Tag Archives: students

“Go to Sleep” (Lucy Murray)

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Title: “Go to sleep”

General Information about Item:

Verbal Folklore

Language: American

Country of Origin: USA

Informant: P.S.

Date Collected: 11-5-21

Informant Data: 

P.S. is 20 years old from Orange County, California. She has grown up in California and loves to be outside surrounded by family and friends. She is the oldest of 3 girls and plays lacrosse at Dartmouth College. Her parents are extremely supportive and important to her. Her Dad is involved with the football industry and is a very intelligent, creative man. This lullaby collected from P.S. has been a staple in her family for as long as her grandparents can remember. 

Contextual Data: 

Social Context: 

This lullaby was sung to P.S. growing up. Her parents shared that they heard this lullaby as children as well. P.S.’s siblings also sung this lullaby and they appreciated that for whoever it was sung to, they could change the name to personalize the lullaby. Growing up, P.S. would not be able to fall asleep without hearing this lullaby before bed.

Cultural Context: 

P.S.’s family is from the Netherlands, but for as long as she can remember her family has been in the US. So, this lullaby is American and has no relationship to P.S.’s Dutch heritage. It has become a staple in her life and her siblings’ life, and she would consider it a fundamental part of her childhood and culture growing up. 

Item: 

Go to sleep,

Go to sleep,

Go to sleep my little Peyton, close your eyes, and have sweet dreams

And in the morning we will play 

Audio: 

Informant Comments: 

I’m not really sure where this lullaby originated but it has been in my family for as long as I can remember. I love that I can vividly remember hearing this before bed and I can’t wait to pass it along to my children.

Collector Comments: 

This interview was very relatable to my own life as I did not have any lullabies that originated from a different country. However, I had many that my family has passed on throughout the years. Overall, this interview was productive and I really enjoyed speaking with Peyton. 

Collector’s Name: Lucy Murray 

“Sleep baby sleep” (Lucy Murray)

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Title: “Sleep baby sleep”

General Information about Item:

Verbal Folklore

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Informant: K.E.

Date Collected: 11-4-21

Informant Data: 

K.E. was born October 5th, 2001. She is currently a Junior at Dartmouth College studying History. K.E. has lived in Darien, Connecticut her whole life and is a middle child. Her parents both work full time and are supportive of all her endeavors. Her mind is constantly wandering and she’s intrigued by our imagination. She remembers one lullaby as it was one that she used her imagination the most. 

Contextual Data: 

Social Context: 

K.E. shared with us that this lullaby came from her grandmother. It was just a lullaby to others, but to K.E. it meant so much more as it bonded her to her grandmother, Josie. “Sleep, baby sleep” was a staple for K.E. growing up. She would not be able to fall asleep without hearing it before bed. Although this lullaby does not originate from a specific place that K.E.’s family is from, it still helped shape her and stay connected to her family, especially those who she may not have been as close with. 

Item:

Sleep, baby, sleep 

Your father tends the sheep 

Your mother shakes the dreamland tree 

And from it fall sweet dreams for thee 

Sleep, baby, sleep 

Sleep, baby, sleep 

Audio: 

Informant Comments: 

This lullaby will forever hold a special place in my heart because my grandma is such an important person in my life. To this day she is someone I am incredibly grateful for and being able to share this lullaby with her early on in life helped our relationship flourish throughout my childhood. 

Collector Comments: 

This interview was incredibly sentimental and I really appreciated K.E.’s willingness to open up about her relationship with her grandma. She loves her grandma so much and it shined through during our conversation. 

Collector’s Name: Lucy Murray 

“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

“Frere Jacques” (Lucy Murray)

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Title: “Frere Jacques”

General Information about Item:

Verbal Folklore

Language: French and English

Country of Origin: France

Informant: T.R.

Date Collected: 11-7-21

Informant Data: 

T.R., born March 15, 2001 is from Chicago, Illinois. She was born and raised in Chicago but her family originates from Scotland, England and France. She has two older siblings as well as two incredibly supportive parents. She currently plays on the Volleyball team at Dartmouth. She told us that she grew up listening to lullabies, as her Mother came from a family that always listened to lullabies.

Contextual Data: 

Social Context: 

T.R. shared with us that lullabies were a huge part of calming her anxiety growing up. She was actually the first child that her mother sang lullabies to. The anxious nerves surrounding going to bed always made her more energetic and lullabies such as “Frere Jacques”, which she names was her favorite, helped her focus on one thing and rest her eyes. Whenever her mom was gone at night she would make sure to call her before going to bed so she could still fall asleep peacefully. Her mom and grandmother also listened to “Frere Jacques” growing up, so it only made sense that T.R. too would enjoy it. T.R. mentioned that if it were not for lullabies she is not sure how late she would have been up at night!

Cultural Context: 

Frere Jacques is a French lullaby with the first half of the lyrics in french. Although there are multiple versions of the lullaby, T.R. listed the version that has both the French lyrics and the English lyrics. Her mother’s family is originally from France, and although she does not hold many ties to France, T.R. mentioned that growing up with this lullaby and her house made her feel more connected to those roots.

Item: 

Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?

Sonnez les matines, Sonnez les matines,

Ding, Ding, Dong! Ding, Ding, Dong!

Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Brother John, Brother John?

Morning bells are ringing, morning bells are ringing,

Ding, Ding, Dong! Ding, Ding, Dong!

Audio:

Informant Comments: 

I never really thought about how important this lullaby is to me. I appreciated your questions as I was able to reflect on the importance of my family roots as well as my relationship with my mom when I was younger. Frere Jaques was a huge part of my childhood, but I was never able to see why that was the case. 

Collector Comments: 

This conversation was great, as I also grew up with Frere Jaques and had many similar background experiences as T.R.. I did have some flashbacks to my childhood when she spoke about her mom singing to her!

Collector’s Name: Lucy Murray 

“Jesusito de mi vida” (Lucy Murray)

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Title:  Jesusito de mi vida

General Information about Item:

Verbal Folklore

Language: Spanish

Country of Origin: Spain

Informant: I.G.

Date Collected: 10-23-21

Informant Data: 

I.G. was born on December 11th, 2001. Her mom was born in the Dominican Republic, but lived in Spain. Her Grandparents were also from Spain. She spent most of her Childhood going back and forth between Spain and Miami. She currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Spanish was her first language growing up. I.G. is a sophomore on the lacrosse team at Dartmouth. Her parents are both very involved in the sports industry as her mother was a professional tennis player and her father, an agent. She shared with me that this lullaby we collected was a huge part of her life growing up, as well as in her mothers and grandparents’ lives due to its catholic roots. 

Contextual Data:

Social Context: 

This lullaby was sung to her every night before going to bed when she was little. Her mom felt it was the best way to stay connected with her family heritage while being so far away. I.G. grew accustomed to hearing “Jesusito de mi Vida” before falling asleep. When her mom couldn’t be there to sing it to her, she would call her before going to bed. 

Cultural Context: 

This lullaby originated from Asturias Spain where I.G.’s grandparents lived. Her grandparents sang her the lullaby as a child. It is a catholic lullaby so growing up I.G. and her brother felt connected to that aspect of their family as well.

Item: 

Jesusito de mi vida, 

eres niño como yo,

 por eso te quiero tanto 

y te doy mi corazón. 

¡Tómalo! Tuyo es, y mío no.

Audio: 

Informant Comments: 

This lullaby helped me stay connected to my family that does not currently live in the US since we all would hear it before bed. 

Collector Comments: 

I found this lullaby and interview very eye opening as I do not have any family that lives outside the US. It was incredibly interesting to see how such a simple, small thing such as a lullaby can have huge impacts on families. 

Collectors Name: Lucy Murray 

Swallowing a Grain of Rice – Turkey (Jea Mo)

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Title: Swallowing a Grain of Rice (Turkey)

General Information

  • Customary Folklore: Pre-test custom, superstition
  • Interview Language: English
  • Country of Origin: Istanbul, Turkey
  • Informant: NK
  • Date Collected: 10/27/2021

Informant:

  • NK is a sophomore (’24) at Dartmouth College who is from Istanbul, Turkey. She has lived the entirety of her life in Turkey before coming to Dartmouth College. She commented that her family is not particularly superstitious and that she has not personally experienced the item provided.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The informant said that she is not sure where this superstitious custom stems from exactly. But she commented that it may have to do with Islamic culture or rituals since the prayer that is recited while holding the object is an Islamic prayer. Islam is currently the most practiced religion in Turkey, and the history of Islam in Turkey dates back to the 11th century when the Seljuks conquered eastern Anatolia. This item might stem from notions in the Bible and the Quran that states that one becomes what they eat, and may also draw on notions of contagious magic.
  • Social Context: This item was collected in an in-person interview. The informant said that she heard about this item from her parents, but also that it is a superstition that is widely known to the Turkish population in general. It is also a superstition that is endorsed mostly by religious people in the contemporary era. The item also exists in many variants; some families will use many grains of rice instead of just one, and other families will use a candy to replace the grain of rice.

Item:

  • Before a student takes an important exam, the student’s parents would take a single grain of rice and blow on it. They would say an Islamic prayer with it in their hands. Then they would make their child swallow the grain whole.

Associated File:

Transcript

“So, um, the first thing that comes to mind is like – you know rice? So, generally parents take some rice pieces, rice grains, and pray. They do a prayer and blow onto their grain. Then they want their child whose going to take the exam to swallow it. It’s part of the culture. It’s going to help them. I don’t know what this dates back to, but I think it’s, um, a little old. Maybe from my parents’ generation? It’s weird, but it’s something. There’s also like, the same thing happens with candy. I don’t know if you have to swallow a candy because it’s big.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I’ve never really tried this, but I honestly think it would be safe to just stick to a single grain of rice. I don’t want to choke on a hard candy.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • I agree with the informant in that it is best to keep the swallowing limited to a single grain of rice. Anything bigger may be hazardous. I wonder if certain families do use a large candy for this ritual.

Collector’s Name: Jea Mo

Tags/Keywords

  • Turkish
  • Customary folklore
  • Pre-test ritual

Its Bitsy Spider (Ali Silva)

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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)

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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

“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