Media : Listen
This lullaby is from the point of view of the baby, who invites the four winds to be his companions. The gentle south and west winds play with him. Unpredictable, the north wind wakes him up to life. The tranquil east wind brings comfort to this cycle of wakefulness and sleep. It was written for mezzo-soprano Carole Everett to celebrate the birth of Carole and C.J. Everett’s son, Colin Graham Everett.
BABY SONG OF THE FOUR WINDS
Let me be your baby, south wind.
Rock me, let me rock, rock me now.
Rock me low, rock me warm.
Let me be your baby.
Rock me, let me rock, rock me now.
Rock me low, rock me warm.
Let me be your baby.
Comb my hair, west wind.
Comb me with a cowlick.
Or let me go with a pompadour.
Come on, west wind, make me your baby.
North wind, shake me where I’m foolish.
Shake me loose and change my ways.
Cool my ears with a blue sea wind.
I’m your baby, make me behave.
And you, east wind, what can I ask?
A fog comfort? A fog to tuck me in?
Fix me so and let me sleep.
I’m your baby—and I always was.
Carl Sandburg, from Good Morning, America (1928)
“Baby Song of the Four Winds” from Good Morning, America 1928 and renewed 1956 by Carl Sandburg, performed by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company.