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from Volkslieder (Folksongs)

Hush‑a‑ba, birdie, croon, croon
Language: English 
Hush-a-ba, birdie, croon, croon1,
The sheep are gane to the silver wood,
An' the coos2 are gane to the broom, broom,
An' it's braw3 milkin' the kye, kye; 4
The birds are singing,
The bells are ringing,
The wild deer come galloping bye, bye.
 
Hush-a-ba, birdie, croon, croon, 1
The ewes are gane to the mountain top,
An' they'll no' be hame till noon, noon,
An' it's braw 3 herdin' the kye, kye; 4
The lambs are skipping,
The sun is dipping,
An' bairnie maun 5 hush-a-ba, bye, bye.
 
Hush-a-ba, birdie, croon, croon, 1
Your mither 6 is weary wi' watchin' here,
An' fain wad she lie doun, doun,
An' to rest she'll no be blate, blate;7
The fire is sinkin'
And mither 6 is thinkin'
Her bairnie maun 5 sleep for it's late, late.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
Definitions from the Alice Chambers Bunten score:
1 Croon = to croon or murmur
2 Coos = cows
3 Braw = grand
4 Kye = a herd of cows
5 Maun = must
6 Mither = mother
7 Blate = sorry-unwilling

Text Authorship:

  • from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , ancient Scottish Lullaby [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Alice Chambers Bunten , "Hush-a-ba, Birdie", published 1899 [ voice and piano ], Paterson's Publications Ltd. (Glasgow, London, New York) [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by John McCabe (1939 - 2015), "Hush-a-ba birdie, croon, croon", 1976 [ high voice, horn, and piano ], from Five Folksongs, no. 4, Novello [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2009-10-08
Line count: 21
Word count: 140

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