Hush little baby now don’t say a word
Daddy has gone with his spear and his sword
To fight for the homeland, for you & for me
In a distant land somewhere far over the sea
Hush little baby now please don’t you cry
Mama will be coming home by and by
Back from the seaside where she goes to mourn
To wait for the ship that will never return
Hush little baby asleep on my arm
I’ll always be here to keep you from harm
Daddy would want you to teach you to fight
The way of the hero, to live and to die
Hush little baby your sleep be it long
We grieve for our father but yet we are strong
We will avenge him just you wait and see
I’ll grow up like him and you’ll grow up like me.
Lyrics by Mike Reeseman
From a traditional melody
Backstory: Composed on the car drive back from an SCA event, at which I’d won the tournament. When it was done in my head, I sang it for the friends riding with me. After it was over, there was an extremely awkward “three Mississippi” of dead silence. It was broken with “You know, if I’d just won my first tourney I think I’d be happy.”