Context:
A is a Mexican immigrant and learned this lullaby from their mother and used it on his children. He now uses it as a lullaby for his grandchildren when they become restless.
The context of this piece was when A was babysitting their grandson and sang this lullaby to put him to sleep.
Text:
Arrorró mi niño,
arrorró mi sol,
arrorró pedazo,
de mi corazón.
Este niño lindo
ya quiere dormir;
háganle la cuna
de rosa y jazmín.
Háganle la cama
en el toronjil,
y en la cabecera
pónganle un jazmín
que con su fragancia
me lo haga dormir.
Arrorró mi niño,
arrorró mi sol,
arrorró pedazo,
de mi corazón.
Esta leche linda
que le traigo aquí,
es para este niño
que se va a dormir.
Arrorró mi niño,
arrorró mi sol,
arrorró pedazo,
de mi corazón.
Este lindo niño
se quiere dormir…
cierra los ojitos
y los vuelve a abrir.
Arrorró mi niño,
arrorró mi sol,
duérmase pedazo,
de mi corazón.
//Translation:
Hush-a-bye my baby
Hush-a-bye my sun
Hush-a-bye oh piece
of my heart.
This pretty child
Wants to sleep already
Make him a cradle
of rose and jasmine.
Make him a bed
On the lemon balm
And at the head
Put jasmine
With its fragrance
To put him to sleep for me.
Hush-a-bye my baby
Hush-a-bye my sun
Hush-a-bye oh piece
of my heart.
This beautiful milk
That I bring him here
Is for this baby
Who is going to sleep.
Hush-a-bye my baby
Hush-a-bye my sun
Hush-a-bye oh piece
of my heart.
This lovely baby
Wants to sleep
He closes his eyes
And opens them again.
Hush-a-bye my baby
Hush-a-bye my sun
Hush-a-bye oh piece
of my heart.
Analysis:
This is a common musical piece that is used throughout the Mexican culture. I had heard this lullaby frequently as a child but I had only heard of a few portions of it so it was nice to hear A recite it in its entirety. This was a learning experience for me as although I thought I had already known about this lullaby but A introduced me to more of it. This made it clear that this lullaby continues to spread throughout the generations. It also suggests that there are variations of the lullaby itself; thus, it demonstrates how musical pieces like this one change to cater to its audience.