Translation by Elizabeth Prentiss
Sleep, baby, sleep!
Language: English after the German (Deutsch)
Sleep, baby, sleep! Thy father's watching the sheep, Thy mother's shaking the dreamland tree, And down drops a little dream for thee. Sleep, baby, sleep. Sleep, baby, sleep! The large stars are the sheep, The little stars are lambs, I guess, The bright moon is the shepherdess. Sleep, baby, sleep! Sleep, baby, sleep! The Saviour loves his sheep; He is the Lamb of God on high, Who for our sakes came down to die. Sleep, baby, sleep! Sleep, baby, sleep! Away, to tend the sheep, Away, thou sheepdog, fierce and wild, And do not harm my sleeping child! Sleep, baby, sleep! Sleep!
E. Nevin sets stanzas 1-3
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Prentiss [an adaptation] [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) from Volkslieder (Folksongs) , "Morgenlied von den Schäfchen", appears in Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Arthur Foote (1853 - 1937), "Sleep, baby, sleep", op. 26 (Eleven songs for voice and piano) no. 1 (1892) [ voice and piano ], Boston : A.P. Schmidt [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin (1862 - 1901), "Cradle song", 1887, stanzas 1-3 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Arthur Somervell, Sir.
- Also set in English, a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist [an adaptation] ; composed by Alfred Humphries Pease.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2012-04-14
Line count: 20
Word count: 102