Songs/poems our Mothers sang

feetlebaum My grandfather had a repertoire of Music Hall songs too,

"She is only a bird in a gilded cage ....."
"My grandfather's clock..."
"She was poor but she was honest...."

Sometimes granny would hear him start one that she felt was not suitable for our delicate ears and cut him short with a sharp "George!"

Mum used to sing lots of songs but in particular I remember 'Twas on a Monday morning' 'Where will the Baby's dimple be' Cockles and Mussels' &
Que sera sera!

She loved poetry too: Old Meg, she was a gypsy, The Listeners, Up the Airy mountain & many more

I passed them onto my girls and in turn they have passed them on to their kiddies too!

Dad sang Sinatra, Bing Crosby etc so those are always popular and 'sentimental' for me!

My fater used to sing la Donna mobile and your tiny hand is frozen. He liked opera!

The two song I associate with my Mum are one that started 'Lula lula lula lula bye byes, do you want the moon to play with, or the stars to run away with' and 'If I were the only Girl in the World.
When my DGS was a baby he had toy gifaffe that played Brahms Lullaby. I often used to sing the words along with it. He is now 10 but still asks me to sing the 'Giraffe song'.
I love singing and was always singing to my 3 DDs.

feetle My mum used to sing "I'll walk beside you" as well. The lady next door and she were great friends and one or other of them would play the piano while they both sang.

I went to a party just after New Year and a chap there played a wonderful selection of old and new songs. People joined in and it was a really lovely evening. I thought what a shame it was that these days not many people can play the piano, whereas when I was young lots of people could.

Mum, who is 92, has still got an electric organ which she played regularly until a few years ago, but now that her sight has deteriorated she very rarely does.

My Dad used to sing a hymn to me at bed time. It was 'Jesus tender shepherd, hear me'.
I can still hear him and remember snuggling down in bed, feeling completely safe, much more because of Dad than because of Jesus.

My father, on the other hand, rejoiced in old music hall songs and parodies... Does anyone know any more of one that has the couplet

"We sailed o'er the ocean like jolly gay tars
With a cargo of lightning and bottled cigars"?

It was sung to the tune of Sweet Betsy from Pike

His version of I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls went

"I dreamt that I tickled my grandfather's balls
With a little sweet oil, and a feather"

... and Mum pretended to be shocked, and we gioggled a lot!

My father used to amuse me by singing 'Susanna's a Funniful Man', which had animal noises, also, because my skin tans really easily, 'Brown Skinned Girl Stay Home and Mind Baby'. My mother was profoundly deaf and could only remember a few hymns she had learnt before the childhood accident which damaged her ears. We used to laugh at her tuneless rendition of 'Itchy on earth hath union', (think it was meant to be 'yet ye' not 'itchy').

My memory is of my mother, taking a break from dusting, cleaning, ironing... to spend a few minutes playing the piano, and singing

I'll walk beside you through the world today
While dreams and songs and flowers bless your way
I'll look into your eyes and hold your hand
I'll walk beside you through the golden land

I'll walk beside you through the world tonight
Beneath the starry skies ablaze with light
Within your soul love's tender words I'll hide
I'll walk beside you through the eventide

I'll walk beside you through the passing years
Through days of cloud and sunshine, joys and tears
And when the great call comes, the sunset gleams
I'll walk beside you to the land of dreams

(Alan Murray/Edward Lockton)

As a child I thought it the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. Later, I realised that she liked to swoop rather than hit notes - portamento must have been the thing when she was a girl! I would still give a lot to hear it again...

When I was little, my mum used to sing this to me if I was tired or grumpy:

Climb, climb up sunshine mountain
Heavenly breezes blow
Climb, climb up sunshine mountain
Faces all aglow
Turn, turn your back on sorrow
Look into the sky
Climb, climb up sunshine mountain
You and I.

I sang it to my children, to my grandson when he was a child, and now sing it to my granddaughter.

My mother had a beautiful voice and had had singing lessons in her teens. As a child I remember her singing me two lullabies; the Brahms lullaby 'Little baby, good night' and the one, once called the Mozart lullaby, that began 'Sleep thou my little one sleep'.

it has made me quite tearful to remember lying in bed as a child with just a night light in the room and my mother sitting beside me gently singing these lullabies to sooth me.

Gally I've sung Daisy, Daisy to my DGD since she was a baby as she has a Daisy Duck toy. I hear her singing it to herself now

My grandfather used to sing 'I'll tell me ma when I get home, the boys won't leave the girls alone.' Also 'Show me the way to go home, I'm tired and I want to go to bed, I had a little drink about an hour ago and it's gone right to my head'. An odd lullaby.