"Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" is the seventh track from

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

's 1993 album ''

River of Dreams ''River of Dreams'' is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 10, 1993. ''River of Dreams'' presented a more serious tone than found in Joel's previous albums, dealing with issues such as trust and ...

'', released in 1994 as the fourth and final single for the album. It was inspired by

Alexa Ray Joel Alexa Ray Joel (born December 29, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Her parents are singer-songwriter Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley. Joel released an EP ''Sketches'' (2006) and several singles on independent record ...

, his daughter by

Christie Brinkley Christie Lee Brinkley (née Hudson; born February 2, 1954) is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur. Brinkley gained worldwide fame with her appearances in ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues'', ultimately appearing on an unprecedented ...

. The song is in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

. The song was originally written as a prelude to the song "

The River of Dreams "The River of Dreams" is a song by American musician Billy Joel. It is the title track and first single from his 1993 album, ''River of Dreams.'' The song was a hit, peaking at number three on the US and UK charts, making it Joel's best-charting ...

" in the style of a

monophonic Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe durin ...

. Joel had written English words in the chant describing a man who had lost his faith, and had then had the words translated into Latin. He changed his mind upon hearing the recording, and incorporated it into the song "River of Dreams". He later removed the interlude from the final studio version of "River of Dreams", and instead wrote lyrics to the melody that reflected his sentiment toward Alexa Ray, who was a young child at the time of writing. The version of "River of Dreams" incorporating "Lullabye" appeared as an alternate version on the box set ''

My Lives ''My Lives'' is a box set compilation of demos, outtakes, B-sides, soundtrack cuts, live recordings and album cuts by American singer/songwriter Billy Joel. It was released on November 22, 2005. The album name is derivative of the Billy Joel so ...

'', and on '' An Evening of Questions and Answers...& a Little Music''. In 2004, it was announced that Joel had agreed to write two children's books for Scholastic, the U.S. publisher. The first book was titled ''Goodnight, My Angel (A Lullabye)'' and is a picture book based on the song and illustrated by Yvonne Gilbert. "Reassuring children that they are not alone or could be abandoned is very important for their well-being," Joel said in a statement in 2004. The second book was titled ''New York State of Mind'' and illustrated by Izak.

Critical reception

Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' described "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" as a "sweet and tender ballad that is bound to touch the hearts of all who hear it."

Personnel

: lead vocals,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

*Lewis Del Gatto: orchestra manager *

Ira Newborn James Ira Newborn (born December 26, 1949) is an American musician, actor, orchestrator and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks. Life and career Newborn was born in New York City. References to him as James I ...

: orchestration

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 1994 singles Billy Joel songs Songs written by Billy Joel Columbia Records singles Music videos directed by Marcus Nispel Songs about parenthood 1993 songs