10 Lullabies Every Parent Should Know

Contrary to popular belief you do not have to have a great singing voice to sing lullabies to your child.  Your child does not care how you sound, but how your singing makes them feel.  Hearing a loving voice raised in song is very soothing to a child.  Babies especially enjoy this because they don’t understand the words, but scientists have proven that babies respond in a positive way to singing.  That being said, do you know any lullabies?  I know you kind of know some, but do you know all of the words to them so that you can sing them and not end doing a lot of la, la, las in the middle?  You should sing even if you have to hum a few bars, but check out 10 lullabies every parent should know.

1. Brahms lullaby: This song has also been called Cradle Song. Originally from Germany this song is by Johannes Brahms, a famous composer. The song was created for the child of a friend.  A second verse was added much later.  This song was written in 1868. 
2. Twinkle, Twinkle: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star is probably the best known lullaby, but strangely has the most unknown additional verses.  Check out the lyrics on the link and find that there are actually 5 verses to this song.  This song started out as a poem written by Jane Taylor in 1805.  Music was added later. 
3. Kumbaya: This lullaby may seem to be in a foreign language, but it originated in South Carolina and is an African-American song from the 1930’s.  Translated it means, “Come by Here”.  It is a popular campfire song because it’s easy to sing and learn.  There are many verses to the song though that many people may not know.  The first one is, “Come by here my lord, come by here,” the second is “Someone’s cryin’ my lord, come by here,” and so on.  Click on the link for the full lyrics and melody.
4. Baa Baa Black Sheep: Also stemming from a rhyme or poem this song has its roots in the wool industry.  It is believed that the poem was written in 1744 and music was added to it sometime during the next century.  Albeit hard to find, there are 4 verses to this song.  The sheep verse that we all know, the second verse is about a hen having eggs, the third is about a cow having milk and the last is about a bee having honey.  For more information on this delightful lullaby check out the link.
5. London Bridge: I’m sure we’ve all heard this song a time or two.  Often it’s sung as part of a game.  The first verse is very well known, but there are actually 12 verses in all.  Apparently this song stemmed from a real bridge in London that kept falling down.  Many versions of the bridge were created over time and they kept falling down.  The song talks about making the bridge out of stone and rock, bricks and mortar, iron and steel, silver and gold and all of the reasons why those things won’t work. 
6. Irish Lullaby: Also known as Toora Loora Loora this Irish song was written by J. R. Shannon is 1913.  This song was probably best known when it was sung by Bing Crosby in his movie Going My Way. This movie probably predates many of us as it was out in 1944, but many subsequent renditions bring back that version of the song.
7. All the Pretty Little Horses: A beautiful yet sad song in its original form.  Black slaves used to sing this to the children of their masters that they were forced to care for instead of caring for their own children.  There are only a couple of verses to the song, but it has been changed over the years as times have changed.  The line about “bees and butterflies pickin’ at its eyes” was changed to fluttering round his eyes.  The reference to “the poor things crying for her mammy” was changed to mama.
8. Rock-a-bye Baby: We’ve all heard this song and probably all know the words since there are so few of them.  Rock-a-bye baby in the tree top, when the wind blows the cradle will rock, when the bough breaks the cradle will fall and down will come baby cradle and all.  A funny change in the lyrics was printed in The Real Mother Goose published in 1916 and talks about the cradle being green and the father’s a nobleman and mother’s a queen.
9. The Itsy Bitsy Spider: The origin of this cute little song is a bit sketchy.  From what I’ve been able to discern it was written in the early 1900’s or late 1800’s.  An adult version was included in a book called Camp and Camino in Lower California in 1910.  The modern day version is usually accompanied by finger motions to depict the spider climbing up and getting washed out.
10. Jesus Loves Me: This Christian song is sung by children around the world.  I’m not sure that many know that it has 6 verses.  If you are a Christian parent this is definitely one lullaby that you need to know.