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Author Archives: f003xc7
Rock-a-bye Baby (Ali Silva)
Title: “Rock-a-Bye Baby”
General Information about Item:
- Children’s folklore, lullaby
- Language: English
- Country of origin: America
- Informant: EB
- Date Collected: October 16, 2021
Informant Data:
- EB was born in Palm Beach Gardens on March 22, 2002. She grew up surrounded by her extended family and lived with her mother, father, and older sister Katy. She attended private schools throughout her life and she played lacrosse, volleyball, and soccer. Her family owns a sailing company so they spent lots of time on the water. Her parents were very involved in her activities.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural context: This lullaby references the typical sleeping arrangement of young children in a cradle. It is important to note that this lullaby actually has very frightening lyrics, saying the cradle will fall with the baby inside which would result in injury. This lullaby, as others are, is sang in a soothing tone despite its graphic content.
- Social Context: EB recalls learning this song from her grandmother. She grew up living across the street from her grandparents, so she would frequently spend the night at their house. Her grandmother would sing this song to her when she was going to bed on these nights.
Item:
“Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetops,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock,
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby, cradle and all.”
- This lullaby is a short, rhyming song. The message of the song is scary for a child, but sung in a gentle voice, so as not to frighten the child.
Associated File:
Informants Comments:
“My grandma still sings this song to me every so often. I don’t see her as much because she moved, but when I do see her she sings to me.”
Collector’s Comments:
I know this lullaby from my childhood as well and it is simple so I can see how it would be widely used across America, from Florida to California.
Collector:
Ali Silva
Dartmouth College
Russian 13
Professor Gronas and Professor Apresyan
Fall 2021
Tags:
Dartmouth
Students
Verbal Folklore
English Lullaby
Baby
My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean (Ali Silva)
Title: “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”
General Information about Item:
- Children’s folklore, lullaby
- Language: English
- Country of origin: America
- Informant: BH
- Date Collected: October 16, 2021
Informant Data:
- BH was born in Los Angeles, California on June 22, 2000. She lived with her mother, father and older brother, Christopher. Their family did not practice any religion, but they are spiritual. She participated in lots of community service and played volleyball and soccer. Her parents both worked in a hospital as surgeons.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural context: This lullaby talks about a special person living abroad away from the singer. This lullaby is sung in a sweet, gentle tone because it is referencing missing your loved one and wanting them to come back to you. This lullaby may have originated during a time where there was a war and the men away at war would sing this song missing their significant others back home.
- Social Context: BH learned this song from her dad. He would often stay at work with late shifts, so when he came home he would sing this song to BH because he missed her while he was away at work. BH remembers this song fondly because of the connection she has with her dad through it.
Item:
“My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea
Well, my Bonnie lies over the ocean
Yeah, bring back my Bonnie to me
Yeah, bring back, ah, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me
Ah, bring, oh, bring back, ah, bring back
Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me”
- This lullaby rhymes and is often sung twice through. The song is centered around missing someone you love when they are away.
Associated File:
Informants Comments:
“I love this song because it makes me feel connected to my dad.”
Collector’s Comments:
I had never heard this lullaby before hearing BH sing it.
Collector:
Ali Silva
Dartmouth College
Russian 13
Professor Gronas and Professor Apresyan
Fall 2021
Tags:
Dartmouth
Students
Verbal Folklore
English Lullaby
Ocean
Its Bitsy Spider (Ali Silva)
Title: “Itsy Bitsy Spider”
General Information about Item:
- Children’s folklore, lullaby
- Language: English
- Country of origin: America
- Informant: ES
- Date Collected: October 16, 2021
Informant Data:
- ES was born in Rockford, Illinois on September 26, 2002. She grew up in Rockford living with her mother, father, and sister, Natalie. Her extended family also lives in nearby areas of Illinois. Her family is not religious. ES focused on athletics growing up and was also involved in dance and choir growing up. Her family spends lots of time on the water on their boat spending their time singing and fishing.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural context: This is a common American lullaby. It involves somewhat scary content since children are generally fearful of spiders, but the song is sung in a gentle sing-song tone which is soothing and beneficial for helping the child fall asleep. “Itsy Bitsy Spider” is common across all parts of America, not specifically Illinois. The song is used to foster parental-child connection and to soothe the child to sleep.
- Social Context: ES learned this song from her mom as a young child. She remembers her mom singing the song and when she was putting her to bed. ES is afraid of spiders but the song did not make her scared because of the gentle tone of the song.
Item:
“The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout.
Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.
Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,
and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again”
- This lullaby is often accompanied by using your opposing pointer finger and thumb, moving them upward like a spider moving. It also features rhyme scheme and a simple melody for ease of memory for children and parents.
Associated File:
Informants Comments:
“I think this is one of the only lullabies I can remember from my childhood and everyone I know knows this one”
Collector’s Comments:
This lullaby is super common and I remember hearing it when I was growing up.
Collector:
Ali Silva
Dartmouth College
Russian 13
Professor Gronas and Professor Apresyan
Fall 2021
Tags:
Dartmouth
Students
Verbal Folklore
English Lullaby
Spider
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (Ali Silva)
Title: “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”
General Information about Item:
- Children’s folklore, lullaby
- Language: English
- Country of origin: America
- Informant: AS
- Date Collected: October 20, 2021
Informant Data:
- AS was born in Walnut Creek, California on June 6, 2001. She lived with her mother, father, and three brothers growing up. She has one older brother and twin younger brothers. Her extended family resides in California, Oregon, and Idaho. Her family did not practice any religion growing up and they were very involved with the community and extra curricular activities such as theatre and athletics.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural context: This item is a classic American children’s lullaby. The song is centered around wonderful dreams in order to entice the child to try to fall asleep. It is a common lullaby in America and has been featured in Disney movies such as Cinderella. The lyrics and the tone of this lullaby are gentle and soothing to ease the child to sleep.
- Social Context: AS family is very musically inclined so arts, music, and singing was very common in her house growing up. Her mom would sing her lullabies almost every night before bed. Since Cinderella was AS favorite Disney princess, her mother often sang this lullaby since it is featured in the movie. AS remembers learning this from her mom singing it to her and then AS sang this lullaby to her younger brothers to help put them down for a nap.
Item:
“A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you’re fast asleep
In dreams you will lose your heartache
Whatever you wish for you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow ill come smiling through
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
The dream that you wish will come true”
- This lullaby features rhyming and soothing words associated with love and joy like “wish” and “love”. It is designed to make sleep and dreaming appealing to a young child both in terms of sleep and reaching for your dreams in real life.
Associated File:
Informants Comments:
“I will share this lullaby with my children when I am older since it is one of my cherished memories with my mom.”
Collector:
Ali Silva
Dartmouth College
Russian 13
Professor Gronas and Professor Apresyan
Fall 2021
Tags:
Dartmouth
Students
Verbal Folklore
English Lullaby
Children
Boi Da Cara Preta (Ali Silva)
Title: Boi Da Cara Preta
General Information about Item:
- Children’s folklore, lullaby
- Language: Portuguese
- Country of origin: Brazil
- Informant: JB
- Date Collected: October 16, 2021
Informant Data:
- JB was born in Winter Garden, Florida on March 23, 2001. She grew up with her younger brother and two parents. Her mother and father moved to Florida from Brazil in their early twenties but the rest of her family remains in Brazil. Her family is catholic and their ethnicity is Brazilian. JB and her family participated heavily in their community throughout her childhood and she participated in numerous extracurricular activities such as volleyball, soccer, and orchestra.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural context: This item is a classic brazilian child lullaby sung by many families who share a brazilian heritage. While the song is sung in a gentle and soothing tone, the lyrics to the lullaby are actually scary. Lullabies are used across the world, and in Brazil, to help a child drift of to sleep, they help foster a connection between the parents and the baby, and they also are helpful in establishing a routine for the baby. This lullaby culturally is an example of the parents role to protect the child from scary things that might be in the world. That is why the content is scary but the melody and delivery is gentle for this lullaby.
- Social Context: For JB, this lullaby is a way for her to connect to her brazilian heritage and her family who remains in Brazil even though she and her immediate family live in Florida. JB rarely got to see her family as a child, so this lullaby is something that her whole family, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all share to connect them to their culture and each other.
Item:
| Text: Boi, boi, boi, Boi da cara preta Pega está criança que tem medo de careta Não, não, não Não pega ele não Ele é bonitinho, ele chora coitadinho. | English Translation: Bull, bull, bull, Bull with the black face Get this child who Is afraid of frowns. No, no, no, Please do not get him, He is a beautiful child and He is crying, poor little one. |
- This lullaby has many different versions and verses, but this is a translation from the informant. The translation does not carry this, but the song has rhyming lines and short catchy phrases for ease of memorization.
Associated File:
Informants Comments:
“This was my favorite lullaby growing up because my mom, my aunt and my grandma would sing it to me.”
Collector’s Comments:
I have not heard this lullaby before but it has many of the same characteristics as ones I learned as a young child.
Collector:
Ali Silva
Dartmouth College
Russian 13
Professor Gronas and Professor Apresyan
Fall 2021