Some of your earliest fond memories of childhood are probably listening to a bedtime story or hearing your parents sing you a lullaby before you fell asleep. These short, but sweet songs tend to stay with us forever. When you have a baby, you find yourself churning out all your old favourites and you are surprised you still remember every word.
Singing your child a lullaby as part of their bedtime routine is not only a lovely way to soothe them to sleep but it helps with bonding which is an important process after labour. Lullabies have even been found to reduce pain and calm babies breathing patterns, especially in pre-term and premature infants.
As they get older and begin to sing, singing along to nursery rhymes with your little one brings them an enormous amount of enjoyment, teaches them something new, as well as being the perfect activity for some bonding time. Even at a young age, just by listening and interacting with new words, sounds, and actions will contribute to helping their memory and speech development.
If you've found yourself in a lullaby rut and are struggling to find new songs to sing, then we have rounded up the best traditional and more modern lullabies to send your little one to sleep. Your baby won't care if you have the voice of an angel or not, but if you don't want to sing, we've included YouTube links, and lyrics so you'll never forget the words!
Hush Little Baby
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 doesn'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 cart.
And if that horse and cart fall down, well you'll still be the sweetest baby in town.
Rock a bye baby
Rock a bye baby on the tree top, When the wind blows the cradle will rock, When the bough breaks the cradle will fall, And down will come baby, cradle and all.
You are my sunshine
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine.
You make me happy
When skies are grey.
You’ll never know, dear,
How much I love you.
Please don’t take my sunshine away
Ring-a-ring o' roses
Ring-a-ring o' roses
A pocket full of posies
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down
Ring-a-ring o' roses
A pocket full of posies
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down
The itsy bitsy spider
The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout.
Down came the rain and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.
Then the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.
Round and Round The Garden
Round and round the garden, went a teddy bear,
One step, two step,Three step, bear!
Round and round the mulberry bush, like a little hare,
One Step, two step,Tickly under there!
This Little Piggy
This little piggy went to market
This little piggy stayed home
This little piggy had roast beef
And this little piggy had none
And this little piggy cried wee wee wee all the way home
Wee wee wee cried this little piggy
Wee wee wee cried this little piggy
Wee wee wee cried this little piggy
All the way home
Jack and Jill
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again
Humpty Dumpty sat on the ground
Humpty Dumpty looked all around
Gone were the chimneys, gone were the roofs
All he could see were ankles and hooves
Poor old Humpty
Poor old Humpty
Poor old Humpty
Dumpty
Poor old Humpty
Poor old Humpty
Poor old Humpty
Poor old Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty counted to ten
Humpty Dumpty built up again
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Are happy that Humpty is together again
I'm a little teapot
I'm a little teapot,
Short and stout,
Here is my handle
Here is my spout
When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout,
Tip me over and pour me out!
London Bridge is falling down
London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My fair lady
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
How I wonder what you are!
One, two, three, four, five
One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right.
Mary had a little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
It's fleece was white as snow, yeah
Everywhere the child went
The lamb, the lamb was sure to go, yeah
He followed her to school one day
And broke the teacher's rule
And what a time did they have
That day at school
Tisket, tasket, baby alright
A green and yellow basket, now
I wrote a letter to my baby
And on my way I passed it, now
The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round
The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round
'Round and 'round, 'round and 'round
The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round
All through the town
The doors on the bus go open and shut
Open and shut, open and shut
The doors on the bus go open and shut
All through the town
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish
All through the town
The signals on the bus go blink, blink, blink
Blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink
The signals on the bus go blink, blink, blink
All through the town
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep
All through the town
The motor on the bus goes vroom, vroom, vroom
Vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom
The motor on the bus goes vroom, vroom, vroom
All through the town
The people on the bus go up and down
Up and down, up and down
The people on the bus go up and down
All through the town
The babies on the bus go, "Wah, wah, wah"
"Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah"
The babies on the bus go, "Wah, wah, wah"
All through the town
The mommies on the bus go, "Shh, shh, shh"
"Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh"
The mommies on the bus go, "Shh, shh, shh"
All through the town
The daddies on the bus go, "I love you"
"I love you, I love you"
The daddies on the bus go, "I love you"
All through the town
The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round
'Round and 'round, 'round and 'round
The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round
All through the town
Frère Jacques
Frère Jacques,
Frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous,
Dormez-vous,
Sonnez les matines,
Sonnez les matines,
Ding, dang, dong,
Ding, dang, dong.
Frère Jacques,
Frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous (Frère Jacques),
Dormez-vous (Frère Jacques),
Sonnez les matines (dormez-vous),
Sonnez les matines (dormez-vous),
Ding, dang, dong (sonnez les matines),
Ding, dang, dong (sonnez les matines),
(Ding, dang, dong),
(Ding, dang, dong).
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers let him go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.
My mother told me
To pick the very best one
And you are [not] it.
Hickory Dickory Dock
Hickory dickory dock
The sheep hid from its flock
The flock called once
The sheep did run
Hickory dickory dock
Hickory dickory dock
The sheep hid from its flock
The flock called twice
And that was nice!
Hickory dickory dock
Hickory dickory dock
The sheep hid from its flock
The flock called thrice
And that was wise
Hickory dickory dock
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Baa baa black sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir
Three bags full
One for the master
One for the dame
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane
Baa baa black sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir
Three bags full
One for the master
One for the dame
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane
Over the Rainbow
Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why, can't I?
Mummy to a little girl, Adejumoke Ilori is Commercial Content Writer for Mother&Baby. With a BA hon in Creative Writing, she has worked for digital platforms, where she has empowered women from the inside and out, by sharing real life stories based on relationships, loving yourself and mummyhood.