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Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
Winkum, winkum, shut your eye,
Sweet my baby, lullaby,
For the dews are falling soft,
Lights are flick'ring up aloft.
And the moonlight's peeping over,
Yonder hilltop capped with clover.
Chickens long have gone to rest,
Birds lie snug within their nest,
And my birdie soon will be
Sleeping like a chick-a-dee.
For with only half a try,
Winkum, winkum shuts her eye.
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"Winkum, Winkum" is an American lullaby, gentle and unhurried, built around the image of a world that has already settled into sleep. The dews are falling, lights are flickering, the moonlight peeps over a hilltop. The chickens are at rest, the birds are in their nests — everything is in its place, and the baby is invited to join them.
The name "winkum" is a playful diminutive of "wink" — the closing of an eye — and the song personifies that drowsy half-shutting as something the eye does almost of its own accord, with "only half a try." The final line, in which winkum shuts her eye, completes the image: sleep comes gently and without struggle.
The song has been sung in American households for generations, passing through oral tradition before appearing in published collections in the nineteenth century. Its tone is one of absolute reassurance — the world outside is soft and quiet, and the night is safe. This recording gives it a quiet, close-in arrangement that suits its mood perfectly.
