The story behind starry lullaby

Most people can recall the bedtime song that parents have sung to them. By this point, it’s probably permanently engraved in our memories as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. How many of us, though, are aware of the background behind this core memory?

People mistakenly tend to believe that Mozart is the author of the poem, but it was actually written by Jane Taylor in 1806. He did write the music and the song is now performed to the French tune Ah! Vous dirai-je, maman, which was first written in the mid-1700s and later arranged by a number of musicians. Of the five stanzas of the nursery rhyme, only the first stanza of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star‘s English lyrics are still widely recognized today. Below are the original lyrics of the rhyme:

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are !
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the trav’ller in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.
In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often thro’ my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.
‘Tis your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the trav’ller in the dark,
Tho’ I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

Although most parents teach their kids this as a playful approach to help them unwind, it has added benefits. It has been used in numerous studies to examine how children develop their ability to sing accurately; their understanding of intervals, contour, and key; how to boost student self-esteem in the classroom; how to use music therapy to help premature infants feed and sleep; and how to inspire kids to write and improvise music.

While you probably know the song, do you recognize the melody apart from the lyrics? It should seem familiar as it is the same tune as Baa Baa Black Sheep and the ABCs. There are also several parodies of the song such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat, a poem by Lewis Carroll found in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.