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Introduction

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Introduction: 

For our project, we decided to collect children’s lullabies from around the world, interviewing Dartmouth students from across the USA and various foreign countries. Lullabies are songs ranging anywhere from a few lines to multiple paragraphs used to soothe children. They can be passed down from generation to generation, with many of them having a strong connection to familial heritage. We also found that many lullabies used natural elements to soothe, such as the sun and animals, and used repetition of similar phrases and rhymes. The idea of love was conveyed in a majority of our lullabies, as well as reference to guardians. In addition, some lullabies had scary themes, but regardless of what the theme was, all lullabies were sung with a gentle voice and smooth pitch contours. 

Informants: 

The informants that we collected from gave us a very diverse pool of information, ranging from South American to European to American lullabies. The 35 people that we interviewed provided valuable insight into the purpose and different meanings of lullabies. 

Presentation:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11WzgrkMYnUZD8ESK-kZw9GARGdR_FkxM1lCw7PKiGc0/edit?usp=sharing

Items:

Collectors:

  • Reem Atallah
  • Emma Macaione
  • Lucy Murray
  • Ignacio Ortiz
  • Ali Silva
  • Piper Stevens
  • Jenn Wendelken

Tags: 

  • Verbal Folklore
  • Lullabies
  • Dartmouth
  • Students
  • Natural Elements

“Thumbelina” (Piper Stevens)

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Title: “Thumbelina”

General Information about Item:

  • Lullaby: Verbal Folklore   
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: M.W.
  • Grantham, NH
  • April 2006
  • Collected: October 21, 2021

Informant Data:

  • M. W. is a 19-year-old Caucasian freshman at Dartmouth College. She was born in Lebanon, NH, and lived with her younger brother, mother, and father in Grantham, NH for her whole life. Her mother, Elizabeth, is a physician, and her father, John, works in IT, and her whole family was Catholic, although M.W. does not actively practice Catholicism.

Contextual Data:

Social Context:

  • M.W.’s grandmother always sang M.W.’s mother Elizabeth lullabies every night, so when Elizabeth had a daughter, she knew that she wanted to sing her lullabies. Her grandmother first found Thumbelina when Elizabeth was young, and sang it to her for her whole childhood. Elizabeth sang M.W. many lullabies every night, but Thumbelina was M.W.’s favorite. If M.W. was ever particularly sad or in a bad mood, her mother always knew that singing Thumbelina would make her feel better. 

Cultural Context:

  • This lullaby talks about a fairy who goes to a happy place and meets a kind prince. This is soothing to a child because they can imagine a fantasy land, which is peaceful for them to think about before they go to bed. This is also important for M.W.’s family because it has been passed down for generations, especially since M.W plans to pass on this lullaby to her child. 

Lullaby Text:

Once there was a maiden, so beautiful and kind.

She was the smallest maiden fair that you could ever find.

She was sweet and she was gentle, and she loved the simple way.

At night she slept in a walnut, she sailed on a flower all day.

Tiny Thumbelina, you could fit into my hand.

I hope you find a happy place, in a sunny fairyland.

Somewhere there’s a tiny prince, he’s handsome, good and kind.

He is just the prince that Thumbelina wants to find

He’s strong and he is gentle and he loves the simple way.

He and Thumbelina will be happy all their days.

Tiny Thumbelina, you could fit into my hand.

I hope you find a happy place, in a sunny fairyland.

Yes, I hope you find a happy place, in a sunny fairyland.

Audio:

Informant’s Comments:

“Thumbelina connects me to my grandmother, especially since I don’t get to see her often anymore. I want to pass it to my kids so that they can have a memory of their grandmother.”

Collector’s Comments:

Thumbelina was a part of my childhood as well, but in the form of a book, not a lullaby.

Collector: Piper Stevens

Tags:

  • Verbal Folklore
  • English Lullaby
  • Dartmouth
  • Students
  • Thumbelina

“Snuggle Puppy” (Piper Stevens)

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Title: “Snuggle Puppy”

General Information about Item:

  • Lullaby: Verbal Folklore   
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: E.W.
  • Tiburon, California
  • March 2007
  • Collected: October 30, 2021

Informant Data:

  • E.W. is a 19 year old Caucasian freshman at Dartmouth College from Tiburon, California. Originally born in Greenbrae, California, she has lived in Tiburon for her whole life along with her brother, sisters, mother, and father. Her father Aaron works in real estate development for data centers, and her mother Sherry works in finance for a technology start-up. E.W. was raised Christian, but does not actively practice Christianity. She enjoys engineering and math, and wants to be an environmental engineer when she grows up.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: 

  • When E.W. was a young girl, she loved to read books with her parents every night before bed. One of her favorite books was Snuggle Puppy, of which she would always request for her dad to read her. On the last page of the book, there was a long song printed that E.W. would always have her dad sing to her, and after reading the story multiple times, they both knew it by heart. As she got older, they stopped reading the story, but her dad continued to sing her Snuggle Puppy every night. Even after E.W. got too old to listen to Snuggle Puppy, she began to sing it to her little brother and read him the story every night.

Cultural Context:

  • This lullaby is very important to their family because it was passed to both E.W. and her brother. The song connects them to one another, and it is a way for them to stay together, although E.W. and her brother are both older. It is also important to E.W. and her brother because it is a way for them to engage with each other even when E.W. is across the country in college.

Lullaby Text:

Well I have a thing to tell you and it won’t take long

The way I feel about you is kind of a song

It starts with an ooh

And ends with a kiss

And all along the middle it goes something like this

It goes ooh

Snuggle Puppy of mine

Everything about you is especially fine

I love what you are

I love what you do

Fuzzy little Snuggle Puppy, I love you

It goes ooh

Snuggle Puppy of mine

Everything about you is especially fine

I love what you are

I love what you do

Ooh, I love you

Well I have a thing to tell you and it won’t take long

The way I feel about you is kind of a song

I started with ooh

I gave you a kiss

I hope you liked the middle, now we’ll end like this

We go ooh

Snuggle Puppy of mine

Everything about you is especially fine

I love what you are

I love what you do

Fuzzy little Snuggle Puppy, I love you

I say ooh

Snuggle Puppy of mine

Everything about you is especially fine

I love what you are

I love what you do

Ooh, I love you

Audio:

Informant’s Comments:

“I love Snuggle Puppy whenever I hear it because it reminds me of my little brother and the relationship we have.”

Collector’s Comments: 

E.W. knew the tune of the lullaby very well, but had to refresh her knowledge of the lyrics. 

Collector: Piper Stevens

Tags:

  • Verbal Folklore
  • English Lullaby
  • Dartmouth
  • Students
  • Animals

“Be Patient” (Piper Stevens)

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Title: “Be Patient”

General Information about Item:

  • Lullaby: Verbal Folklore   
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: M.”K.” A.
  • Spring, Texas
  • September 2006
  • Collected: November 7, 2021

Informant Data:

  • M. “K.” A. is a Caucasian 20-year-old junior on the Dartmouth Women’s Volleyball team. K.A. was born in Grapevine, Texas but was raised in Spring, Texas by her father Stacey, and her mother Susan. Both her parents are accountants, and her family practices Catholicism. She is a Quantitative Social Science Major and Studio Art Minor, and in her free time, K.A. enjoys playing her ukulele and practicing volleyball.

Contextual Data:

Social Context:

  • K.A was with her dad at an ice cream parlor when she was six years old, and her ice cream was taking a while, making her get very upset. She was about to throw a tantrum and make a fuss in the ice cream parlor when her dad pulled her aside and started singing this lullaby to her. The lullaby helped calm her down and made her feel better about her not having her ice cream. After this experience, her dad sang her this song before bed if she was particularly upset about not being able to fall asleep. 

Cultural Context:

  • The lullaby uses repetition and a soft tone of voice to help soothe the child. It also mentions God being patient, which shows how religion can be incorporated into lullabies if the family is religious. “Be Patient” can help get a child to calm down in many different situations because it is trying to help a child do as the name suggests, be patient, which applies to many different scenarios in a child’s life.

Lullaby Text:

Be patient, be patient

Don’t need to start a hurry,

When you are, impatient

You only start to worry,

Be patient, be patient

Because God is patient too,

Remember all the other times

When others have to wait on you!

Audio:

Informant’s Comments:

“This lullaby was an integral part of my childhood because I was a very impatient kid, so my parents, and more specifically my father, sang it to me all of the time.”

Collector’s Comments: 

It is interesting to see how religion can impact the lullabies that a child will listen to. Other informants who were not raised religiously, and their lullabies do not mention God.


Collector: Piper Stevens

Tags:

  • Verbal Folklore
  • English Lullaby
  • Dartmouth
  • Students
  • Patience

“Oscar Mayer Lullaby” (Piper Stevens)

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Title: Oscar Mayer Lullaby

General Information about Item:

  • Lullaby: Verbal Folklore   
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: C.S.
  • Concord, Massachusetts
  • Collected: November 11, 2021

Informant Data:

  • C. S. is a 19 year old freshman at Dartmouth College from Concord, Massachusetts, but was originally born in Boston, Massachusetts. She was raised by her mother Karen, who is a research doctor, and father Bobby, who works in healthcare, alongside her sister, Amy. C.S. plans on majoring in engineering, and in her free time, likes to ski and play sports. Her family practiced Catholicism, but C.S. does not currently consider herself Catholic.

Contextual Data:

Social Context:

  • C.S.’s mother loved the Oscar Mayer commercial when she was young because she thought the little boy singing the song was so cute and the jingle itself was so clever. When she had C.S., she realized that C.S.’s name fit perfectly with the jingle from her childhood, so she began to sing it to her as a baby. She sang C.S. the lullaby every night after she read her a book, so it became an integral part of her childhood.

Cultural Context:

  • Since the lullaby is customized to C.S.’s name, her family is likely the only one who sings this lullaby. However, C.S. wants to pass the lullaby down to her daughter or son, catering it to whatever their name happens to be. This lullaby is an example of how culture can influence lullabies, as her mother got the lullaby from a memorable commercial.

Lullaby Text:

(to the Oscar Meyer jingle): 

My little baby’s first name starts with C-O-U-R-T

My baby’s name continues N-E-Y-R-O-S-E

Oh, I love to kiss her everyday

And if you ask me why I’ll say

Because Courtney Rose is the cutest S-E-P-U-C-H-A

Audio:

Informant’s Comments:

“I’ve never seen the Oscar Mayer commercial, but I know exactly how the jingle goes because my mother has sung both versions to me so many times.”

Collector’s Comments: 

I had to look up the commercial to see what the tune of the lullaby was, and the commercial is from 1973. 

Collector: Piper Stevens

Tags:

  • Verbal Folklore
  • English Lullaby
  • Dartmouth
  • Students
  • Custom

“You are my Sunshine” (Piper Stevens)

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Title: You are my Sunshine

General Information about the Item:

  • Lullaby: Verbal Folklore   
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: A.S.
  • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • January 2008
  • Date Collected: October 19, 2021

Informant Data: 

  • A.S. is an 18 year old female freshman on the Dartmouth Women’s Soccer team. She was born in Riverside, California, but lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for the majority of her life. A.S. was raised, along with her sister, by her mother Danielle and father Stephon, who are both business owners in Nevada. A.S. and her family practice Christianity, and her ethnicity is Hispanic and African American. In her free time, A.S. likes to play soccer and read, and in the future, she wants to be a trauma soldier in the military. 

Contextual Data:

Social Context:

  • When A.S. was five years old, she went on vacation with her mom and aunt at the Grand Canyon. It was a windy day, and A.S. was wearing her favorite purple jacket, but she decided that she wanted to take it off. However, she was not paying attention to her surroundings, so as she was taking it off, her jacket flew over the edge of the canyon. A.S. immediately began to sob because she knew she was never going to be able to wear her favorite jacket again, and could not be calmed by her mom or her aunt. An old man saw this happen to A.S., so he came over to her and sang her the lullaby “You are my Sunshine.” She was surprisingly calmed down by his song, so her mom then sang it to her every time she became upset or before bed.

Cultural Context:

  • This lullaby helps a crying or upset child feel better by reminding them that they are special, loved, and needed by those around them. In American culture, the sun and sunshine are associated with positivity and happiness, so children want to be reminded that they are just like those things. It is normally sung to a child by an adult, and is used to put them in a good mood. It reminds the child that they are important in the adult’s life and is sung with a soft tone of voice, as another way to soothe the child. The adult wants the child to know how much they love them in hopes of calming them down, and the lullaby helps aid them when the child is inconsolable and does not want to listen.

Lullaby Text:

“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,

So please don’t take, my sunshine away”

Audio:

Informant’s Comments:

  • “This is a very common lullaby where I’m from, as many of my friends from home also sang the same lullaby when they were younger.”

Collector’s Comments: 

  • I have heard this song when my aunt was singing to my baby cousins while they were upset.

______________________________________________________

Collector: Piper Stevens

Tags:

  • Verbal Folklore
  • English Lullaby
  • Dartmouth
  • Students
  • Sun