3 Eternal Lullabies That Parents Will Always Sing to Their Children

Some things never change. The wind will always rustle through the trees. The sun will always shine. And parents will always sing nursery rhyme lullabies to their children. It’s the way it always was and always will be. But which lullabies are the most timeless? Which will parents be cooing into the next millennium?

Here below, we wanted to explore three that answer that very question. A trio of offerings that parents will sing forever and ever. Indeed, these are three eternal lullabies that parents will always be singing to their children.

[RELATED: Behind the Meaning of the Catchy Nursery Rhyme “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt”]

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”

The lyrics for this sky-gazing song come from the English poet Jane Taylor. They were published in a book she wrote with her sister Ann in 1806. The poem “The Star” in the book Rhymes for the Nursery offered readers five stanzas. Today, it’s most often just the first that is sung to children. In the end, that stanza is something of a word of hope to children. To look further than their surroundings, to wonder and to even make a wish on that glinting, gleaming object high above the Earth. Indeed, the commonly known stanza begins,

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

“Hush, Little Baby”

Parents of young kids know sometimes you just have to hope making a deal with the little one will be enough for a little piece, quiet, and sleep. And that is the foundation for this nursery rhyme, in which a parent sings to their child, promising rewards. Today, it’s unclear the origin of the song, but it likely dates back to the late 1800s or early 1900s in the Southern United States. But no matter the origin, the result today is the same. And the lyrics read,

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word,
Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.

If that mockingbird don’t sing,
Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring.

If that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama’s gonna buy you a looking glass.

If that looking glass gets broke,
Mama’s gonna buy you a billy-goat.

If that billy-goat don’t pull,
Mama’s gonna buy you a cart and bull.

If that cart and bull turn over,
Mama’s gonna buy you a dog named Rover.

If that dog named Rover don’t bark,
Mama’s gonna buy you a horse and cart.

If that horse and cart fall down,
You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

“Rock-a-bye Baby”

As with so many traditional nursery rhymes, the origins of this one are disputed, too. But one explanation for this offering may be that an early English colonist observed Native women rocked their infants in cradles that were suspended from the branches of trees and did not touch the ground. Other attempts at discussing the origins include using the rhyme as a metaphor for trying to “climb too high” or to make fun of British royalty. Who knows? But the rhyme itself reads,

Rock a bye baby on 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.

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