Talk:Rock-a-bye Baby

message: There is an episode of the movie short John Nesbitt's Passing Parade that claims Hush-A-Bye Baby was written in England during the reign of King James II and that the meaning of the song has something to do with the king faking the birth of an heir, that the "tree" is a family tree, etc.  That would date this to around the time of Lilliburlero. I looked at the page for Lilliburlero, but nothing in the lyrics there seems to quite fit this description. --71.58.118.98 10:36, 20 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I read a similar story in a book about British royalty. According to that, the baby was James Francis Edward Stuart and the wind was bringing William of Orange. Jess Cully 14:54, 19 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I have a source! This story about the song is quite popular in Northern Ireland. --Helenalex 21:39, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd greatly appreciate if somebody could supply me with source material to the effect that the two melodies (Lillibullero and Rock-a-bye baby) are actually "relatives", as it were. Many internet sources seem to support that claim, but other than that, few hard facts are given. There are some, well, similarities in the broadest sense, but these are (to my ears, at least) superficial - they don't seem to go any further than the 6/8 meter and general melodic outline, which isn't all that surprising, given the "folksy" context. My impression is (I may be wrong, of course) that the Rock-a-bye baby melody is considerably more modern in its musical outlook, makes more efficient use of wide interval leaps and does some quite surprising things (like the double ascending fourth interval that goes with the words "down will come" - although the music at this point doesn't echo the lyrics too well ;-)). Plus, the chord accompaniments demanded by the respective tunes, simple as they may be, are obviously different. Anyway, since I find "Lillibullero" a song with an amazing history, I'd like to add a few words about the supposed connection to the lullaby (I'm just in the process of translating the "Lillibullero" article into German). Any suggestions are welcome, you are also invited to leave a message on the talk page of the German article (:de:Lillibullero). Thx, --Rainer Lewalter 21:50, 16 October 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: The melody you describe, with the double ascending fourths, is well-known and probably universal in North America, and has nothing to do with Lilliburlero.  Compare this YouTube version in a British accent with this one in an American one.  The latter is definitely 3/4 rather than 6/8.   --John Cowan (talk) 17:35, 1 May 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: [Untitled]

message: According to W. W. Denslow's Mother Goose at Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18546/18546-h/18546-h.htm), there is a version with a much more desirable ending:
::Hush-a-bye, baby, on on the tree top,
::When the wind blows the cradle will rock;
::When the bough bends it never can fall,
::Safe is the baby, bough, cradle and all.
I was wondering if it should be included, and if anyone knows any more information on it.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.51.126.69 (talk) 07:17, 10 January 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't have any more information on it, but since it is sourced I cannot see any problem with this going in.--SabreBD (talk) 07:46, 10 January 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Version with Positive Lyrics 

message: It occurred to me, while fishing for lullabies to calm my newborn with about...12 years ago...that this song was actually about the birthing process. That's (perhaps) a simpler explanation than these others, but it makes sense to me.  The treetop is the mother's womb, the bough breaking is the water breaking, and right afterwards comes baby, cradle and all (baby + afterbirth that use to "cradle" it).  As someone prone to usually over-thinking things, I'm surprised this simpler interpretation hasn't been suggested yet.  --Saronai
~~gene.lanzl~~
I believe that this poet wanted to write about pregnancy, a subject that could not be discussed in public and even within families was not talked about. The inspiration could well have come from the bible, Pro 3:13.  "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding." 
Pro 3:18  "She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her."
Instead of thinking about a natural tree, think about a "Woman Tree". the cradle/baby are hung high in the womb and when the mother "breathes" the "wind blows". In Hebrew, the original language of Proverbs, one word is used to mean wind and breath, "ruach" Strong's H 7307. When she breathes, her diaphragm moves and causes the cradle to rock. In nine months something breaks and down comes cradle, baby and all. The poet does not tell us if the baby is okay or not. Each birth is unique and we must check to see. This whole experience of conception to birth was filled will anxiety as there most likely was not any prenatal care, no hospital and no doctor, a midwife perhaps. Many things could go wrong and often did. The poet captured this anxiety very well with the words but this same experience also produced hope and great joy. I imagine family members happily preparing for the new baby's arrival, so we have two very different emotions attached to this experience, anxiety & joy. How did the poet capture the joy? Let me suggest that the music does that very well. The happy melody married to the anxious words, perfectly captures the experience of obeying God's words, "Be fruitful and multiply".
Because talking about pregnancy was not socially acceptable, those who understood the poem's meaning chose not to explain it and the meaning was lost over time. Now we can speak of the things and share what the poet really meant.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gene.lanzl (talk • contribs) 12:39, 18 July 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  A mother's thoughts 

message: I don't think that Rock-a-bye-baby and Lillibullero sound even remotely like they could be related. Is there something I'm missing, or can that statement be removed? ( For reference: Rock-a-bye vs. Lillibullero) Beleg Tâl (talk) 17:31, 23 April 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lillibullero 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: A previous editor didn't understand that the 1600s were the 17th century. I am making edits to the origins section to correct this.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.203.79.217 (talk) 08:30, 6 March 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Origins Timing

message: I've added a few citations and also added Citation Needed tags to several passages in desperate need of them. After eight years without a citation (and I cannot find any sources not based on this article), I am removing this uncited factual claim from the opening paragraph: The melody is a variant of the English satirical ballad "Lillibullero". I am also removing this image, which self-identifies as original research. Justin Bacon (talk) 23:51, 21 September 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Citation Clean-Up