Edo Lullaby ( or Edo no komori uta) is a traditional Japanese cradle song. It originated in

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

, was propagated to other areas, and is said to be the roots of the Japanese lullabies. It was one of the themes used by the English composer

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

in his work Japanese Suite composed in 1915. The themes were provided to the composer by the Japanese dancer Michio Itō.

Lyrics

Japanese

ねんねんころりよ　おころりよ。ぼうやはよい子だ　ねんねんしな。ぼうやのお守りは　どこへ行った。あの山こえて　里へ行った。里のみやげに　何もろうた。でんでん太鼓に　笙の笛。

Romanized Japanese

nen, nen korori yo, okorori yo. bōya wa yoi koda, nenneshina~ bōya no omori wa, doko e itta? ano yama koete, sato e itta. sato no miyage ni, nani morōta? denden taiko ni, shō no fue.

English translation

Hush-a-bye, Hush-a-bye! My good baby, Sleep! Where did my boy's babysitter go? Beyond that mountain, back to her home. As a souvenir from her home, what did you get? A toy drum and a shō flute.

References

External links