Bedtime songs

[Redlass]

When I was little, my dad used to sing me lullabies every night. Now he sings them to my son. I've also taken to singing my son a song or two after the lights are turned out at night. I find I mostly sing him hymns, and he has special names for each of them (Because He Lives is called the Easter song, O How I Love Jesus is the Jesus song, the Veggie Tales Think of Me Every Day is the family song).

I sing a few others too:

The Riddle Song
Michael Row the Boat Ashore
I've Been Working on the Railroad
Twinkle, Twinkle

Do you sing to your kids at night? What songs do you find are most relaxing? Which ones do they enjoy the most?

[cristina1]

What is funny is that both of my kids absolutely LOVE when my dad sings them a Greek lullaby. I have no idea what the words are (I dont speak Greek) but it can put even the crankiest child to sleep. (We always tease him and tell him he must bore them.)

As for what I sing to my son, my oldest asks for the ABC's the most. We sing it together. It doesnt really relax him, but it comforts him. The baby likes Hush Little Baby the best. He also really enjoys Itsy Bitsy Spider when he is in the mood. Seems like just about anything else and he cries (I'll admit I am a terrible singer.)

We dont sing at night too much anymore. My oldest much prefers a book to my horrible singing voice these days. Sometimes we watch a movie together after the book - just lie on the couch and snuggle and watch "There goes a firetruck" and he is out like a light. The baby usually falls asleep in my husband's arms these days. (Hubby sometimes works long hours, so he enjoys the time spent rocking the baby to sleep.)

[jnbmoore]

Night time ritual is

Two or three stories
prayers
many many songs
snuggle till asleep (no, I don't follow Ezzo btw)

looks like we sing some of the same:

O How I Love Jesus
I've Been Working on the Railroad
Twinkle, Twinkle

Other popular ones are:

Monkey's first and middle name have the same number of syllables as Thumbellina- - so we sing that (from Hans Christian Anderson the movie)

A song I made up for her when she was a baby:

[i]My name is Monkey Girl and I'm here to say
some wonderful news that made my day[/I
] My mommy loves me,
My daddy loves me
, Jesus loves me too
And If you ask me I'll say I love you

(okay I won't quit my day job)

Other top songs requests are:

On top of Spaghetti

God is bigger (Veggie Tales -- we have a monster problem)

God is so good

Itsy bitsy spider

There was an old woman who swallowed a fly

The green grass grows around and around

Stuck my head in a little skunk hole

De Colores

Little Bunny Foo Foo


It's an interesting mixture


Bridgette
mom of a three year 3 month old

[emeleel]

Between two kids, I've been singing nightly lullabies for 5 1/2 years! Sean was one of these kids that absolutely COULD NOT be put down if he was still the teensiest bit awake, so I developed a long list of songs. I've added and subtracted many songs over the years, but the current play list is:

Hush-A-Bye
Hush Little Baby
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
ABC's
123's
Jesus Loves Me
The Apostles song (to the tune of Jesus Loves Me)
Jesus Loves the Little Children (all 3 verses)
Only a Young Man David
The Foolish Man and the Wise Man
This Little Light of Mine
Roll The Gospel Chariot Along
Danny Boy
Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Funny story:

I first took Sean to Bible class when he was 15 months old. I stayed with him as he had a hard time with separations at that age. They'd been in there a few minutes when the teacher started singing time. The first song she sang was Jesus Loves Me, and Sean immediately turned to me and climbed up in my lap and laid his head on my shoulder! He'd heard it as a lullaby 2-3 times/day for 14 months and thought it was time to go to sleep!

[emeleel]

By the way, here is the absolute best resource for kids' song lyrics:

http://www.kididdles.com

They don't have copyrighted songs (too many issues, there) but they've got all the old favorites and all the variations of said favorites. They've got like 2,000 songs in the database!

[KateTPZ]

You brought back nice memories!

When Andrew was an infant (with colic), I started singing to him as I walked him around. "White Christmas" was a favorite (he was born in late November), as was "Day By Day." As he got older, a few others became standards:

Amazing Grace (sometimes 4 verses - I hate colic!)
Just As I Am (another hymn)
You're My Home
Where Have All The Flowers Gone
Baby, Baby, Can't You Hear My Heart Beat (Herman's Hermits - we listened to a lot of oldies!)

I remember singing both "Day By Day" and "Amazing Grace" to Chris when he was an infant, but I don't have nearly as many singing to him memories.

Unfortunately, I can't carry a tune. The first sentence for each of my boys was "Mommy, please don't sing."

[Redlass]

I can't carry a tune either. Fortunately, my three-year-old hasn't figured that out yet. He has started asking for songs that I don't know. I ask him to sing them for me and I still don't recognize them. So I tell them those are his songs for him to sing to me.

The songs my dad used to sing to me were:

Daisy, Daisy
Mr. Sandman
American Pie
Shortn'n Bread
Shenandoah River

I can't remember the others right now. They were usually oldies or folk tunes.

[KateTPZ]

How did I forget "Mr. Sandman"?! Christopher LOVED that one!

[cristina1]

Zach loved Mr. Sandman too. As a matter of fact, he still sings it......rofl.

[KristenNC]

Okay, other than some of the ones mentioned, we're big

Jesus Loves Me

Bewitched

Thunder Road

fans here. In fact, those four are every nighters.

[Joubert[$]]

Originally posted by KristenNC
Thunder Road

fans here. In fact, those four are every nighters.

Sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road?

I got this guitar Thunder Road?

Man, you are such a cool mom!

[KristenNC]

Well, it's so long - and so perfect. It's by far our favorite night time song. I occasionally break into Adam Raised a Cain when I want her to wake up, too.

[frazzledspice]

A great website for discovering a wealth of children's music is called:

www.kididdles.com

I reviewed it once, eons ago, back in February of 2000 or so.

My youngest is 12, but here are some of the musical things we do together:

She loves Broadway songs, and loves to sing. Sometimes I will play show tunes on the piano and she will sing along (or sing and dance.) She especially likes "Les Miz", "Grease", and "Bye, Bye, Birdie." And "Seasons of Love" from "Rent."

I have an autoharp which is a very easy instrument for anyone to play and accompany themselves with (it's also very easy to transpose.) We will sing lots of the Lifeteen songs (contemporary Christian music.)

When she was a little younger, she loved Tom Chapin. Some of my favorite songs of his are rounds ("This Pretty Planet", for example.)

I know lots of lullabies, some from different countries, but don't have anyone to sing them to at the moment.

[jcvsmom]

This is our night-time ritual:

Diaper, jammies, brush teeth, turn off all the lights in the house, then give Daddy nite-nite snuggles. Then I rock her and sing "Hush Little Baby", except that I substitute her name for the word Baby, and I rock her to sleep. If we need extra songs, I use Amazing Grace or Jesus Loves Me.

[Redlass]

I have half of a lullaby going through my head (or at least, it's a song my dad sang to me as a lullaby), but I can't think of the first line or the title.

It has these words:

"Come out and play with me, and we'll have jolly fun forevermore.....Slide down my rain barrel, climb up my apple tree, and we'll be jolly friends forevermore......I cannot play with you. My dollies have the flu...but we'll be jolly friends forevermore."

Anyone remember that one?

[frazzledspice]

Bridgette, it's called "Playmate".

[Redlass]

Thank you, thank you! I'm off to find copies of the full lyrics. It's hard to do that without titles or first lines!!

[pluckyduck]

Even though my boys are getting older, I wake them up every morning with "You are my Sunshine". Considering I can't carry a tune in a bucket, it's quite a wake up jolt!

Our favorite songs when they were younger:

On Top of Spaghetti
Hot Dogs, Armour Hot Dogs!
The Oscar Meyer B-o-l-o-g-n-a Song
Mocking Bird (I made up my own verses)
The Alphabet Song (the only thing that would comfort Adam as baby...I still sing it to him when he's upset)
That song from Bye, Bye Birdie, dunno the name:

I love you (insert name), oh yes I do, I don't love anyone as much as you, when I'm not near you, I'm blue, oh... We'd substitute all kinds of weird colors for blue...

Oh, I almost forgot!

Great green globs of greasy grimy gopher guts,
Marinated monkey meat
Stinky little birdie feet
All wrapped up in pinkish porpus pus
And I forgot my spoon!



Andrea
the wacky mom --- how long before my kids hide me in a closet before the friends come over??

[Prepoia[$]]

We didn't have a singing ritual every night but almost every night, to rock them as infants, and later to rock and calm them as they got older, I always sang "You Are My Sunshine."

To this day, (they are in their 20's now) they love that song. They don't sing it but I know that it will be passed down as the song to sing to babies and little ones because if I start singing it or if they hear it they always comment about it and their memories of it.

My daughter was always quite fussy and for my own sanity I often would sing Helen Reddy songs (I am woman etc) and a song called "Circles". I don't know who sang it but it was something like "In a circle like a wheel within in wheel. Never ending or beginning like an ever spinning reel......" And wow, when she was being fussy that's what it often seemed like.



Sandy

Love this thread - and the memories.

[pluckyduck]

Oh, yes, Sandy, I'm enjoying the memories, too. The singing is one of the very best parts of having little ones. And yes, you know that it is what they carry imprinted on their memories forever.

Realize, my poor kids think that the Armour Hot Dog commercial and the Oscar Meyer Bologna commercial are lullabies. Wait until the ad guys revive those advertising campaigns -- my kids are in for a shock! (Never did "plop plop fizz fizz", darn it! Maybe it's not too late.)

Now, all I need to do is enter the boys in a spelling bee where the word bologna takes the prize.

Andrea

[Dani257]

Not being a mommy myself (or a daddy, for that matter) I have to go with my memories of what was sung to me. My mom used to sing 'At the Cross' with us. It goes:

At the cross
At the cross
Where I first saw the light
And the burdens of my heart
Rolled away
It was there by faith
I recieved my sight
And now I am happy all the day!

She also used to tell us these stories about the Hulk family that would have us laughing until the tears came. Not exactly the thing to put you to sleep, but we kept begging for more.

[cristina1]

"(Never did "plop plop fizz fizz", darn it! Maybe it's not too late.) "

OK, I am the degenerate that found a way to use this song with my son. I would sing it to him when he pooped on the potty to get him interested and make it fun. Now whenever he poops he sings it. ROFL!

[jnbmoore]

Plucky

Top of Spaghetti
and
I an old woman who swallowed a fly

are also big here


Dani,

my MIL the Southern Baptist Sunday School Teacher taught my hubby

At the bar
at the bar
while I smoked my first ciigar (don't remember the rest.)

Did anyone else grow up with

Stuck my head in a little skunk hole
the little skunk said well bless my soul
take it out
take it out
remove it??????????

Bridgette

[Redlass]

Ah, morning songs! My son and I have an annoying song that we sing every morning to wake daddy up. And, good sport that he is, he always smiles at us and rolls us into bed with him for "family hugs." It goes:

Good morning, good morning, good morning
It's time to rise and shine.
Good morning, good morning, good morning
I hope you're feeling fine.
The sun is up and over the hills,
so much is there for us to do,
Good morning, good morning, good morning
It's time to rise and shine.

Sandy, I remember that circles song. It's an addicting little tune, isn't it. But I can see where it would be very soothing.