by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)
Translation by Louis Fabulet (1862 - 1933) and by Robert, vicomte d'Humières (1868 - 1915)
Oh! hush thee, my baby, the night is...
Language: English
Oh! hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us, And black are the waters that sparkled so green. The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us At rest in the hollows that rustle between. Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow, Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease! The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee, Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas!
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), "Seal Lullaby", appears in The Jungle Book, heading to the chapter "The White Seal", first published 1894 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Robert Whitman Atkinson (1868 - 1933?), "The Seal's Lullaby", published 1909 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dora Estella Bright (1863 - 1951), "Mother Seal's Lullaby", published 1903 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Henry) Walford Davies, Sir (1869 - 1941), "The Seal's Lullaby", published 1942 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clayton Johns (1857 - 1932), "The Seal's Lullaby", <<1932 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918), "Mother Seal's Lullaby", published 1908 [ voice and piano ], from Two Seal Songs, no. 1, London: Chappell & Co. Ltd. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Roland Leich (1911 - 1995), "Seal Lullaby", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rick Sowash (b. 1950), "A Seal's Lullabye", 1996, published 1996 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Walter Raymond Spalding (1865 - 1962), "Seal Lullaby", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Erskine Wood , "The White Seal's Lullaby", published 1922 [ voice and piano ], piano part by Randall Thompson [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in French (Français), a translation by Louis Fabulet (1862 - 1933) and by Robert, vicomte d'Humières (1868 - 1915) ; composed by Maurice Delage, Charles Koechlin.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-06
Line count: 8
Word count: 72
Dors, mon baby, la nuit est derrière...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Dors, mon baby, la nuit est derrière nous, Et noires sont les eaux qui brillaient si vertes, Par dessus les brisants la lune nous cherche, Au repos entre leurs seins soyeux et doux. Où flot touche flot fais là ton nid clos, Roule ton corps las, mon petit nageur Ni vent ni requin t'éveille ou te blesse Dormant dans les bras des lents flots berceurs.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Louis Fabulet (1862 - 1933) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Robert, vicomte d'Humières (1868 - 1915) [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936), "Seal Lullaby", appears in The Jungle Book, heading to the chapter "The White Seal", first published 1894
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Maurice Delage (1879 - 1961), "Maktah", op. 21 no. 1 (1934), published 1935, first performed 1935 [ voice and piano or orchestra ], from Trois chants de la jungle, no. 1, Éd. Maurice Sénart [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Koechlin (1867 - 1950), "Berceuse Phoque", op. 18 no. 1 (1899-1900) [ soprano and piano or orchestra ], from Trois Poèmes du Livre de la Jungle, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-12-02
Line count: 8
Word count: 65