The Lullaby

My sister Shelley has a different lullaby for each of her children, a song that has become special between her and each son. She'll sing all the other lullabies, but she chose one song to remain consistently in each child's bedtime routine. I love the idea. It's such a simple way to create something meaningful and it's unbelievably sweet when they request their song. She told me about a time she was singing to her youngest to comfort him in the middle of the night. She started a song and he said "no." She started a different song and he said "no!" She started another song and he said "NO!" She started his song and he nuzzled into her and fell asleep. Adorable, right?

She is surely not the first person to do this, but she's the person who gave me the idea. Granted, I will have only Diego, so there really isn't a need for originality. I didn't sing lullabies to Rebecca or Emma and he won't have any other siblings who will need their own lullaby. Nonetheless, I wanted to choose something special, seeing as I'm not just accidentally creating a special song by singing it more often than others. I'm actively choosing it, so I might as well have criteria. I wanted it to be simple, but one that he might not hear just anywhere. Most important (and perhaps obvious), I wanted it to feel right to me - loving, comforting, and not religious. (For example, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" has no love in it, and "Godspeed" by the Dixie Chicks has a "God bless [everyone in the house]" verse. Both of them are no good!)

In the midst of my search, my dear friend in Chile sent me a bunch of Spanish language children's music because she knows I want Diego to be bilingual. One of those songs is a traditional Spanish lulluby called "Duérmete, Mi Niño" (Go to Sleep, My Little Boy). Perfect! These are the lyrics:

Duérmete, mi niño,
Duérmete solito,
Que cuando despiertes
Te daré atolito.

Duérmete, mi niña,
Duérmete, mi sol,
Duérmete, pedazo
De mi corazón.

I love, love, love the second verse (which I change to niño, of course) - "Go to sleep, my little boy. Go to sleep, my sun. Go to sleep, piece of my heart." The first verse is OK, but not nearly as sweet - "Go to sleep, my little boy. Go to sleep alone. When you wake up, I'll give you atole" (a traditional hot corn-based drink). 

So, about that niño/niña thing. When I first heard it, I assumed the singer was just letting me know that the song could easily be sung to either a boy or a girl, you just substitute in the word that fits. When looking for the lyrics, though, I discovered that in almost every variation, whenever someone is singing to "my sun"/"piece of my heart," it always begins "duérmete, mi niña." It's always to a little girl. The little boy is never told such sweet things. He's expected to go to sleep alone. Is this song an example of the notion that boys must be stoic and strong while only girls can be affectionate and loving? 

Of course, its history won't alter whether I sing it to Diego. (Indeed, I already sing it to him and he loves it. For a while, it was even working as a sort of trigger that calmed him nearly immediately!) He'll hear it as I sing it and that's how he'll remember it in years to come. If it turns out it has a tainted history, we'll just be doing our part to set history right. 

And here's a picture of Diego sleeping, because that's why you're really here.