A Brief History of Lullabies

Every night before bed I turn off the lights in their bedroom and sing Archer and Fable the same song.


"Moon River, wider than a mile,
I'm crossing you in style some day.
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,
wherever you're going I'm going your way.
Two drifters off to see the world.
There's such a lot of world to see.
We're after the same rainbow's end--
waiting 'round the bend,
my huckleberry friend,
Moon River and me."

Just like every night my mother would sing Bali Ha'i to me...


"Your own special hopes,
Your own special dreams,
Bloom on the hillside
And shine in the streams.
If you try, you'll find me
Where the sky meets the sea.
"Here am I your special island
Come to me, Come to me."

...Just like before bed, her mother would sing Wynken, Blynken and Nod to her:


"...So all night long their nets they threw
to the stars in the twinkling foam
then down from the sky came the wooden shoe
bringing my fisherman home..."


(Sweet dreams.)

***

78. Moon River: by Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini
79. Bali Ha'i (from South Pacific): Rodgers and Hammerstein
80. Wynken, Blynken and Nod by: Eugene Field & Ethelbert Nevin

GGC