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