Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" is a popular poem for children written by American writer and poet Eugene Field and published on March 9, 1889. The original title was Dutch Lullaby.
The poem is a fantasy bed-time story about three children sailing and fishing amongst the stars from a boat which is a wooden shoe. The little fishermen symbolize a sleepy child's blinking eyes and nodding head.
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe —
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea —
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish —
Never afraid are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam —
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail
it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea —
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
By 1890, the lyrics had been set to music, by American pianist and composer Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin.
About 70 years later, songwriter Lucy Simon wrote a setting (she claimed it was "the first song I ever wrote") that has been recorded by many artists, including: herself with her sister Carly as the Simon Sisters, released as a single and on album in 1964; The Big 3 featuring Cass Elliot (1963); The Irish Rovers on their album The Life of the Rover in 1969; Roger Whittaker on his children's album The Magical World of Roger Whittaker (1975);Joanie Bartels, on her 1985 album "Lullaby Magic"; Fred Penner on his children's album The Cat Came Back (1979); and the The Doobie Brothers for the children's music compilation In Harmony in 1980.
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