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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
Bye low, bye low, baby's in the cradle sleeping,
Tip-toe, tip-toe, still as pussy cat is creeping,
Bye low, bye low, rock the cradle, baby's waking,
Hush, my baby, oh!
Bye low, bye low, baby's in the cradle sleeping,
I know, I know, baby's dreaming oh so deep in sleep,
Oh sleep, time to wake and greet the new day,
Hush, my baby, oh!
Bye low, bye low, baby's in the cradle sleeping,
Tip-toe, tip-toe, still as pussy cat is creeping,
Bye low, bye low, rock the cradle, baby's waking,
Hush, my baby, oh!
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"Rock the Cradle" is a traditional cradle song built around the lullaby sound "bye low" — a soothing, rhythmic syllable used to calm babies in many cultures. The phrase has parallels in "Bye Baby Bunting", "Lullaby" (from "lull" and "bye"), and numerous other cradle songs across the English-speaking world. It is the sound of rocking itself, translated into syllables.
The imagery is gently domestic: the sleeping baby, the creeping cat, the tip-toeing adults moving quietly so as not to wake the child. The contrast between motion and stillness — rocking the cradle, moving silently, the baby stirring then settling again — gives the song its natural rhythm.
Lullabies of this kind do not require documented histories to be effective. They exist in a long tradition of unrecorded music made by parents for children in the ordinary moments of domestic life: cradle songs sung by voices that were never famous, to children who grew up and sang them in turn. Our gentle arrangement honours that tradition.
