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: 135