Nursery rhyme origins of "Hush A Bye Baby"

Traditional rhymes, songs, and sayings provide unmatched links with the past. They recall incidents and social conditions in history that may otherwise have been forgotten. In fact, they may be described as the poetry of the ages.

Over the centuries, material things have crumbled and perished, and buildings, books, and ideas have lost their identity. Yet, the oral rhyme has thrived, resilient and enduring, to be repeated over and over again, since time and speech began.

The English language as we know it today is a rich tapestry of many tongues: Celtic, Saxon, Latin and French have combined to produce a complex pattern, a pattern that resonates with cultures across the globe.

The traditional chant has survived these hazards and, because of this, has become a precious part of our inheritance. The recording of old verses was rare. Parchment was scarce and learned people were few.

Those who could write considered everyday jingles too trivial a subject for the record—and where was the need when only a few could read, and the rhymes were very strongly represented in the oral collection?

Many of the true meanings of the old verses are lost to us, and they have secrets locked between their lines which can never be told. We repeat them, savouring the lilt and charm that have helped them survive, but in the main, we have yet to learn of the backgrounds from which they sprang.

The form of the nursery rhyme is well known, and its popularity is increasing yearly. For example, many verses are rooted in mythology and legend.

From supernatural beginnings, oral rhymes have multiplied and flourished. Other nursery jingles our youngsters chant joyfully were not initially meant for children's amusement. They were satires on contemporary political or religious events, popularised perhaps by leading wits and jesters and sung by strolling minstrels.

Who Killed Cock Robin?, for instance, has been accepted by many as a parody of the death of William Rufus in the New Forest. Charms, fortune rituals, weather, and nature verses may not be familiar to us. Still, they reflect the hopes, fears, and humour of our ancestors and give us a deeper understanding of the necessary fight for early man's survival. In a few simple words, these doggerels describe the true outlook of primitive folk and are as fresh and earthy now as when they were first uttered.

Many proverbs, riddles, and tongue twisters are known to be very old and have, therefore, found a place in the opening chapters. Counting-out rhymes—the juvenile code ritual that precedes numerous children's games—are also regarded as having great antiquity.

Many monuments in Britain today remind us of our traditional rhymes: Nottingham pays tribute to Robin Hood; London Bridge has been reconstructed yet once more; the remaining Oranges and Lemons churches draw sightseers from all over the world. The working rhymes still have their uses.

Lullabies will never fade.

Tongue twisters are valuable to the speech therapist, and proverbs are a necessary part of the language. Many of us would feel lost if we could not recite Thirty Days hath September. More recently, the music hall, now almost obsolete, has provided numerous songs and sayings which have joined the constant stream.

This is probably due to the skill and personality of the artists, who presented the material in such a way that it has remained indelible in the minds of ordinary folk throughout the years. Daisy Bell and Dilly Dally are just two that have found a place in this collection.

These well-loved choruses form the backbone of most branches of community singing in modern times. Together with For He's A Jolly Good Fellow, these two simple chants top the popularity poll — and yet both have very different origins.

Our civilisation is based on centuries of observation and superstition, and old habits do not die so quickly. Charm bracelets are still worn and lucky mascots are famous. Many people will avoid walking under a ladder or willy avow viewing a new moon through glass or trees. Very few people will stand bareheaded in the presence of flying bats. When visiting a well, some people will make a wish and throw money into it. A sudden spine shiver or a stab of fear in the dark cannot be explained.

These customs and feelings are relics of former days and must be accepted as such. Some of my theories will be openly disputed. In this event, I shall be content and realise that my ambition has been fulfilled - namely, to evoke interest in a subject that has long been neglected.

The documentary examines the origins of the nursery rhyme "Hush A Bye Baby." Which, in my opinion, has its origins in Shining Cliff Woods, Ambergate, Derbyshire.

Hush-a-Bye Baby,

on the tree top,

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks,

the cradle will fall,

and down will come the baby,

cradle and all.

The Hush-a-Bye Baby lullaby has sparked numerous interpretations, each adding a layer of intrigue to its origins. As I delve into the history of this lullaby, I am drawn to its rich folklore and historical context.?

This story centres around a 2000-year-old yew tree, a majestic and ancient presence in Shinning Cliff Woods in Alderwasley. Many years before, lightning struck it, creating a hovel in its stump. A family of eight lived in the 17th-century hovel built in and around the tree bole.

Luke and Kate Kenyon or the Kennyon family (depending on the source)made a living as charcoal burners.? Local legend has it that the children were cradled in a hollowed-out bough of the tree in infancy.? The legend also suggests that this unusual method of caring for a child became the origin of the nursery rhyme ''Lull-a-bye-baby''.

The yew tree still exists but was seriously damaged by fire in the 1930s when arsonists targeted it. Another story behind the origins of this lullaby is that it describes the observations of a young pilgrim boy from England who sailed to the New World on the Mayflower.?

The boy was inspired by the Native North American Wampanoag women who, working in fields, would hang a birch-bark cradle from a tree branch and allow the wind to rock the baby to sleep.

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall’ cautions that choosing a solid branch was imperative.

The Americans claimed Hush-a-Bye Baby was the first verse to be composed in America.?

I recently read a translated French Fable that predates the Pilgrim Boy. Joseph Ritson, an eighteenth-century contemporary of Samuel Johnson, was an avid collector of old songs and ballads. He believed the rhyme originated from a French fable in which a nurse warns a mother hanging a baby cradle in a tree will only end in disaster and a waiting wolf will east the baby.

Another version of the origins of the lullaby is about the Papist Plot, which has been linked to the Stuart kings, in this case James II.?

In 1688, there was a widespread rumour that James’ son and EUH heir from his second marriage was not really his baby but a substitute smuggled into the nursery in a warming pan; never mind the unfeasibility of this, is another story.

It was all part of a papist plot to ensure a future Catholic monarch on the British throne.?

So the cradle stood for the Stuarts, and the wind could be seen as the Protestant wind that would save England, ushering in the Glorious Revolution and Protestant King William and Queen Mary.

I do know for certain that the lullaby Hush a By Baby was first published in Mother Goose’s Melody around 1765, where it appeared with a curious footnote:?

“This may serve as a Warning to the Proud and Ambitious, who climb so high that they generally fall at last.”

This may mean that, at the time, a deeper satirical and sinister meaning was understood to lie behind the verse.

‘And down will come baby, cradle, and all’, is typical of other nursery rhymes that conjure an almost forgotten dangerous past using distorted fragments of old songs or ballads.

The original version of the rhyme, published in 1765, WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS

Hush-a-Bye Baby,

on the tree top,

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall and down will come the baby, cradle and all.

After Al Jolson released the hit song in 1918, ‘Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody’, the lyrics became corrupted to ‘Rock-a-bye, Baby’.?