I have nothing personal against traditional nursery rhymes and children’s songs. My mother sings countless ones to my daughter, and she often goes to youtube to learn or re-learn more. We’ve probably learned them ourselves as children and paid little attention to the words then and now, but have you ever wondered about some of their dark undertones?
Even just taking them at face value is kind of frightening. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, And down will come baby, cradle and all. How does the baby land? Cushioned by some bushes? With a splat? Why did the woman who swallowed a fly have to die? What are three men doing in the tub (apparently original versions have it as three women)? Mice who were born blind also had to suffer the fate of dismemberment? Is Little Miss Muffett responsible for my irrational fear of spiders? Surely there must be more out there to expose my baby to!
Many nursery rhymes are actually parodies of royalty and political leaders of the day. It is thought that “Bloody” Mary I is referenced in both The Three Blind Mice and Mary Mary Quite Contrary, Georgie Porgie alludes to the sexual inclinations of King Charles I, Humpty Dumpty himself is represented as a canon during the English civil war, and Ring around the Rosie gestures to death by bubonic plague.
One of my favorite Futurama episodes ended with a tear-jerker and this sweet song, Little Bird, by Elizabeth Mitchell. So there are songs out there for us non-traditionalists!
Does anyone else out there have a guitar collecting dust from your college days? I’ve never thought about breaking it out to sing to my baby, but maybe it’s a great idea. Here are the chords and lyrics for Bluebird by Milkshake:
G D G
Bluebird, bluebird singing me a new song
G D G
Bluebird, Bluebird hello to you.
G D G
Red bird, red bird building up a new nest
G D G
Red bird, red bird hello to you.
C G
Hello to all the flowers in the garden
C G
Hello to all the fish in the pond
C G
Hello to all the trees in the forest
A7 D
Hello to you and me.
Ladybug, ladybug crawling on my finger
Ladybug, ladybug hello to you
Chipmunk, chipmunk chewing on a chestnut
Chipmunk, chipmunk hello to you
Hello to all the flowers in the garden
Hello to all the fish in the pond
Hello to all the trees in the forest
Hello to you and me.
Little friend, little friend coming out to play now
Little friend, little friend hello to you
Bluebird, bluebird singing me a new song
Bluebird, Bluebird hello to you.
Words & music by Lisa Mathews & Mikel Gehl
I’m not big on Bach or Mozart, especially the ones that sound like they were made with 90’s midi software, but movies like Goodbye Lenin and Amelie had great composers. Speaking of a throwback to midi files, there are dozens of Rockabye Baby albums available, covering everything from Bob Marley, to Led Zeppelin, to Kanye West and everything in between. I have friends who swear by the Rockabye Baby Pandora station to calm their babies down, which is where I discovered that Jewel still existed after she went from folksy to an attempt at pop.
Below are some of my favorite unsuspecting lullabies and child-friendly songs:
Little Bird by Elizabeth Mitchell
Bluebird by Milkshake
Milkshake Song by Old Town School Of Folk Music
The Heart Asks Pleasure First by Michael Nyman
Gymnopedies by Erik Satie
Comptine d’un autre été by Yann Tiersen
Dust in the Wind by Kansas
Castle on a Cloud, from Les Miserables
A dream is a wish your heart makes from Cinderella
Dream a Little Dream by The Mamas and Papas
Mr. Sandman by The Chordettes
My Favorite things by Julie Andrews
In my Room by Jewel
What are some of your favorite non-traditional songs for your kids?
pomegranate / 3779 posts
I also prefer other songs over traditional lullabies, but part of that is because I can’t remember the words to the lullabies. I sing The Riddle Song and Tell Me Why to my LO all the time.
kiwi / 511 posts
Take me out to the ball game. My Dad knew two songs (or so he claimed, he also said he couldn’t carry a tune if you put it in a brown paper bag) and he would sing either Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Take Me Out To the Ball Game.
When we got our oldest, my DH said he didn’t know any lullabyes, and my DH really like baseball, so I suggested Take Me Out to the Ballgame. It stuck and we use it for both boys now.
My sister used Baby Mine from Dumbo. And oddly if you look at the lyrics to Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child of mine they are actually pretty sweet if you, think of them as from a parent to a child. Not sure if I could pull it off a cappella though
guest
We use “Goodnight” by Laurie Berkner – it’s a favorite!
guest
I can’t wait to check these out! My little guy and I are also a fan of the Barenaked Ladies album, Snacktime. The music is a lot of fun to dance around to, without being too monotonous.
grapefruit / 4235 posts
L loves “I’ve been working on the railroad” (all of the verses), which is fun b/c my family is about 6 generations of railroaders.
Blackbird, Something, Here Comes The Sun…all favorite lullabies around here. Also, lately, “Rock around the clock” sang in “ba ba ba” instead of the actual words keeps him from being fussy at diaper changes. Who knew?
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
We have a playlist that we play every night at bedtime…two of my favorites are Always by Tony Lucca and Godspeed by the Dixie Chicks
coffee bean / 35 posts
I sang “Dites Moi” from South Pacific for a long time. Now that DS is a toddler, he always wants “Twinkle Twinkle” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and sings along with me. But we go to the Old Town School for music classes so we’re learning cool new songs all the time.
pomegranate / 3160 posts
Hell yeah to Jewel… I’m a fan of “You Were Meant for Me…” on repeat…over, and over again.
blogger / pomegranate / 3044 posts
My sister’s kids like Sheldon’s “soft kitty, warm kitty” from the big bang theory
kiwi / 689 posts
I sing “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess to LO every night. I used to sing Nick Cave’s “Into my arms” a lot too.
pear / 1693 posts
We sing the American Folk lullaby “didn’t leave nobody but the baby”. It’s beautiful, although kinda morbid…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D8YEgANLow
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
We have never been big on traditional lullabies over here. My hubby and I both made up our own little songs in our tired delirium when C was a newborn that we still sing today at nap and bed time.
guest
Oh my, these little tunes are to adore. Anything to entertain our sweet ones!
xo
grapefruit / 4120 posts
I love this Paul Simon lullaby SO HARD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTxCqbfreTA
This one too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymjuHYKh7d4
cherry / 110 posts
What a fun post! I love music. Singing is a must.
1.) I changed the words to Rock a bye baby. So instead of the last line being “And down will come baby cradle and all,” I sing, “And Mama will catch you cradle and all.”
2.) Musicals are a good source of fun songs.
“Edelweiss” and “My favorite things” from Sound of Music
“Tomorrow” from Annie
“Oh what a beautiful morning” from Oklahoma
“Don’t cry for me Argentina” from Evita. Yeah, the lyrics aren’t really kid-friendly, but I sang this during the days when nothing could get my baby to stop crying. I think I sang it more for me than for him.
3.) Some children’s songs aren’t bad.
“Old McDonald”
“Itsy Bitsy Spider”
“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”
“The Animal Fair”
“Row, row, row your boat”
“The Wheels on the Bus”
4.) Make up your own song!
I made up a song for brushing teeth. Just makes the dull ordeal more fun.
coconut / 8472 posts
I like to sing Landslide and Over the Rainbow to DS :).
guest
I agree with “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music. Also, I like “Blackbird” by the Beatles and “I Don’t Want to Live on the Moon” from Sesame Street.
guest
Over the Rainbow, Moon Moon Moon by Laurie Berkner, Oklahoma Sky by Miranda Lambert
apricot / 288 posts
I sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and my husband sings “Goodnight Sweetheart” and Billy Joel’s “Lullaby”. Sometimes he and I duet on his songs!
guest
Long before I got pregnant, I worked on a playlist of “lullabies” — quiet songs from artists I loved. “Your Song” by Elton John, “Sweet Afton” by Nickel Creek, “Goodnight my Angel” by Billy Joel, “Rainbow Connection” by the Muppets
clementine / 930 posts
I sing Somewhere over the Rainbow and the Alphabet a lot. Two of my favorite non-traditional songs are When You Come Back Down by Nickel Creek and I’m Thinking of You by Dierks Bentley. I actually have a print of the lyrics of the Dierks song on the dresser in DS’s nursery.
pomelo / 5820 posts
I sing Dosed by the Red Hot Chili Peppers a lot… I was always singing that while pregnant! I also sing Blackbird, Wouldn’t it be Nice and Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I also sing Part of Your World from the Little Mermaid just because it’s in my range and I know all the words
pea / 5 posts
Love music & love this post! Going to visit your songs soon for some ideas. we like Elizabeth Mitchell Pandora.
coffee bean / 40 posts
Also, “Stay Awake” from Mary Poppins
nectarine / 2936 posts
My dad sang us songs from westerns he watched as a kid.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
My mom would sing the traditional lullabies but she changed the words! I now do the same thing. I will sing Rockabye Baby but will sing, “when the bough breaks, the cradle with fall, but mama will catch you – cradle and all.”
I LOVE Elizabeth Mitchell – her music is so sweet