Listen to cherished lullabies — from Brahms to Backstreet Boys — sung by our readers
"Pick a song that you can stand to sing over and over, maybe for years," is advice that Elizabeth Wolf of Merrimac, Mass., gives new parents. "Doesn't matter how well you sing it. Over time that will be the most soothing sound your child knows."
That sentiment was reflected in the many, many lovely stories you so generously shared with us in response to our story on lullabies. We invited readers to send their memories — and, when possible, recordings — of lullabies that worked wonders at naptime or bedtime. Thank you to the nearly 200 crooners who responded. We read (and listened to) each story and song. You made us smile, laugh, tear up ... and even get a little sleepy. Here's a selection of the lullabies that have struck a chord with the NPR audience.
The songs you shared come from all around the world, with lyrics that touch on the divine — and, to our surprise, nasty tigers.
Vandna Milligan of Seattle, Wash., would sing "Achyutam Keshavam." It's an unlikely title for a bedtime song — the translation is "infallible one and killer of demons." But that's not what the song is about. It's an ode to the baby Krishna. "In Hinduism, [the God] Krishna is the embodiment of childlike joy that is the prize of life," Milligan says. The song asks the question: "Who says that God does not sleep?" and has a line about rocking the baby Krishna to sleep.
That resonated with Milligan."I fretted about my baby's eating and sleeping." The song "tells me that I just have to sing to my baby the way Krishna's mom sang to him, and he will sleep,"
