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I remember when I was a kid, my mother would sing me Thai-Laotian lullabies. As I grew older, I started listening to Western music or audiobooks instead, lying in bed wide awake, waiting for the sweet embrace of sleep. Last year, I had the idea of searching for lullabies and soon came across a YouTube page showcasing lullabies from around the world. This sparked my fascination with lullabies as both a phenomenon and a cultural practice. My thesis is that lullabies are an inherent and innate aspect of human behavior.

One lullaby in particular, sung in Arabic by Mina Deris, captivated me. I would listen to it for hours—or rather, minutes before sleep overtook me. Fascinated by how powerfully it affected me, I became determined to dissect its essence.

The lullaby is originally an old Sumerian one about Dilulol. It is a tender song meant to soothe a baby to sleep. The word Dilulol likely refers to a musical instrument used in lullabies. In the song, a mother gently sings to her child, calling on Dilulol to help lull the baby into peaceful rest. The most famous one and one that survived into modern times is a lullaby most probably written for the son of the reign Shulgi of Ur (2029-1982 BCE).

Ah, ah, may he grow sturdy through my crooning, may he flourish through my crooning! May he put down strong foundations as roots, may he spread branches wide like a cakir plant!

Lord, from this you know our whereabouts; among those resplendent apple trees overhanging the river, may someone who passes by (?) reach out his hand, may someone lying there raise his hand. My son, sleep will overtake you, sleep will settle on you.

Sleep come, sleep come, sleep come to my son, sleep hasten (?) to my son! Put to sleep his open eyes, settle your hand upon his sparkling eyes — as for his murmuring tongue, let the murmuring not spoil his sleep.

May he fill your lap with emmer while I sweeten miniature cheeses for you, those cheeses that are the healer of mankind, that are the healer of mankind, and of the lord’s son, the son of lord Culgi.

In my garden, it is the lettuces that I have watered, and among the lettuces it is the gakkul lettuce that I have chopped. Let the lord eat this lettuce! Through my crooning let me give him a wife, let me give him a wife, let me give him a son! May a happy nursemaid chatter with him, may a happy nursemaid suckle him!

Let me …… a wife for my son, and may she bear him a son so sweet. May his wife lie in his warm embrace, and may his son lie in his outstretched arms. May his wife be happy with him, and may his son be happy with him. May his young wife be happy in his embrace, and may his son grow vigorously on his gentle knees.

You are restless — I am troubled, I am quite silent (?), gazing at the stars, as the crescent moon shines on my face. Your bones might be arrayed on the wall! The man of the wall might shed tears for you! The mongoose might beat the balaj drums for you! The gecko might gouge its cheeks for you! The fly might gash its lips for you! The lizard might tear out (?) its tongue for you!

May the lullaby (?) make us flourish! May the lullaby (?) make us thrive! When you flourish, when you thrive, when you …… the shaking of churns, sweet sleep ……, the sweet bed …….
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May a wife be your support, and may a son ……. May a son be your fortune. May winnowed grain be your lover, and may Ezina-Kusu (the goddess of grain) be your aid. May you have an eloquent protective goddess. May you be brought up to a reign of favourable days. May you smile upon festivals.

My son is ……; he knows nothing. He does not know the length of his old age (?). He does not know the dwelling of the …….

May you discover ……. May you eat …….
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May you be ……. May you be …….

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…… goats, sheep and donkeys ……
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Ninkasi (the goddess of beer) …… in her vat ……
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The shepherd’s wife …… He …… the …… of the date palm. He brings date shoots among the offerings.

As for you, lie in sleep! May your palm tree, extending its fronds, spread joy like a fig tree (?). Place coals (?) beside Urim! Place charcoal beside Unug! Seize the enemy’s mouth like ……! Bind his arms like reed bundles! Make the enemy cower before you, lest he rip open your back like a sack,
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To recreate a lullaby, I chose the cello for its rich, voice-like quality. The piece begins with the sound of a crying baby, a sample sourced from freesample.org. Traditional lullabies often feature gentle, repetitive melodies and steady rocking rhythms, frequently based on the pentatonic scale. To incorporate Arabic musical influences, I experimented with semi- and microtones, adding subtle tonal shifts. It consists of purely improvised parts.

As the song progresses, the movement intensifies, creating a sense of development and leading to a climax. This section represents the baby drifting into sleep, with vivid musical gestures symbolizing wild dreams. The piece then returns to a calming, rocking rhythm, gradually introducing the human voice as an additional layer. For the vocal line, I selected the vowels U and A—both simple to sing and, interestingly, forming ua, which signifies “lullaby” in Sumerian.

Violoncello: Sumanie Gächter
Vocals: Sumanie Gächter
Crying baby: Free sample from freesample.org

Score

Bibliography

Kramer, Samuel Noah, “u₅-a a-u₅-a: A Sumerian Lullaby (with Appendix by Thorkild Jacobsen)”, in Studi in onore di Edoardo Volterra, Università di Roma: Milano 1971, 191-205: score transliteration, translation, photograph, commentary

Alster, Bendt, “On the Sumerian Lullaby”, Revue d’Assyriologie 65 (1971), 170-171: composite text, translation, handcopy, commentary