History Of The Lullaby 🍼

Baby Sweet Space is available on YouTube

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Baby Sweet Space is available on YouTube 〰️

Photo: freestocks

Something that is universal : singing for a baby to drift to sleep. Parents worldwide, no matter ethnic, race or culture gentle sing traditional lullabies to their babies. Where did this practice come from?

Four millennia ago an ancient Babylonian wrote down a lullaby sung by a mother to her child. It may have got the baby to sleep, but its message is far from soothing - and this remains a feature of many lullabies sung around the world today.

Deeply etched into a small clay tablet, which fits neatly into the palm of a hand, are the words of one of the earliest lullabies on record, dating from around 2,000BC.

The writing is in cuneiform script - one of the first forms of writing - and would have been carefully shaped by a Babylonian scribe, with a stylus made of reed, in what is modern-day Iraq.

It's a rather menacing lullaby, in which the baby is chastised for disturbing the house god with its crying - and threatened with repercussions.

Frightening themes were typical of lullabies of the era, says Richard Dumbrill, a leading expert on ancient music with the British Museum in London, where the tablet is kept.

Night-time has always been associated with darkness and fear and this may go some way to explaining the threatening themes in some lullabies, says Sally Goddard Blythe, author of a number of books on child development, and director of The Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology.

But all lullabies - even the scary ones - she says, are rooted in "love, tenderness and caring".

— Nina Perry, BBC News

Baby Sweet Space, a relaxing chill music channel for babies on YouTube features traditional and original lullabies. There is an African x Caribbean Riddim version of “Frere Jacques” and a version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” that has includes White Noise to aid in keeping your little one calm while resting. Subscribe to Baby Sweet Space on YouTube for more relaxing soothing music.

Check out this playlist on Baby Sweet Space :

Baby Sweet Space is available on YouTube.