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{{Short description|Traditional lullaby}} {{Short description|Traditional lullaby}}
{{Redirect|Hush Little Baby|the song by British rapper Wretch 32|Hush Little Baby (Wretch 32 song)|the novel by Caroline B. Cooney|Hush Little Baby (novel)}} {{Redirect|Hush Little Baby|the song by British rapper Wretch 32|Hush Little Baby (Wretch 32 song)|the novel by Caroline B. Cooney|Hush Little Baby (novel)|the Eminem song|Mockingbird (Eminem song)}}
'''"Hush, Little Baby"''' is a traditional ], thought to have been written in the Southern United States. The lyrics promise various rewards to the child for remaining quiet. The simple structure allows more verses to be added ad lib. It has a ] of 470.<ref name="S300927"/><ref name="S341770"/> "'''Hush, Little Baby'''" is a traditional ], thought to have been written in the Southern United States. The lyrics are from the point of view of a parent trying to appease an upset child by promising to give them a gift. Sensing the child's apprehension, the parent has planned a series of contingencies in case their gift does not work out. The simple structure allows more verses to be added ad lib. It has a ] of 470.<ref name="S300927"/><ref name="S341770"/>


== History and traditional versions == == History and traditional versions ==
Like most folk songs, the author and date of origin are unknown. The English folklorist ] collected and notated a version from ], ], ] in 1918,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mocking Bird (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/4501)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/CJS2/10/4501|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> and another version sung by a Julie Boone of ], ], with a complete version of the lyrics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mocking Bird (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/9/3315)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/CJS2/9/3315|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mocking Bird (Nursery Song) (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/4775)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/CJS2/10/4775|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> A version recorded on a ] around 1929–35 in ], ] by ] can be heard online via the ] website.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mama, Mama, Have You Heard? (VWML Song Index SN18174)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/VWMLSongIndex/SN18174|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> ] recorded several varying traditional renditions of the song in the southern United States in the 1930s and 40s,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hush My Baby Don't You Cry (Roud Folksong Index S238332)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S238332|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name="S300927">{{Cite web|title=Hush Little Baby (Roud Folksong Index S300927)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S300927|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> including from the traditional singer ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hush Baby Don't You Cry (Roud Folksong Index S238323)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S238323|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> All of these versions differ melodically and lyrically, to varying degrees, from the now popular version. Like most folk songs, the author and date of origin are unclear. The English folklorist ] collected and notated a version from ], ], ] in 1918,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mocking Bird (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/4501)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/CJS2/10/4501|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> and another version sung by a Julie Boone of ], ], with a complete version of the lyrics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mocking Bird (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/9/3315)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/CJS2/9/3315|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mocking Bird (Nursery Song) (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/4775)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/CJS2/10/4775|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> A version recorded on a ] around 1929–35 in ] by ] can be heard online via the ] website.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mama, Mama, Have You Heard? (VWML Song Index SN18174)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/VWMLSongIndex/SN18174|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref>


One of the versions recorded by Lomax was that of the influential ] musician ], who performed a version in 1949 that had been passed down in her family.<ref name="S341770">{{Cite web|title=Hush Little Baby (Roud Folksong Index S341770)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S341770|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Commentary by Jean Ritchie on Dance To Your Daddy / Hush Little Baby {{!}} Lomax Digital Archive|url=https://archive.culturalequity.org/node/52852|access-date=2021-10-12|website=archive.culturalequity.org|language=en}}</ref> The Ritchie family version is identical to the versions which would later become famous. Due to the melodic and lyrical diversity of other traditional recordings and the fact that Ritchie shared a stage with and directly influenced artists who would later record the song such as ]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Richard|date=2015-07-03|title=Jean Ritchie remembered|url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/jean-ritchie-remembered/|access-date=2020-11-22|website=Bluegrass Today|language=en-US}}</ref> and ],<ref>{{Cite news|title=Jean Ritchie|language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jean-ritchie-0mt5jgzgvt9|access-date=2020-11-22|issn=0140-0460}}</ref> it is likely that the popular version of the song descends from Jean Ritchie's ] family. ] recorded several varying traditional renditions of the song in the southern United States in the 1930s and 40s,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hush My Baby Don't You Cry (Roud Folksong Index S238332)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S238332|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref name="S300927">{{Cite web|title=Hush Little Baby (Roud Folksong Index S300927)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S300927|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> including from the traditional singer ].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hush Baby Don't You Cry (Roud Folksong Index S238323)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S238323|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref> All of these versions differ melodically and lyrically, to varying degrees, from the now popular version.

One of the versions recorded by Lomax was that of the influential ] musician ], who performed a version in 1949 that had been passed down in her family.<ref name="S341770">{{Cite web|title=Hush Little Baby (Roud Folksong Index S341770)|url=https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S341770|access-date=2020-11-22|website=The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Commentary by Jean Ritchie on Dance To Your Daddy / Hush Little Baby {{!}} Lomax Digital Archive|url=https://archive.culturalequity.org/node/52852|access-date=2021-10-12|website=archive.culturalequity.org|language=en}}</ref>

The Ritchie family version is identical to the versions which would later become famous. Due to the melodic and lyrical diversity of other traditional recordings and the fact that Ritchie shared a stage with and directly influenced artists who would later record the song such as ]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Richard|date=2015-07-03|title=Jean Ritchie remembered|url=https://bluegrasstoday.com/jean-ritchie-remembered/|access-date=2020-11-22|website=Bluegrass Today|language=en-US}}</ref> and ],<ref>{{Cite news|title=Jean Ritchie|newspaper=] |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jean-ritchie-0mt5jgzgvt9|access-date=2020-11-22|issn=0140-0460}}</ref> it is likely that the popular version of the song descends from Jean Ritchie's ] family.{{cn|date=July 2022}}


== Popular versions == == Popular versions ==
The song has been performed and recorded by many artists including ], ], ], ], ] and the ]. Additionally, the song has been adapted into pop songs such as ]'s "Hambone", ]'s "]" and ]'s eponymous song "]", as well as ] and ]'s "Hush Little Baby" and ]'s "]". The song has been performed and recorded by many artists including ], ], ], ], ] and the ]. Additionally, the song has been adapted into pop songs such as ]'s "Hambone", ]'s "]" and ]'s eponymous song "]", as well as ] and ]'s "Hush Little Baby" and ]'s "]".


], ], ], ], ] and ] have each recorded "]", which is an R&B variant of the song. "Mockingbird" was featured humorously as a car travel song in the films '']'' (1983) and '']'' (1994). ], ], ], ], ] and ] have each recorded "]", which is an R&B variant of the song.


⚫ == Lyrics ==
"Hush Little Baby" has also been used in the play ''],'' about ] and ].
The most common version of the lyrics are:


{{Poemquote|text=Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
It was also sung in the 1999 made for TV thriller ''Blind Obsession'', and 2001's ''Murder at My Door''.
Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird.


If that mockingbird don't sing,
⚫ == Lyrics ==
Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring.
⚫ There are a multitude of different versions of the song. It has a simple structure consisting of a series of ]s, where a gift is given to the little baby. In the next couplet, the gift is found faulty in some way, and a new gift is presented. The song continues in this pattern as long as the singer likes; and can come up with new gifts that fit the rhyming pattern. An example of some common couplets used in the transcript of the Target commercial "Strawberry Shortcake" (2004):

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.}}

⚫ There are many different versions of the song. It has a simple structure consisting of a series of ]s, where a gift is given to the little baby. In the next couplet, the gift is found faulty in some way, and a new gift is presented. The song continues in this pattern as long as the singer likes; and can come up with new gifts that fit the rhyming pattern. An example of some common couplets used in the transcript of the Target commercial "Strawberry Shortcake" (2004):


{{poemquote| {{poemquote|
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And if that mockingbird don't sing, And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Sister's gonna buy you a diamond ring. Sister's gonna buy you a diamond ring.
(She Cries) (She Cries)


And if that diamond ring turns brass...}} And if that diamond ring turns brass...}}
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{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}



==External links==
* and


{{authority control}} {{authority control}}
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] ]
] ]
] ]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 04:27, 6 January 2025

Traditional lullaby "Hush Little Baby" redirects here. For the song by British rapper Wretch 32, see Hush Little Baby (Wretch 32 song). For the novel by Caroline B. Cooney, see Hush Little Baby (novel). For the Eminem song, see Mockingbird (Eminem song).

"Hush, Little Baby" is a traditional lullaby, thought to have been written in the Southern United States. The lyrics are from the point of view of a parent trying to appease an upset child by promising to give them a gift. Sensing the child's apprehension, the parent has planned a series of contingencies in case their gift does not work out. The simple structure allows more verses to be added ad lib. It has a Roud number of 470.

History and traditional versions

Like most folk songs, the author and date of origin are unclear. The English folklorist Cecil Sharp collected and notated a version from Endicott, Franklin County, Virginia in 1918, and another version sung by a Julie Boone of Micaville, North Carolina, with a complete version of the lyrics. A version recorded on a phonograph cylinder around 1929–35 in Durham, North Carolina by James Madison Carpenter can be heard online via the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website.

Alan Lomax recorded several varying traditional renditions of the song in the southern United States in the 1930s and 40s, including from the traditional singer Texas Gladden. All of these versions differ melodically and lyrically, to varying degrees, from the now popular version.

One of the versions recorded by Lomax was that of the influential Appalachian musician Jean Ritchie, who performed a version in 1949 that had been passed down in her family.

The Ritchie family version is identical to the versions which would later become famous. Due to the melodic and lyrical diversity of other traditional recordings and the fact that Ritchie shared a stage with and directly influenced artists who would later record the song such as The Weavers and Joan Baez, it is likely that the popular version of the song descends from Jean Ritchie's Kentucky family.

Popular versions

The song has been performed and recorded by many artists including Joan Baez, Burl Ives, Regina Spektor, Nina Simone, The Weavers and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Additionally, the song has been adapted into pop songs such as Maurice King's "Hambone", Inez and Charlie Foxx's "Mockingbird" and Bo Diddley's eponymous song "Bo Diddley", as well as Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma's "Hush Little Baby" and Eminem's "Mockingbird".

Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Etta James, Taj Mahal and Dusty Springfield have each recorded "Mockingbird", which is an R&B variant of the song.

Lyrics

The most common version of the lyrics are:

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.

There are many different versions of the song. It has a simple structure consisting of a series of rhyming couplets, where a gift is given to the little baby. In the next couplet, the gift is found faulty in some way, and a new gift is presented. The song continues in this pattern as long as the singer likes; and can come up with new gifts that fit the rhyming pattern. An example of some common couplets used in the transcript of the Target commercial "Strawberry Shortcake" (2004):

(Strawberry Shortcake) Hush, Apple Dumpling, don't say a word,
Sister's gonna buy you a Mockingbird.

And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Sister's gonna buy you a diamond ring.
(She Cries)

And if that diamond ring turns brass...

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hush Little Baby (Roud Folksong Index S300927)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  2. ^ "Hush Little Baby (Roud Folksong Index S341770)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  3. "The Mocking Bird (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/4501)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  4. "The Mocking Bird (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/9/3315)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  5. "The Mocking Bird (Nursery Song) (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/4775)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  6. "Mama, Mama, Have You Heard? (VWML Song Index SN18174)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  7. "Hush My Baby Don't You Cry (Roud Folksong Index S238332)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  8. "Hush Baby Don't You Cry (Roud Folksong Index S238323)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  9. "Commentary by Jean Ritchie on Dance To Your Daddy / Hush Little Baby | Lomax Digital Archive". archive.culturalequity.org. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  10. Thompson, Richard (2015-07-03). "Jean Ritchie remembered". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  11. "Jean Ritchie". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-11-22.


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