Tag Archives: lullaby

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

Sana, Sana (Ignacio Ortiz)

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  • Title: Sana, Sana, Curita de Rana (Heal, Heal, Frog Bandaid)
  • General Information about item:
    • Verbal Lore, lullaby
    • Language: Spanish
    • Country of Origin: Peru
    • Informant: A.C.
    • Date Collected: 10-31-2021
  • Informant Data:
    •  A.C. is a 2025 female student from Lima, Peru. She is the CEO of Wawa Laptop, a company to give technology access to underserved Peruvian children. In Dartmouth, she aspires to major in Education and enjoys spending her time with her friends.
  • Contextual Data:
    • Cultural Context: These types of lullabies are comforting for a sickness and very common in Latin America. Utilizing animals has been a great way to convey innocence that would resonate with children.
    • Social Context: The rhyme and soothing tone of this healing lullaby is very calming for a children in pain.
  • Associated File:
  • Transcript:
    • Sana, Sana,
    • curita de Rana
    • Si no sana hoy,
    • sanará mañana
  • Informant’s Comments:
    • “The song works like magic”.
  • Collector’s Comments:
    • The collector is from Ecuador, so this song is very special and was sung to him as well.
  • Collector’s Name: Ignacio Ortiz

Hush Little Baby (Emma Macaione)

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General information about item: 

  • Verbal Folklore
  • Childhood Lullaby
  • Language: English
  • Country and State of Origin: Connecticut, US 
  • Informant: Maggie O’Gorman 
  • Date Collected: 11-01-21

Informant Data: 

  • Maggie O’Gorman is a female Dartmouth student in the class of 2022. She was born and raised in Connecticut by her father. During her time at Dartmouth, Maggie plays Division 1 lacrosse and sings in an acapella group. In her time away from Dartmouth, Maggie enjoys community service, especially with her father. Given that grew up in a single-parent household as an only child, Maggie mentioned that her and her father have a very close relationship. 

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: This lullaby was sung to her, among others, before going to bed when she was young. It sends the message that no matter what happens to the person (little baby) he or she has nothing to fear, and that Papa (in Maggie’s case) would be given things to make her feel better. This message of this lullaby meant a lot to Maggie, as she mentioned that her father has always been her backbone. 
  • Cultural Context: This lullaby is a traditional, American lullaby. When singing this lullaby, she mentioned “Papa” as opposed to “Mama,” which demonstrates that the lullaby had interchangeable lyrics.

Item: 

Hush little baby, don’t say a word

Mama/ Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird

And if that mockingbird won’t sing, 

Mama/ Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring 

And if that diamond ring turns brass, 

Mama/ Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass

And if that looking glass gets broke, 

Mama/ Papa’s gonna buy you a billy goat 

And if that billy goat won’t pull 

Mama/ Papa’s gonna buy you a cart and bull 

And if that cart and bull fall down

You’ll still be the sweetest little baby in town

Recording:

Informants Comments: This lullaby helped me fall asleep and always made me feel safe and protected with my Dad. I remember hearing someone sing using “Mama” instead of “Papa,” when I was younger, and tried to correct them because I thought the lyrics were wrong.

Collectors Comments: I found this lullaby and interview to give me an interesting perspective on how lullabies can be shifted and formed to match the identity of the deliverer. I remember this lullaby sung by my mother to me, and although Maggie remembers the lyrics with a slight difference, it is still sending the same message. 

Collector’s Name: Emma Macaione

“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.

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Collector: Piper Stevens

Tags:

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