Traditional · Key of C · Public domain
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This chart is written in C. Tap any key above the chart to see the whole song in that key, with every chord already worked out. To stay in C with different chord shapes, play it capo 3 with the A shapes, or capo 5 with the G shapes. Singing with a group? Pick the key where the highest note is comfortable for everyone, then print that page.
Hush, Little Baby is an American lullaby from the South, with no known author. The folk song collector Cecil Sharp wrote it down twice in the autumn of 1918, from Lucy Cannady in Endicott, Virginia, and from Julie Boone in Micaville, North Carolina, and Boone's verses already ran through the mockingbird, the diamond ring, the looking glass and the billy goat. More North Carolina versions were collected in 1922, and in 1937 John and Ruby Lomax recorded Annie Brewer singing it in Montgomery, Alabama, for the Library of Congress, the version that carried it into songbooks and out to the world.
The shape of the song, a chain of promises where each gift fails and the next one is bought, is older than the words: the same pattern turns up in an English nursery collection of 1784. The eight verses here are the ones most people know, ending with the sweetest little baby in town. Words and melody are traditional and in the public domain.
Two chords, C and G7, and every verse the same: C to start, G7 on the second half of the first line and C on the last word of the second. Play it slowly and softly. A fingerpicked pattern (thumb on the bass, fingers rolling up through the chord) suits a lullaby far better than strumming, and a lullaby does not need a steady beat so much as a steady, quiet tone. In C the melody sits low and gentle; if your voice wants it higher, tap F or G at the top of the chart. This is a good first fingerpicking song because the chord changes are slow and the words tell you when they come.
Hush, Little Baby in other easy guitar keys: key of D, key of E, key of F, key of G, key of A. Every other key is at the top of the chart.
Tap any chord for its diagram, other voicings, and the notes inside it.
In the key of C, Hush, Little Baby uses 2 chords: C and G7. The chords sit over the words in the chart above, and tapping a chord name under Chords in This Song opens its diagram.
This chart is in the key of C. The other easy guitar keys for it are the key of D, key of E, key of F, key of G, key of A, each with the whole song rewritten. Pick the key whose chords you know, or the one that sits best for the singers: all twelve are one tap away at the top of the chart, with capo options for keeping the open shapes.
Yes. The words and the melody of Hush, Little Baby are in the public domain, which is why the full lyrics and chords are published here. You can print this sheet, hand it out, and perform or record the song anywhere without a license.
Another bedtime song: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star chords and lyrics
All the kids' song chord sheets, each one in every key.
Further reading: Hush, Little Baby (Wikipedia)
