Version 1:
Collection Information: Pretty Ponies was collected on May 21st , 2014
at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. It belongs to the
folkloric genre called lullabies.
Informant Data: The informant is Michael Snider, a 20 year-old student at Dartmouth College. He is from Colorado, USA and grew up with two older brothers and an older sister. His family is English and Irish. He is studying government and economics at Dartmouth.
Text:
Hush little baby don't say a word.
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring
And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass
And if that looking glass gets broke,
Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat
And if that billy goat won't pull,
Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull
And if that cart and bull fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town
Context: This is a lullaby that was sung to him and his siblings
when they were young children by his mother. It was sung to them before
they went to sleep, presumably to help them get to sleep. Michael is
pretty sure that it was sung to his mother as well. This lullaby is very
common and exists in many many different variations.
Meaning and Interpretation: Again, this classic lullaby relies on entreaties to the child to go to sleep, with promises to please the child. It has a slow and soft rhythm. Additionally the most important part of this lullaby is the imagery it provides. Each line is an image for the child to think about and get them ready for bed instead of worrying about the past day or being too excited to sleep.
Collector’s Information: Ben Wood, Dartmouth ’16, Russian 13, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Spring 2014
Version 2:
Collection Information: “Hush Little Baby” was collected on May 15, 2014 in Barrington, Rhode Island
Informant: The informant, Grace Maglio 22, is a babysitter
Text:
Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird.
And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.
And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama's going to buy you a looking glass.
And if that looking glass gets broke,
Mama's going to buy you a billy goat.
And if that billy goat won't pull,
Mama's going to buy you a cart and bull.
And if that cart and bull turn over,
Mama's going to buy you a dog named Rover.
And if that dog named Rover won't bark,
Mama's going to buy you a horse and cart.
And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.
Context:
Grace’s mother sang this song to her when she was an infant. A popular
nursery rhyme according to Grace, she continues to use it because she
finds that it is exceptionally effective at helping infants fall asleep.
Grace has babysat for over 50 families and is an experienced caregiver.
Meaning
and Interpretation: “Hush Little Baby” fits the lullaby model quite
well. There is little meaning to the lyrics of the song, except for a
caregiver’s desire to give to the child, but it uses melody, rhyme, and
soothing tones, along with a physical rocking of the child to ease them
to sleep. Grace says that often times by the end of the song she will
continue to hum it without the lyrics and the melody’s soothing effect
will continue to ease the baby to sleep.
Collector’s Information: Frohman Anderson, Dartmouth College ’14, Russian 13, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Spring 2014
