Bear has always been really susceptible to sound, music in particular. Since he was very little he’s used the sounds of the ocean to help him sleep at night but when we are in the car, he has lullabies instead. I quickly discovered that traditional baby lullabies are either sickly cutesy sweet to the point where I just want to barf or horrible plinky plonky midi versions of popular tunes that give me a headache. For the sake of my own sanity, I decided to look further afield for songs to help our little man chill. Some of these aren’t necessarily children’s music, but they have a lovely relaxing vibe that’s good for the whole family to listen to.

David Bowie – Kooks

Will you stay in our lovers story, if you stay you won’t be sorry
If you are regular reader of this blog, my love for this song will come as no surprise. I love the sweet lyrics, the melody and it’s just a great tune. Plus its Bowie so it must be awesome.

Cloud Cult – You Were Born

My arms were meant to hold you, so I will never let you go, cos you were born
I feel the lyrics to this song pretty much sum up the parental experience. It’s all about love and change and its just super pretty. It’s a beautiful song to sing to your little one as it has a very soothing rhythm.

James Taylor – You Can Close Your Eyes

I don’t know no love songs, and I can’t sing the blues anymore
I’d never been a James Taylor fan before I started scouting songs when Bear was a couple of months old, but I instantly fell in love with this one. Babies really do seem to think that the world will stop if they close their eyes don’t they? I still tell Henry its okay to go to sleep because nobody will do anything interesting while he’s napping.

Billy Joel – Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel)

Goodnight my angel, now it’s time to dream, and dream how wonderful your life will be
I’ve loved this song since high school when the River of Dreams album came out.  It’s got beautiful lyrics and its another one that’s lovely to sing to your baby at 3AM. Just kidding. Nothing’s fun to sing after 9PM at night.

Claire Bowditch – Georgia’s Song

Daddy’s right here with you now, and its your song that I sing
In 2011 there was a Wiggles Tribute album named ReWiggled released that has some breathtakingly beautiful covers that are perfect for lullabies. All the songs are still great for kids, but can alleviate some of the Wiggles fatigue that we all as parents feel from time to time. You honestly haven’t lived until you’ve heard Spiderbait thrash out Rockabye Your Bear.  Sadly I can’t add this version to my Spotify list as ReWiggled isn’t in their database, but I have added the equally lovely version by Murray Wiggle that he sang for his daughter.

Smashing Pumpkins – Landslide

Children get older, and I’m getting older too
I actually have three versions of Landslide in bear’s lullaby playlist because its one of my favorite songs and this is the most recent find. His dad absolutely loves this version and insists we start with it every time the lullabies get turned on.

I’ve put together a little Spotify playlist for you below with these and a few of my other favourites. I hope you all love these songs as much as I do!

What’s your go to lullaby/chill song? Share it in the comments.