Enough!

"Frog went walking on a summer's day, ahum, ahum-" I sing.
We lie in the dark. A child is curled in either arm as I sing my little ones their goodnight songs.
"No! Baa!"my Sprocket demands. Unfortunately, my audience appear to think I'm taking requests.
"Baa Baa black sheep have you any wool, yes sir-" I switch songs obediently. It doesn't seem to be a big deal.
"Hum!" My Poppet requests shrilly.
"Frog went walking on a summers day, ahum-" I switch.
"Speckled!" My Sprocket orders.
"Five green and speckled frogs sitting on a speckled log eating the most -" I start again.
"Row!" my Poppet demands her song of the day.
"Row row row your boat-"I begin.
"Baa!" The Sprocket interrupts.
"Please," I interject, finally remembering I'm supposed to be teaching them manners.
"Please," my Sprocket repeats, humouring me.
"Baa, baa black sheep -" I sing.
"Hum!" my Poppet yells.
(Repeat X 3)
"Enough! No more frogs, no more hums and no more rowing. It's sleep time now and we're going to have sleepy songs!" I finally explode. I take a deep breath. Breathe out.
"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, go to sleep now little darlings, Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, go to sleep my little darlings."
They protests and make desperate calls for amphibians and oared vehicles. I cruelly ignore them and stick to lullabyes. And soon, my little ones are sleeping.
I love a dictatorship.
It just works. 

The Moon to Play With (Lullabies)

We've been singing a lot of lullabies recently as my kidlets are under the impression that their bedtime should be after the suns bedtime and I am not under a like impression. So I lie in bed with a kid tucked in each arm, the Poppet busily nursing, and I sing. 

I do not have a good singing voice. It's thin and weak. I once asked a boss if I could have singing lessons (I was singing to kids four times a week at the time) and his response was 'some things are beyond help.' 

But the singing always calms me, if not the children. I sing the same songs my mama sang to me when I was a little girl  (and in my earliest memories of lullabies the sky is unfairly bright and passionfruit vines surround the window,) and my mama sings the songs her mama sang her. 

But we have each added some along the way, and maybe lost some I need to reclaim.

I sing Hushabye Baby, Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird, You are my Sunshine,  Love is Come Again,  Lavender's Blue and All the Pretty Little Horses.  I sing 'At the Gates of Heaven' - which some googling tells me is a Spanish (Basque) lullaby - originally A La Puerta del Ciel. 

At the gates of heaven little shoes they are making 

For the little barefooted angels that dwell in

Sleep darling baby, sleep darling baby, 

Sleep darling baby, aroo, aroo 

God will bless the babies so peacefully sleeping

God will bless the mothers whose watch they are keeping

Sleep darling baby, sleep darling baby, 

Sleep darling baby, aroo, aroo 

I sing an almost unknown song by the great Scottish songwriter, Ewan McColl (who wrote First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, if you've ever heard Roberta Flack sing it so magically) Kiss the Children for me Mary. 

Kiss the Children for me Mary, 

Don't let them cry nor grieve

Tell them its hard I'm working for them 

Though it breaks my heart to leave

Building dams and fields and factories

Shifting mountains by the load

I'll be with you in November

When I'm finished on the road

I sing a song which (again from googling) I have only just discovered is a song the great American Singer Paul Robeson used to sing My Curly Headed Baby. I've only ever sang the chorus before but I think I'll try to learn the rest of the words now my Poppet has a good head of curls. 

Lulla lulla lulla lulla bye bye, 

Lulla lulla lulla lulla bye bye

Go to sleep darling baby

You shall have the moon to play with, 

You shall have the stars to run away with, 

If you don't cry. (Lulla lulla etc)

I love these songs and it makes me so happy that I am sharing them with my own children. That one day, they will hopefully sing them to their own children.  And they will sing them to their own children. And the words (and maybe even the tunes) will change, but the kernel will remain the same. 

So today I'm linking up with (Maxabella's) GratefulSaturday to say thankyou for lullabies, traditions and family.