Who Wrote the Traditional Lullaby, “Hush, Little Baby”?

New parents: what would you do to get your child from crying? You’d likely do just about anything—get them a diamond ring, a mockingbird as a pet—anything for a moment’s peace. Well, then, if you understand that plight, you understand the root of the lullaby “Hush, Little Baby.”

But who wrote it and what’s the history behind the song? Let’s dive in to find out.

Who Wrote “Hush Little Baby?”

Thought to have an origin in the Southern United States, the nursery rhyme’s lyrics are all about appeasing a crying child. The lyrics are written from the point of view of the whisper-singing mother, who offers gift after gift to her baby.

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With each stanza, the mother offers a new gift to her baby, each one something of a contingency plan if the one prior goes badly. If, say, the diamond ring turns “brass,” then she will replace it with something better. Just stop crying!

The origin of the lullaby, though, is a bit unclear.

It was first collected by the British folklorist Cecil Sharp, who lived from 1859 until 1924 and was one of England’s top figures in the study of folk song and folk music. He found a version from Endicott—the town of Endicott in Virginia’s Franklin County—dated in 1918. He also found a version sung by Julie Boone of Micaville, North Carolina.

Another version recorded around 1930 from Durham, North Carolina by James Madison Carpenter is also known and can be heard on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website.

Slightly later, the legendary ethnomusicologist, Alan Lomax, recorded several versions of the song in the southern U.S. in the 1930s and 1940s, including one from singer Texas Gladden and one from Appalachian musician Jean Ritchie. All differ at least slightly.

The version by Ritchie, which was recorded by Lomax in 1949, is most similar to the version of the lullaby we know today. So, in this way, Ritchie and her family are responsible for the song we know it as now.

More modern versions come from artists like The Weavers and folk icon Joan Baez.

The Lyrics

Because the lullaby is essentially a laundry list of possible gifts the mother offers her wailing child, there are a number of variations of the song throughout history. Parents can bring in any idea of a gift, from the traditionally-sung diamond ring and mockingbird to, say, a PlayStation 5.

The general style of the song goes like this:

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

And if that mockingbird don’t sing
Mama’s gonna buy you a diamond ring

And if that diamond ring turns brass
Mama’s gonna buy you a looking glass…

Popular Renditions

Along with The Weavers and Joan Baez, other artists have recorded and performed the song. Regina Spektor to Nina Simone and others have included nods to the song in their work, including Bo Diddley, Yo-Yo Ma, and Eminem.

There is also the song “Mockingbird,” an R&B version of the song, which has been recorded by Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Etta James, Taj Mahal, and more.

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Final Thoughts

In the end, while a sweet, hushed lullaby from a parent to a child, the song is also something of a materialistic ode. Just throw presents at a child and maybe they’ll behave.

But for new parents, when their brains are at their wit’s end, they’ll take any solution.

Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images