"Baloo Baleerie" is a Scottish
lullaby. The title is alliterative nonsense based around the
Scots word for lullaby, "baloo". As it is based on a recording in the
BBC Glasgow Archives made on 22 January 1949 on the
Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
island of Bressay, it is also known as "The
Bressay Lullaby",.
It was first published in 1951 by
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax (; January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002) was an American ethnomusicologist, best known for his numerous field recordings of folk music of the 20th century. He was also a musician himself, as well as a folklorist, archivist, writer, sch ...
.
An English version, "Go Away, Little Fairies" has also been published.
Lyrics
The first verse refers to the story of the
changeling, whereby a fairy would secretly substitute its own offspring for an unguarded human baby. In the first verse, the fairies are told to leave, while in the second verse,
guardian angel
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...
s are asked to protect the child. The third verse advises the child to sleep softly.
See also
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Christian child's prayer § Lullabies
References
Bibliography
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External links
"Baloo Baleerie" Sheet Music*
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Lullabies
Traditional children's songs
Scottish songs
Scots-language works
Scottish nursery rhymes
Songwriter unknown
Year of song missing
Scottish children's songs