from Volkslieder (Folksongs)
Translation by Anonymous / Unidentified Author

Shepherd's cradle song
Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
Sleep, baby, sleep,
Thy father guards his sheep,
Thy mother shakes the dreamland tree,
Down falls a little dream for thee,
Sleep, baby sleep.

Sleep, baby, sleep,
The large stars are the sheep,
The little stars are lambs, I guess,
The gentle moon the shepherdess,
Sleep, baby sleep.

Sleep, baby, sleep,
Away, to tend thy sheep,
Away, thou sheep dog, fierce and wild,
And do not harm my sleeping child;
Sleep, baby, sleep.

Sleep, baby, sleep,
Our Saviour loves his sheep,
He is the Lamb of God on high,
Who for our sakes came down to die,
Sleep, baby sleep.

Text Authorship:

Based on:

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

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

  • Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Alfred Humphries Pease.
  • Also set in English, a translation by Elizabeth Prentiss [an adaptation] ; composed by Arthur Foote.

Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2011-05-04
Line count: 20
Word count: 100