Song, Heritage, and Bambini

[browngirl]

So, I sing to my small redheaded roommates a lot. In general little children like being sung to, and both of these particular children are very musical (J sings quite beautifully already).

I often sing while staring into a gaping baby maw trying to soothe an angry child, so I sing whatever comes first to mind, which is usually one of the hymns I learned when I was Joshua's age or a bit older. I feel a little guilty about this, since their parents are raising them as Jewish, so I figured I should learn some other songs to have in my mental queue when trying to calm a hollering baby.

I could certainly look up some songs from Hanukkah and beyond, but I wanted people's perspectives on this (what should I do, what should I not do, etc), so I thought I'd post something.

Comments

[kyttn.livejournal.com]

First, thank you so much for your wonderful day-brightening cards.

Secondly, the song I sing most often to calm fussy babies (and it works amazingly well) is Twa Corbies. I used to sing it in the church nursery... always hoping a parent wouldn't pay too close attention to the words. I also sing "The Lady" and a beauty and the beast song (can't remember the title) which I learned from a Heather Alexander album. Then I've got one lullaby that I wrote that I sing on occasion. "Twa Corbies" works best, though.