
Tiddly winky winky winky
Tiddly winky woo
Love
me
too.
I love you in the morning
and in the afternoon
I love you in the evening
and underneath the moon.
Tiddly winky winky winky
tiddly wink woo
I
love
you




Thank you, I'll be here all week. Don't foget to tip your waitress!

[kunilou]

This is not going to help one damn bit, but when my daughter was young, the song that calmed her down the most was the old NBC News theme written by John Williams and used in the early/mid 80s. We taped a long version of it and played it back whenever she was fussy.

You might just try humming something with a moderately fast beat and punctuate it now and then with "BOMP BAH" and similar horn-sounding things.

[ouisey]

My son always calmed down with monotonous hummings at a more or less low pitch. I think babies like the vibrations. An old Welsh tune called "The Eagle's Whislte" used to be a favorite.

Lyllyann, I know the song you're singing! but I sang with a "skidamarink a dink a dink, skidamarink a doo"

[plnnr]

Lilly, Queen of the Universe, has always liked "If You Will Marry Me"

I'll give to you a pacekt of pins
And that's the way our love begins
If you will marry me, me, me
If you will marry me

Add as many verses as you need.

[Gravity]

I often used to be the one to put my younger brother and sisters to sleep. I'd just sing any old thing that I knew the words to, from Puff the Magic Dragon and Veteran of the Psychic Wars, to You Don't Own me and Witch Wolf.

[MaxTheVool]

Originally posted by Theobroma
and her youngest insisted on "Stars and Stripes Forever" sung by the whole family, with Pop-Pop on sax part, Mom on trombone part, Baba on clarinet part, and Yours Truly on piccolo.

That's awesome and hilarious. Is there a recording floating around the web somewhere of this a capella masterpiece?

(I thought I was the only one who loved singing the piccolo part from the Stars and Stripes...)

[pendgwen]

This applies to slightly older children since I can actually remember these events. Dad only did 3 songs: Take Me Out To the Ballgame, I've Been Working On the Railroad, and a German song called Pferdchen, Pferdchen. None of them really lullabyes, but those were the options. Mom, being a singer, was more versatile and would sing just about anything I asked for. My favorites were the lullabyes from Mary Poppins.

[burundi]

When I was a young'un, my aunt used to sing me to sleep. There was one song with the chorus, "Inchworm, inchworm, measuring the marigolds." For years and years, I thought it was "measuring the miracles." Actually, that would be kind of a cool song, too.

I've always liked the Riddle Song, too:

I gave my love a cherry that had no stone
I gave my love a chicken that had no bone
I gave my love a ring that had no end
I gave my love a baby with no crying

How can there be a cherry that has no stone?
How can there be a chicken that has no bone?
How can there be a ring that has no end?
How can there be a baby with no crying?

A cherry when it's blooming, it has no stone
A chicken when it's pippin, it has no bone*
A ring when it's rolling, it has no end
A baby when she's sleeping has no crying

*I'm pretty sure this means when it's still in the egg.

[Opengrave]

Originally posted by Tomcat
Should I avoid M. Manson songs?No! Living up to every inch of my "Metal is in my blood" t-shirt I sang Black Sabbath's War Pigs and Heaven and Hell to my daughter while rocking her to sleep at each feeding. As she got older we progresses to actual CDs by Lacuna Coil and The Gathering. She doesn't like metal now that she is six but at least she can sing the responsive part to "Generals gathered in their masses...”. Remember to give the gift that keeps on giving... Black Sabbath

In my experience it is your voice that actually soothes them so song lyrics, the alphabet, the periodic table, ingredients from a cereal box, or the platform of the Popular People’s Front of Judea would all work equally well. Good luck and good rest!

NP: Dark Tranquility – Damage Done

[grayhairedmomma]

Don't laugh.

I sung christmas carols, Walking in a Winter Wonderland most often. (Still do sometimes when she's feeling really tired and isn't convinced she needs to go to sleep) I also sang You are my sunshine which really made her happy when she grew old enough to understand the words.

Also I made up a song with her name that she loves. She'll come cuddle with me and behave better if I sing it a couple times even now.

I know a little girl,
her name is Aleisha*,
Aleisha Marie.
She is so smart and so sweet
And she's getting sleepy
Repeat ad finitum

It isn't very creative, I know.
*pronounce like Alee-sha


I recommend picking one or three songs you're really comfortable singing and sticking with them. Part of what makes them work is the familiarity - they become conditioned to being sleepy or comforted when hearing those songs in that context.

[grayhairedmomma]

I forgot about these.

My mom used to sing this to me and I have sung it occassionally to my daughter:

Where are you going my little one, pretty one
Where are you going my baby, my own?
Turn around you're a baby,
Turn around and you're four
Turn around you're a young girl walking out of the door

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you,
Where are you going to
Do you know?
Did you get what you're hoping for
When you look behind you there's no open door
What are you hoping for
Do you know?

I've heard this sung by Diana Ross and I think it's just beautiful, especially the strings on the track.

Also, there is a book called I'll Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0920668364/qid=1034284315/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-2927304-5189650), about this woman and her son. The song that she sings to him that he eventually sings to her when she gets old and then to his newborn daughter is this:

I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be

It is a really sweet book.

[Katisha]

Originally posted by burundi
*I'm pretty sure this means when it's still in the egg.

That's exactly what it means. (In the fifteenth-century lyric the song is based on, the line is "Whan the dowve is an ey [egg], than hadde it no bon.")

My mom used to sing us vaguely depressing tunes like "Scarlet Ribbons" and "Love Makes the World Go Round" and something that starts "Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine..." I'm feeling rather melancholy just thinking about it. Not sure why.

I had an English teacher once who confessed to the class (during a unit on traditional balladry) that he used to sing his daughter to sleep with "Mary Hamilton." This is a song about a Scottish lady-in-waiting who's hanged for infanticide. :eek: (It's a great song, though...)

[OpalCat]

Baby's Fishing For A Dream

All Aboard for Blanket Bay

[Pábitel]

The lullaby that my daughter liked the best was the one from Disney's Tarzan. It was written by Elton John I think. The first line goes, "Come stop your cryin' it'll be alright"

When she was really small I would sing whatever I could remember at 2 am including "The Lumberjack Song" and Oscar Myer comercial jingles.

The important thing to remember when you are trying to get a little one to sleep is that you need to respond to your child's actions as you sing them to sleep. When you first start it is often good to sing spritely and bounce gently. That sort of gets their attention and they get into the singing. Then when you see that you have their attention calm it down a little. Then as they put their head down, blinks start getting longer and longer, etc. you start lowering your voice and having gentler movements. And so on.

Singing a little one to sleep works best when it is an interactive process like that.

As you and your child get to know each other you will begin to see what works best for them. Just remember to not just sing the song as you are used to hearing it. When they get distracted you can really swing rock-a-by-baby to get their attention back on you and when they are dropping off "my Bologna Has a First Name" becomes a ballad.

Good Luck and Enjoy.

[Mycroft Holmes]

A dad of two strappin' lads speaking here. My kids always fell asleep when I would sing 'My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean'. There's a nice page with the lyrics and the melody at http://www.duchessathome.com/childrensongs/mybonnie.html

Another favourite (puts them straight to sleep) was Tom Dooley:

INTRO (spoken):
Throughout history, there've been many songs written about the eternal triangle. This next one tells the story of a Mr. Grayson, a beautiful woman, and a condemned man named Tom Dooley...
When the sun rises tomorrow, Tom Dooley... must hang...

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head and cry;
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.

I met her on the mountain,
There I took her life;
Met her on the mountain,
Stabbed her with my knife.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head and cry;
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.

This time tomorrow,
Reckon where I'll be;
Hadn't a-been for Grayson,
I'd a-been in Tennessee.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head and cry;
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head and cry;
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.

This time tomorrow,
Reckon where I'll be;
Down in some lonesome valley,
Hangin' from a white oak tree.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head and cry;
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Hang down your head and cry;
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,
Poor boy, you're bound to die.

Poor boy, you're bound to die;
Poor boy you're bound to die;
Poor boy, you're bound to die...

[Scotticher]

I have no children of my own, to my eternal regret, but my sister had her first baby when I was eight so I sort of grew up "babysitting" and these are the songs I sang to all the various darlings in my life.

"Hush-A-Bye" by Peter Paul and Mary

"Puff The Magic Dragon" PPM

"Loch Lomand"

"Danny Boy"

"Don't Worry Baby" by The Beach Boys

And for the current crop of darlings, I also sing these newer songs.

"Child of Mine" Carole King

"Baby Mine" Bette Midler (I think)

"I Hope You Dance" Leeanne Womack

"You'll Be In My Heart" (mentioned by Degrance, the one from the Tarzan movie)

There are also two I sing from "The Lion King" movie...can't remember the names right now, but both were also written by Elton John.


Actually, any song you know the words to works so long as you sing it softly and....what Degrance said.

[jsc1953]

The first time I was called upon to sing my daughter to sleep, the first lullaby that came to mind was "Lullaby of Broadway", from the Busby Berkeley movie Golddiggers of 1935. And thus a tradition was born.

C'mon along and listen to
The lullaby of broadway
The hip hooray and ballyhoo
The lullaby of broadway

....

When a Broadway baby says goodnight
It's early in the mornin'
Manhattan babies don't sleep tight
Until the dawn

Good night, baby, good night
Let's call it a day
Sleep tight, baby, sleep tight
The milkman's on his way.


But I was never asked to tap dance while singing it.

[bibliophile]

Although I don't have kids of my own, I cleary remember my mom rocking us to sleep humming the Candian national anthem. She was a huge hockey fan.

[bibliophile]

Although I don't have kids of my own, I clearly remember my mom rocking us to sleep humming the Candian national anthem. She was a huge hockey fan.

[Dolores Reborn]

The one song I recall singing the most was "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. I also sang Beatles tunes, and lots of Eagles. Everyone has told you great advice---it's not the song so much as the vibrations and the rhythmic rocking. And being close to daddy or mommy...

[Ranchoth]

Well, when my Sister was a baby, my Mom would put on a tape of U.S. Marine Corps cadences. It always worked like a charm. Eventually, we even started putting the tape in a Teddy Ruxpin. (Anyone remember him?) So occasionally you'd see my little sister, dozing away with a smile on her face, while a cute robotic teddy bear sang in the background...

"I wanna be a Drill Instructor,
I wanna wear my Smokey Bear"

"I wanna be a Drill Instructor,
I'm gonna cut off all of my hair"

Here's (http://web.archive.org/web/20011127074432/http://www.marinecorps.com/Cadences) a page of sample lyrics. Though I don't know how easy it'd be to find a recording of them in the Czech Republic.

Ranchoth
("Lo righty left!")

[80sHairMetalMaven]

Being a huge disney fan,the words to the song from "Tarzan" are as follows:
Come stop your cryin',it'll be alright
Just take my hand,hold it tight
I will protect you from all around you
I will be here don't you cry
You'll be in my heart,no matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart,always
Always......

WHen I used to babysit kids,I found that "Me and Bobby McGee" by Janis Joplin was one that usually put them to sleep.
That or "Baby Mine" from "Dumbo"

Baby mine,dry your eyes
Baby mine,don't you cry
Let those eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear,baby of mine
Little one,when you play
Don't you mind what they say
Let those eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear,baby of mine
If they knew sweet little you
They'd end up lovin' you too
All those same people who scolded you
What they'd give just for the right to hold you
From your head down to your toes
You're not much,goodness knows
But you're so precious to me
Sweet as can be,baby of mine

With my little sister,"A dream is a wish your heart makes" from "Cinderella' also seemed to do the trick

A dream is a wish your heart makes,when you're fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartache,whatever you wish for you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday,your rainbow will come smiling through
Don't let your heart be filled with sorrow,for all you know tomorrow the dream that you wished will come true
A dream is a wish your heart makes,when you're feeling small
Alone in the night you whisper,thinking no-one can hear you at all
You wake with the morning sunlight,to find fortune has smiled on you
No matter how your heart is grieving,if you keep on believing,the dream that you wished will come true

[irishgirl]

my father sang us 3 songs...

Last train to San Fernando
(if you miss this one, there'll never be another one
bid i bid i bum bum to San Fernando)

Patsy Fagin
"Hello Patsy Fagin, you're the apple of my eye
Hello Patsy Fagin, you can hear the girls all cry,
you're a daycent boy from ireland, that no-one can deny
you're a harum scarum divil me carum
daycent irish boy"

My brother Silveste
"oh, my brother Silveste
(what's he got)
a row of 40 medals on his chest
(big chest)
takes all the army and the navy
to blow the wind from Silveste"
repeat ad infinitum


which were about as random as it gets.

my mother, on the other hand sang "Abide with me"
and
"where have all the flowers gone"


i suggest somewhere in the middle, although dad's one's made us laugh and have botty-tapping possibilities as far as rythm goes!

[NoClueBoy]

"Hey Man, Nice Shot" by Filter

works best if one parent 'air' guitars (with appropriate music noises) while the other screams out the lyrics. Both have to thrash around a lot.

puts my kids to sleep without any Kafka dreams

:D

[Ellen Cherry]

Don't laugh.
I sung christmas carols, Walking in a Winter Wonderland most often. (Still do sometimes when she's feeling really tired and isn't convinced she needs to go to sleep)

I won't laugh, mornea, because I have spent every night for the last three years of my life singing Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland to my son, who is now 5. It's the leadoff in a group of songs distilled from my vast repertoire of mostly showtunes! LOL But every night, it's the same thing, Sleigh bells ring, are ya listenin' ...

The other must-haves are as follows:
* Eidleweiss from The Sound of Music;
* My Old Kentucky Home (which logically follows the nationalism of Eidelweiss, at least to a sleepy singing mama);
* Somewhere Over the Rainbow (optional with son, a must-have for daughter); and finally
* Surry with the Fringe on Top from Oklahoma. It's got a great perky start but ends up slow and lullabye-like. It's a good thing I like these songs since I've sung them thousands and thousands of times!

[Roadwalker]

Another vote for Blackbird.
I also sing Why Worry, by Dire Straits and
The Lion Sleeps tonight.
Congratulations on your new child.

[Badtz Maru]

I used to sing 'Silent Night' and The Butthole Surfer's 'The Wooden Song' to a friend's babies to make them fall asleep.

[Giselle]

Here's another vote for "Blackbird."

I'm just sixteen, so I don't have children quite yet [and for that i am thankful] but when I babysit and have to put the kids to bed I generally sing folk songs.

One of my favourites is "The Water is Wide," especially the third verse --


A ship there is, and she sails the sea
She's loaded deep as deep can be
But not so deep as the love I'm in
I know not if I sink or swim


-- and I'm also quite partial to the finale from Les Miserables --


Take my hand, I'll lead you to salvation
Take my love, for love is everlasting
And remember, the truth that once was spoken --
To love another person is to see the face of God

[The Asbestos Mango]

I don't have kids, but when the boxmen at the Horseshoe annoy me, I put them under by singing Gypsy's Evil Superconsciousness Lullabye from MST3K-

Close your eyes, go to sleep,
be absorbed by the collective
Let the Evil Superconsciousness
swallow you whole...



You can give this one a pass if you live in Sunnydale, CA.

[dangermom]

Favorites include

Lavender's blue
Believe me if all those endearing young charms
Away in a manger

[Bomzaway]

Another vote for Silent Night. If hummed while holding the child to your chest, I think the deep, sustained hums are soothing and help induce sleep.

[Mtgman]

My kids enjoy "Edelweiss", "Castle on a Cloud", "Feed the Birds"(from Mary Poppins), "Some Enchanted Evening" and a few dozen others at bedtime. When we're feeling rowdy they really enjoy "Allstar" by Smash Mouth.

The baby, five months old, likes classical music and some showtunes. Seems to hate the Beatles though. Tried singing "Hey Jude" to her and she just about had a fit. Similar reaction to "Eleanor Rigby".

Enjoy,
Steven

[miamouse]

Ditto for all the holiday songs. "The wheels on the bus", "Brush your teeth", "Elmo's song" (although that last one really get annoying, I only do it by request)

Also:
There were ten in the bed,
and the little one said,
roll over, roll over
So they all rolled over and one fell out,

There were nine in the bed,
and the little one said.....
(repeat counting down each verse to two)

There were two in the bed,
and the little one said,
roll over, roll over
So they all rolled over and one fell out,
There was one in the bed,
and the little one said GOODNIGHT!

That one and some childhood hand game songs:
Miss Mary Mack
Miss Lucy
Three Little Devils

Usually while patting them on the heinie.

[Ceejaytee]

We sing songs we made up, which are very repetitious, DoReMi and My Favorite Things from the Sound of Music, Frere Jacques (sp), Rock a Bye Baby, Frosty the Snowman (we call it Spongy the Penguin after one of his toys). If you forget words, lalalalala usually works just fine, especially if they're really young.