Science Says Lullabies Help Your Baby Sleep Better—Here Are 9 of the Best Lullabies to Try
As parents, we go to great lengths to finesse (and stick to) our bedtime routine. But there’s one critical part of the ritual we’re slowing phasing out: lullabies. According to a recent YouGov poll commissioned by the Lullaby Trust in the U.K., just over a third of parents with kids under the age of 5 actually sing lullabies like “Rock-a-Bye Baby” and “Frère Jacques” at bedtime.
The problem? Singing to your baby can actually keep them calm for twice as long as talking to them, per a University of Montreal study. They’re also proven to be a precursor to later academic success, says Sally Goddard Blythe, director of the U.K.’s Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology.
Ready to change your tune? To help you get started, we rounded up the lyrics to nine of the best lullabies. (Permission to improvise—or work in some Adele—granted.)
RELATED: Adele’s Greatest Hits Will Soon Become Lullabies
1. ‘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 don’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 little baby in town
2. ‘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
3. ‘Rock-a-Bye Baby’
Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all
4. ‘You Are My Sunshine’
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are gray
You’ll never know, dear
How much I love you
Please don’t take my sunshine away
5. ‘Brahms’ Lullaby’
Lullaby and good night, with roses bed-tight
With lilies o’er spread is baby’s wee bed
Lay thee down now and rest, may thy slumber be blessed
Lullaby and good night, thy mother’s delight
Bright angels beside my darling abide
They will guard thee at rest, thou shalt wake on my breast
They will guard thee at reset, thou shalt wake on my breast
6. ‘Somewhere 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?
7. ‘Frère Jacques’
Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines
Ding ding dong, ding ding dong
Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?
Brother John, Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing
Ding ding dong, ding ding dong
8. ‘All the Pretty Little Horses’
Hush-a-bye, don’t you cry,
Go to sleep, little baby
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little horses
Blacks and bays, dapples and grays
Go to sleep, you little baby
Hush-a-bye, don’t you cry,
Go to sleep little baby
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little horses
Way down yonder, down in the meadow,
There’s a poor wee little lamby
The bees and the butterflies pickin’ at its eyes,
The poor wee thing cried for her mammy
Hush-a-bye, don’t you cry,
Go to sleep little baby.
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little horses
9. ‘Tura Lura Lura’
Over in Killarney, many years ago
My mother sang a song to me
In tones so sweet and low
Just a simple little ditty
in her good old Irish way
And I’d give the world if she could sing
that song to me this day
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don’t you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby
Oft in dreams I wander
to that cot again
I feel her arms a-hugging me
As when she held me then
And I hear her voice a-hummin’
to me as in the days of yore,
when she used to rock me fast asleep
outside the cabin door
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don’t you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby
