Schlof Mayn Kind (Sleep My Child)

DESCRIPTION: Yiddish: The mother urges her little child to sleep. She tells the child that someday it will understand why she weeps. Father has gone to America, seeking to earn the money to let them all emigrate. Till then, baby can only sleep and mother can only wait
AUTHOR: Words: Sholom Aleichem
EARLIEST DATE: 1950
KEYWORDS: family lullaby separation emigration foreignlanguage
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scott-TheBalladOfAmerica, pp. 287-289, "Schlof Mayn Kind (Sleep My Child)" (2 texts (1 English, 1 Yiddish), 1 tune)
NOTES [67 words]: There seem to be two Yiddish songs by that title: this one (which is more completely titled "Schlof Mayn Kind, Mayn Treyst, Mayn Sheiner") and another that is sometimes called "Shlof Mayn Kind, Shlof Keseyder." [For which see the Folksinger's Wordbook, p. 408. - RBW] In the latter, the mother sings to the child bitterly about the differences between rich and poor; emigration is not mentioned. - PJS
File: SBoA287

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