A Serenade

"Lullaby, oh, lullaby!"
Thus I heard a father cry,
"Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
The brat will never shut an eye;
Hither come, some power divine!
Close his lids or open mine!"

"Lullaby, oh, lullaby!"
What the devil makes him cry?
"Lullaby, oh, lullaby!"
Still he stares--I wonder why?
Why are not the sons of earth
Blind, like puppies, from the birth?

"Lullaby, oh, lullaby!"
Thus I heard the father cry;
"Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Mary, you must come and try!--
Hush, oh, hush, for mercy's sake--
The more I sing, the more you wake!"

"Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Fie, you little creature, fie;
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Is no poppy-syrup nigh?
Give him some, or give him all,
I am nodding to his fall!"

"Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Two such nights, and I shall die!
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
He'll be bruised, and so shall I,--
How can I from bedposts keep,
When I'm walking in my sleep?"

"Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Sleep his very looks deny--
Lullaby, oh, lullaby!
Nature soon will stupify--
My nerves relax,--my eyes grow dim--
Who's that fallen--me or him?"