Potential Lullabies (Grunge Works, Right?)

Did you sing lullabies to your babies?

Awe, it's baby Brandon "Look at me sitting here being all sweet" Lee and Annie "I'm going to cry until I get my juice" Joy! Let's hope for another Brandon..

I have been thinking a lot about singing our baby to sleep and what lullabies I already know--come to find out, I don't know many. I mean, I guess I know Hush Little Baby and Rock-a-bye Baby but I don't necessarily want to sing those every night (I also know Baby Mine from Dumbo but I don't want to think about that right now).

I was trying to remember lullabies my mom used to sing to me when I was little and the first one that came to mind is Poor Babes in the Woods--it's a song that's been passed down through generations in our family and one that makes me want to cry every time I sing it. If you're not familiar with the tune, here are the lyrics:

Oh don't you remember

a long time ago,

those poor little babes

Whose names I don’t know,
Were stolen away
On a bright summers day,
And lost in the woods,
I’ve heard people say.

And when it was night,
So sad was their plight.
The sun, it went down,
And the moon gave no light.
They sobbed and they sighed,
And they bitterly cried,
Those poor little babes 
They laid down and died.

And when they were dead,
The robin, so red,
Brought strawberry leaves,
And over them spread.
And all the day long
He sang them this song:
Oh don't you remember those babes in the woods!

Reading over those lyrics gives me a huge sense of nostalgia/comfort/bitter sadness (those poor, poor babes in the woods..). I still fully intend to sing this to my children and hope they continue to pass it down but I still need more to sing! So I started thinking about the words to some of my favorite songs and thought "huh, maybe these wouldn't make bad lullabies!"

Here is a list of ten of my favorite songs that I think will make good nighttime lullabies (and yes, I'm being serious. Don't judge until you listen!)

Stone Temple Pilots-Pretty Penny

Nirvana-Plateau

Sheryl Crow-Riverwide

The Smashing Pumpkins-For Martha

G. Love and Special Sauce-Soft and Sweet

Alice in Chains-Don't Follow

The Dandy Warhols-Holding Me Up

Jimi Hendrix-Catles Made of Sand

The Velvet Underground-Oh! Sweet Nuthin'

 

Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi (feat. Norah Jones)-Black

As you can see/hear, these are all pretty mellow, acoustic sounding songs that I think will soothe the baby.

I'm saving the good stuff (Smells Like Teen Spirit, Art School Girl, Sea of Sorrow) for when the baby is older.