Lullabies are sung all over the world to send children to sleep, rhymed and harmonious songs with often repetitive lines, sung by a mother or other relatives while rocking a baby is a tradition of many cultures that goes back to ancient times and
gets passed down over generations.
Besides well-known positive effects of lullabies on children such as creating an important bed time routine, the atmosphere of safety, strenthening the mother-child bond, assisting in early development of a child by stimulating their brain activity, there is one more thing that is not often mentioned: lullabies carry a wealth of experience in the area of traditions, customs, social life and history of a nation. We can find out what life was like back then by looking closer at lyrics of old lullabies.
Today I'm going to sing for you one of the oldest Russian lullabies and try to give you an impression of a traditional Russian family of those times by translating the lyrics in English.
Listen on Soundcloud
Зыбаю-колыбаю / I'm rocking you
отец ушел за рыбою / and father left to catch fish
мать ушла коров доить / mother left to milk cows
сестра ушла пеленки мыть. / and sister left to wash the diapers
Зыбаю-колыбаю / I'm rocking you
отец ушел за рыбою / and father left to catch fish
мать ушла коров доить / mother left to milk cows
а дедушка — дрова рубить. / and grandfather - to chop wood
Дедушка — дрова рубить / grandfather left to chop wood
да бабушка — уху варить / and grandmother - to cook chowder
Бабушка - уху варить / grandmother left to cook chowder
Да свою внученьку кормить / to feed her grandbaby
Бабушка — по ягодки / grandmother left to pick up berries
по ягодки, по сладеньки / berries, sweet berries
будем рыбоньку варить / we will cook the fish
да будем внученьку кормить / and feed our grandbaby
Детка спи и ты усни / sleep, baby, go to sleep
да угомон тебя возьми / settle down now
The drawing is made by @liverussian with coloured pencils
Here are all the lullabies sung by me:
Lullaby from a film "Ballad about lovers"
Sleep, my joy, sleep
Lullaby of Mother Bear