Hush, Little Baby

"Hush, Little Baby" is a traditional lullaby, thought to have been written in the Southern United States. The lyrics promise various rewards to the child if they are quiet. The simple structure allows more verses to be added ad lib.

"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).

History and traditional versions

Like most folk songs, the author and date of origin are unknown. The English folklorist Cecil Sharp collected and notated a version from Endicott, Franklin County, Virginia in 1918,[1] and another version sung by a Julie Boone of Micaville, North Carolina, with a complete version of the lyrics.[2][3] A version recorded on a wax cylinder around 1929–35 in Durham, North Carolina by James Madison Carpenter can be heard online via the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website.[4] Alan Lomax recorded several varying traditional renditions of the song in the southern United States in the 1930s and 40s,[5][6] including from the traditional singer Texas Gladden.[7] 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.[8][9] 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[10] and Joan Baez,[11] it is likely that the popular version of the song descends from Jean Ritchie's Kentucky family.

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. "Mockingbird" was featured humorously as a car travel song in the films National Lampoon's Vacation (1983) and Dumb & Dumber (1994).

"Hush Little Baby" has also been used in the play The Miracle Worker, about Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan.

Lyrics

There are a multitude of 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 song:

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.

And if that looking glass gets broke,
Mama's gonna buy you a billy goat,

And if that billy goat won't pull,
Mama's gonna buy you a cart and bull,

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Mama's gonna buy you a dog named Rover.

And if that dog named Rover won't bark,
Mama's gonna buy you a horse and a cart.

And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

See also

References
  1. "The Mocking Bird (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/10/4501)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  2. "The Mocking Bird (Cecil Sharp Manuscript Collection (at Clare College, Cambridge) CJS2/9/3315)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  3. "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.
  4. "Mama, Mama, Have You Heard? (VWML Song Index SN18174)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  5. "Hush My Baby Don't You Cry (Roud Folksong Index S238332)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  6. "Hush Little Baby (Roud Folksong Index S300927)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  7. "Hush Baby Don't You Cry (Roud Folksong Index S238323)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  8. "Hush Little Baby (Roud Folksong Index S341770)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  9. "Alan Lomax Archive". research.culturalequity.org. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  10. Thompson, Richard (2015-07-03). "Jean Ritchie remembered". Bluegrass Today. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  11. "Jean Ritchie". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.