All the Pretty Little Horses 26" by 32" Acrylic on canvas. C 2006.
The lullaby All the Pretty Little Horses has been sung to children in the US since the 1800s. It was collected in the 1920s and the 1934 version collected by Alan Lomax is the basis for my painting and lyrics. The Bridge has ominous lyrics that are usually left off: "Way down yonder, down in the meadow; There's a poor wee little lamby. The bees and the butterflies pickin' at its eyes; The poor wee thing cried for her mammy."
All the Pretty Little Horses
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
When you wake, you'll have cake,
And all the pretty little horses.
Black and bay, dapple and gray,
Coach and six little horses,
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby,
When you wake, you'll have cake,
And all the pretty little horses.
Way down yonder, down in the meadow,
There's a poor wee little lamby.
The bees and the butterflies pickin' at its eyes,
The poor wee thing cried for her mammy.
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
When you wake, you'll have cake,
And all the pretty little horses.