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The Lullabies of Europe

English lullabies

Hear samples of lullabies in English, follow the words, sing along and understand in English. You will find the audio samples below, with the lyrics. More about English Lullabies

Twinkle twinkle little star (lyrics below)

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Lavender's blue

Scottish Lullaby

By Baby Bunting

Hush, little baby

Twinkle twinkle little star

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Lavender's blue

Sample (MP3)

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender's green
When I am King, dilly dilly,
you shall be Queen

Call up your man, dilly, dilly
Set them to work
Some to the plough, dilly dilly,
Some to the fork

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender's green
When you are King, dilly dilly,
I shall be Queen

Call up your man, dilly, dilly
Set them to work
Some to the plough, dilly dilly,
Some to the fork.

Lavender's blue,
Lavender's green
When I am King, dilly, dilly,
you shall be Queen

Lavender's blue,
Lavender's green
When I am King, dilly, dilly,
you shall be Queen.

Lavender’s blue is a traditional song used as a lullaby. It is not known by whom it was written or when, but it dates back to at least the 1680s.
Like many lullabies it has probably been passed down through generations and has changed over time. An alternative opening is Lavender‘s blue, dilly dilly, rosemary’s green.

By Baby Bunting

Sample (MP3)

Bye baby bunting
Daddy’s gone a hunting
Gone to get a rabbit skin
To wrap his baby bunting in

In old English, cradle songs were called Byssinge, the prefix by meaning slumber. This joyous little song is as old as English nursery rhymes. English mothers have sung it to their babies and it is familiar wherever the English language is spoken. The melody has come through the years unchanged. As in the case of lullabies of many other lands, the promise of a reward for good behaviour is offered to the child. In current English the word bunting may refer to a kind of bird or o a soft, thick cloth. Or it may often be simply a term of endearment.

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Hush, little baby

Sample (MP3)

Hush, little baby, don't say a word.
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird

And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring

And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass

And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat

And if that billy goat won't pull,
Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Papa's gonna buy you a dog named Rover

And if that dog named Rover won’t bark,
Papa’s gonna buy a horse and cart.

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

This is another traditional lullaby and again we do not know who wrote it or when, although it is thought to be American (mockingbirds are from the American continent). The lyrics promise all kind of rewards to the child if he or she is quiet.

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Twinkle twinkle little star

Sample (MP3)

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
how I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
how I wonder what you are

This is one of the most popular English nursery rhymes. It combines the tune of the 1761 French melody ‘Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman’ with an English poem, ‘The Star’ by Jane Taylor. The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in Rhymes for the Nursery, a collection of poems by Taylor and her sister Ann. The English lyrics have five verses, although only the first is widely known.
Mozart wrote twelve variations on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little star, listed as Variations on ‘Ah! Vous dirai-je, Maman’.

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Scottish Lullaby

Sample (MP3)

Ho-ro-ro, hi-ri-ri
Sleep until dawn

Oh, hush thee, my baby,
Thy sire was a knight,
Thy mother a lady,
Both lovely and bright;
The woods and the glens,
From the towers which we see,
They all are belonging,
Dear baby, to thee.
Oh, hush thee, my baby,
Thy sire was a knight,
Oh, hush thee, my baby,
So bonnie and bright.

Ho-ro-ro, hi-ri-ri
Sleep until dawn

Oh, fear not the bugle,
Tho' loudly it blows,
It calls but the warders
That guard thy repose;
Their bows would be bended,
Their blades would be red,
Ere the step of a foeman
Draws near to thy bed.
Oh, hush thee, my baby,
Thy sire was a knight,
Oh, hush thee, my baby,
So bonnie, so bright.

Ho-ro-ro, hi-ri-ri
Sleep until dawn

From the proud clans of the Scottish Highlands comes this traditional melody. Only the air Cdul gu lo (Sleep on till dawn) and not the original Scottish verses were used when a dramatization of Sir Walter Scott’s Guy Mannering was presented. For this, Sir Walter Scott composed the verses ‘Lullaby for an Infant Child’.

The history of the Highlands and the interminable wars by which the clans were able to reserve their hard-won independence against overwhelming odds are evoked in this first song for an infant. The dream is of the trumpet and the ideal is manhood. The lines of this lullaby are familiar to English speakers as a nursery rhyme. They are a curtailed version of Sir Walter Scott’s verses.

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