Download "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)"
Someday your child may cry
And if you sing this lullabye Then in your heart There will always be a part of me Billy's ballad "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" is a dreamy and contemplative song about our connection with our children or other loved ones. Billy's little girl Alexa, who was about seven years old at the time, had asked him what will happen when he dies. He reassures her that "wherever you may go, no matter where you are, I never will be far away." And later that he will live through her, "someday your child may cry, and if you sing this lullaby, then in your heart, there will always be a part of me." Billy has explained that he told Alexa that "when we die, you go into other people's hearts, you never really go away. You go into the rest of the people that you know, go to the rest of their lives . . . ." Lullabye is apparently intentionally misspelled with the extra "e." Billy talks about the song and its special meaning between him and Alexa in this snippet from SiriusXM. Click player below:
The song has a lilting, rocking feel, as if father and daughter were out on a boat at sea. The lyrics and this nautical motif help imbue the song with a spirituality that leads seamlessly into the next song "The River of Dreams." The last five songs on the album, beginning with "All About Soul" blend together thematically and musically, somewhat like the songs on Side Two of The Beatles' Abbey Road, though they are not directly linked like those songs.
More on "Lullabye" from siriusXM.
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Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes And save these questions for another day I think I know what you've been asking me I think you know what I've been trying to say I promised I would never leave you And you should always know Wherever you may go No matter where you are I never will be far away Goodnight, my angel Now it's time to sleep And still so many things I want to say Remember all the songs you sang for me When we went sailing on an emerald bay And like a boat out on the ocean I'm rocking you to sleep The water's dark and deep Inside this ancient heart You'll always be a part of me Goodnight, my angel Now it's time to dream And dream how wonderful your life will be Someday your child may cry And if you sing this lullaby Then in your heart There will always be a part of me Someday we'll all be gone But lullabys go on and on They never die That's how you and I will be |
After asked a question about "This Night" and classical music, Billy explains how he wrote "Lullabye" and "River of Dreams" (audio only). From a Master Class in 1994.
This is an early version of "Lullabye" from the Shelter Island Sessions. It then leads right into "The River of Dreams."
This is the book based on the song, page by page, with the song synchronized to the text.
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Billy explains why he wrote "Lullabye" at a Master Class in 2001.
Billy sings "Lullabye" from Live at Shea (2008)
This is nice acoustic guitar cover by Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles.
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