Eight Swedish lullabies with the full lyrics: Sov du lilla videung, Blinka lilla stjärna, Vem kan segla förutan vind, Ro ro till fiskeskär, Mors lilla Olle, Bä bä vita lamm, Rida rida ranka and Lilla snigel. All of them out of copyright, so you can print them out and hang them by the bed.
Everyone knows the first line. It is at the third line that it falls apart, in the dark, with a child who has only just started to settle. Here are the lyrics to the songs our nannies sing most often, in the order we usually take them: the ones with movement first, the very calmest last. We have only included songs whose lyrics are free to print, which is why some well-known ones are missing, such as Trollmors vaggsång and Evert Taube's version of Byssan lull.
Why lullabies work
A lullaby does three things at once. The tempo is slow, roughly a resting pulse, and the child's breathing follows. The voice is low and close, which says that the adult is calm, and a child reads you before they read anything else. And the song comes every evening at the same point in the routine, so that after a few weeks it means, all by itself, that it is time for sleep. That is why the same song works better than a new one, and why a parent singing out of tune beats a recording singing in tune.
Sov du lilla videung
Words by Zacharias Topelius, melody by Alice Tegnér. The lullaby more Swedish children have fallen asleep to than any other.
Sov, du lilla videung, än så är det vinter. Än så sova björk och ljung, ros och hyacinter. Än så är det långt till vår, innan rönn i blomma står. Sov, du lilla videung, än så är det vinter.
Blinka lilla stjärna
Swedish words by Betty Ehrenborg-Posse from the nineteenth century, to the same melody as the French tune everyone knows as Twinkle Twinkle.
Blinka lilla stjärna där, hur jag undrar vad du är. Fjärran lockar du min syn, lik en diamant i skyn. Blinka lilla stjärna där, hur jag undrar vad du är.
Vem kan segla förutan vind
A folk song from Åland. Slow, wistful and very easy to hum.
Vem kan segla förutan vind, vem kan ro utan åror, vem kan skiljas från vännen sin utan att fälla tårar? Jag kan segla förutan vind, jag kan ro utan åror, men ej skiljas från vännen min utan att fälla tårar.
Ro, ro till fiskeskär
Traditional. Really a rocking game, but sung slowly it becomes a lullaby. Swap the last line for your child's name.
Ro, ro till fiskeskär, många fiskar få vi där. En åt far och en åt mor, en åt syster och en åt bror, en åt den som fiskar drar, och det var lilla barnet, det.
Mors lilla Olle
Alice Tegnér, 1895. The first verse is enough at bedtime.
Mors lilla Olle i skogen gick, rosor på kinden och solsken i blick. Läpparna små utav bär äro blå. Bara jag slapp att så ensam här gå!
Bä, bä, vita lamm
Alice Tegnér. Not really a lullaby, but sung at half speed it works beautifully.
Bä, bä, vita lamm, har du någon ull? Ja, ja, kära barn, jag har säcken full. Helgdagsrock åt far och söndagskjol åt mor, och två par strumpor åt lille, lille bror.
Rida, rida ranka
Words by Zacharias Topelius. Starts as a knee-bouncing game, ends as a lullaby if you slow down on the last lines.
Rida, rida ranka, hästen heter Blanka. Liten riddare så rar ännu inga sporrar har. När han dem har vunnit, barndomsro försvunnit.
Lilla snigel
Traditional. Two lines, repeated until the child is asleep.
Lilla snigel, akta dig, akta dig, akta dig. Lilla snigel, akta dig, annars tar jag dig.
Which song when
| Age | Works best | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 6 months | Lilla snigel, Vem kan segla, humming | Few words, even melody, can be repeated for twenty minutes |
| 6 to 18 months | Ro ro till fiskeskär, Blinka lilla stjärna | Movement on your lap first, then still. The child waits for their name |
| 1.5 to 3 years | Sov du lilla videung, Mors lilla Olle | The child knows the words, sings along and demands the same one every night |
| 3 to 6 years | All eight, in the child's order | The child chooses. Rida rida ranka as a knee game first, then the calm ones |
How to sing so that your child falls asleep
- The same songs in the same order. The routine does more than the voice.
- Slow the tempo with each song. The last one almost whispered.
- Stop halfway through. Once the breathing is steady: stop singing, stay a minute, leave.
- Swap in names. The little one in the last line of Ro ro becomes your child's own name. That is the line they wait for.
- Hum if the words run out. The melody is enough.
The same song twenty times
Around the age of two, many children want the same song over and over, and protest if you change it. That is not stubbornness, it is security: the familiar is what lets the child dare to let go and fall asleep. Sing it twenty times, slower and slower, and stop halfway once the breathing is steady. If you still want to introduce a new song, put it before the old one, never after. The last song is the one tied to sleep, and it should be the one your child has chosen.
The songs we cannot print, but you can sing
Byssan lull in Evert Taube's version, Trollmors vaggsång and many of the newer children's songs are still in copyright, which is why the lyrics are not here. That stops nobody from singing them at the bedside; copyright covers printing and publishing. If you know them by heart: sing. If you do not: the eight above are enough, and your child will not know which ones are missing.
In two languages
Several of the families we work with speak more than one language at home, and lullabies are often the first thing the child learns in the second language. Our nannies sing in Swedish, English, Bulgarian, Spanish or Arabic depending on what the family wants. A three-year-old who falls asleep to Videvisan on Tuesdays and Twinkle Twinkle on Thursdays has no problem with that, quite the opposite.
How we do it with our families
Nannies on evening sessions sing every time. The lovely thing about having the same nanny week after week is that the child gets their own song with her, one that only the two of them share. Aleksandra has a family in Jakobsberg with a three-year-old who demands Vem kan segla, three times, every Thursday, and then Nani nani in Bulgarian, of which he does not understand a word but falls asleep to. Bedtime starts at quarter past seven: teeth, a book, lights off, and then the songs in the same order, quieter and quieter. She stops halfway through the third round once his breathing is steady, stays a minute and leaves. The note just says "asleep 19.45, three segla, one nani". And that is exactly how it should be.
Would you like a nanny who comes the same days every week and whom the children know? Book a free first meeting with the nanny in your own home, and we will work out a quote for your hours.
Read more: Bedtime stories for kids · Evening and overnight babysitting · Calming music for children · FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common lullaby in Sweden?
Sov du lilla videung and Byssan lull are the two that most Swedes know by heart. Trollmors vaggsång is a third, but it is still in copyright and so the lyrics are not included here. You are perfectly free to sing them anyway; copyright covers printing and publishing, not what you sing at the bedside.
Do you have to be able to sing?
No. The child does not care about the notes; they care that it is your voice, that it is calm and that it comes every evening. Hum if you cannot remember the words. A parent who sings out of tune every evening does more for a child's sleep than a recording that sings in tune, because the voice belongs to the person sitting there.
How long should you sing at bedtime?
Two or three songs, the same ones every evening. The routine is what sends the child to sleep, not the number. Lower your voice with each song and stop halfway through a line once the breathing is steady. If it turns into twenty songs, singing has become a way of putting off sleep, and then it is better to say "one more, then quiet" and stick to it.
Are there lullabies in other languages?
Every language has them. Our English-speaking nannies often sing Twinkle Twinkle, and those who speak Bulgarian have Nani nani, a traditional Bulgarian lullaby. Children who hear lullabies in two languages make no distinction between them, and for multilingual families the lullaby is often the first thing the child knows by heart in the second language.
From what age do lullabies work?
From day one. A newborn recognises their mother's voice from the womb, and a calm, low song is one of the sounds that best soothes a screaming evening. Around one, the child starts asking for a particular song, around two they sing along, and at four or five many want the same song as at one, simply because it is theirs.