General information about item:
- Verbal Folklore
- A prayer sung as a lullaby
- Language: English
- MA, USA
- Informant: Nina Nesselbush
- Date Collected: 10-30-21
Informant Data: Nina Nesselbush is a female student at Dartmouth in the class of 2023. She is the youngest of five sisters and grew up in Massachusetts. Nina is a Junior on the Dartmouth women’s field hockey team and is an engineering major. She shared this lullaby with me that was sung to her and her sisters before bedtime.
Contextual Data
- Social Context: Nina grew up in a very religious household. From as young as she can remember, this lullaby was a prayer that her mother transformed into her own tune. She was shocked to learn in church as she grew older that the prayer was not in fact a lullaby.
- Cultural context: This lullaby is the “Lord’s Prayer,” but Nina refers to it as “Our Father.” It is a Catholic prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples. Nina’s mother grew up in the church choir and was very familiar with hymns. Given the religious nature of her family, it was very important that Nina was involved with her religious roots at an early age.
Item:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins, as we forgive them that sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Informants Comments:
- This lullaby is the first thing that comes to mind when I think about my childhood. My sister’s and I loved our mother’s voice, and found it soothing to listen to before bed.
Collectors Comments
- I found this prayer, turned into a lullaby, to be unique. Nina’s mother was able to incorporate religion into her daughter’s lives at a very young age. It was interesting to see the impact it had on Nina’s upbringing through her mother’s creativity
Collector’s Name: Emma Macaione