Lullaby, Oh Lullaby (Lambs Are Sleeping)
Flowers are closed and lambs are sleeping — a gentle goodnight to the world
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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
Lullaby, oh lullaby,
Flow'rs are closed and lambs are sleeping,
Stars are up, the moon is peeping,
Lullaby, oh lullaby.
While the birds are silence keeping,
Sleep my baby, fall a sleeping.
Lullaby, oh lullaby,
The air is clear and lambs are sleeping,
Sun is down and night time's creeping,
Lullaby, oh lullaby.
While the moon its light is beaming,
Sleep my baby, fall a sleeping.
Lullaby, oh lullaby,
Lullaby, oh lullaby.
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"Lullaby, Oh Lullaby" (also known as "Lambs Are Sleeping" from its opening image) is a Victorian lullaby of elegant simplicity. The poem was written by Christina Rossetti as part of her collection Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme Book (1872), with music added subsequently to carry it into the lullaby tradition.
Rossetti was one of the finest poets of the Victorian era, and her nursery rhymes are remarkable for their lyrical quality and their refusal to condescend. "Lullaby, Oh Lullaby" is characteristic: it does not address the child directly or make promises of gifts, but instead describes the world going to sleep around the baby — flowers closing, lambs resting, stars appearing, birds falling silent. Sleep is presented as participation in something universal rather than a lonely surrender.
The image of lambs sleeping has a particular pastoral warmth. Lambs in the meadow at dusk, the moon beginning its watch, the silence of birds: these are images of complete, natural rest, held up as an example for the child. If the whole world is settling for the night, the baby need not feel any anxiety about doing so too.
Our arrangement treats the poem with the gentleness it deserves, making it one of the quieter and more beautiful pieces in the collection.
