Brahm's Lullaby (Cradle Song, Wiegenlied)

Cradle Song is the common name for a number of children's lullabies with similar lyrics, the original of which was Johannes Brahms's Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, gute Nacht ("Good evening, good night"), Op. 49, No. 4, published in 1868 and widely known as Brahms's Lullaby. The lyrics of the first verse are from a collection of German folk poems called Des Knaben Wunderhorn and the second stanza was written by Georg Scherer (1824–1909) in 1849. The lullaby's melody is one of the most famous and recognizable in the world, used by countless parents to sing their babies to sleep. The Lullaby was first sung by Brahms's friend, Bertha Faber, as the piece had been written to celebrate the birth of her son. Brahms had been in love with her in her youth and constructed the melody of the Wiegenlied to suggest, as a hidden countermelody, a song she used to sing to him.

 

and here is Lyric of Brahm's Lullaby

Lullaby, and good night,
With pink roses bedight,
With lilies o'erspread,
Is my baby's sweet head.
Lay you down now, and rest,
May your slumber be blessed!
Lay you down now, and rest,
May thy slumber be blessed!

Lullaby, and good night,
You're your mother's delight,
Shining angels beside
My darling abide.
Soft and warm is your bed,
Close your eyes and rest your head.
Soft and warm is your bed,
Close your eyes and rest your head.

Sleepyhead, close your eyes.
Mother's right here beside you.
I'll protect you from harm,
You will wake in my arms.
Guardian angels are near,
So sleep on, with no fear.
Guardian angels are near,
So sleep on, with no fear.

Lullaby, and sleep tight.
Hush! My darling is sleeping,
On his sheets white as cream,
With his head full of dreams.
When the sky's bright with dawn,
He will wake in the morning.
When noontide warms the world,
He will frolic in the sun.


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Lullaby and goodnight,
with roses bedight,
With lilies bedecked is baby's wee bed;
Lay thee down now and rest,
may thy slumber be blest,
Lay thee down now and rest,
may thy slumber be blest.

Lullaby and goodnight,
thy Mother's delight,
Bright angels around
my darling shall stand;
They will guard thee from harms,
thou shalt wake in my arms,
They will guard thee from harms,
thou shalt wake in my arms.


Adaptation 1

Lullaby and goodnight
With roses be dight
Creep into thy bed
There pillow thy head
If God will thou shalt wake
When the morning doth break
If God will thou shalt wake
When the morning doth break

Lullaby and goodnight
Those blue eyes close tight
Bright angels are near
So sleep without fear
They will guard thee from harm
With fair dreamland's sweet charm
They will guard thee from harm
With fair dreamland's sweet charm

Adaptation 2

Lullaby and goodnight
With roses be dight
With lilies bedecked
In baby's wee bed

Lay thee down now and rest
May thy slumber be blessed
Lay thee down now and rest
May thy slumber be blessed


Words translated from Karl Simrock by Arthur Westbrook. Music by Johannes Brahms

Guten Abend, gute Nacht, mit Rosen bedacht, mit Näglein besteckt, schlupf′ unter die Deck! Morgen früh, wenns Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt. Guten Abend, gute Nacht, von Englein bewacht, die zeigen im Traum dir Christkindleins Baum. Schlaf nun selig und süß, schau im Traum ′s Paradies.

Good evening, good night, With roses adorned, With carnations covered, Slip under the covers. Tomorrow morning, if God wants so, you will wake once again. Good evening, good night. By angels watched, Who show you in your dream the Christ-child′s tree. Sleep now peacefully and sweetly, see the paradise in your dream.

Lullaby and good night, With roses bedight, With lilies o'er spread Is baby's wee bed. Lay thee down now and rest, May thy slumber be blessed. Lullaby and good night, Thy mother's delight, Bright angels beside My darling abide. They will guard thee at rest, Thou shalt wake on my breast.

 
Brahms's Lullaby is also commonly sung to the Hebrew words of Jacob's blessing to his grandchildren, Ephraim and Menashe, in Genesis 48:16. This blessing is incorporated into the "Bedtime Shema" and has thus become a popular Jewish Lullab

In 1922, Australian pianist and composer Percy Grainger arranged the Wiegenlied as one of his "Free Settings of Favorite Melodies" for solo piano. This study was characterized by much use of suspensions and arpeggiation, with the first statement of the melody placed in the tenor range of the keyboard. This last practice was a favorite one of Grainger.