by Maria Kouvarou

“Adorable Child”

(Dioh & Andreas)

“This lullaby ‘Adorable Child’ is dedicated to my children […] not leaving out all the children of the globe”, Dioh writes, and in just a sentence she encapsulates the very essence of lullabies’ universalism.

One of the most intimate forms of connection between a caregiver and a child, lullabies have been lulling babies to sleep for centuries. Their content, both lyrical and musical, specific as it is to a home, to a culture, to a locality, is at the same traversing boundaries, entering a pool of lullabies that are being sung worldwide, lulling babies to sleep in different homes, cultures, localities. This pool unfolds in a wave of love, shiny stars, peaceful sleep and fairytale dreams that sweeps all over the globe, warming the hearts of caregivers and children worldwide, under any conditions and any circumstances. 

The LULLABY PROJECT as initiated by the notorious Carnegie Hall in 2011, and as it progresses into embracing families of various backgrounds all over the world, reflects on this universalism of parental love that is carried through music in the form of lullabies. In the process, it connects past, present and future and becomes the melodic line that sings children, regardless of space and time, to sleep.

From the universal to the personal again, Dioh, a mother from Cameroun who is currently residing in Cyprus, composed the lullaby “Adorable Child” for her three children. She sings to them: 

“Bright stars over the sky

Sweet dreams my adorable child

Bright eyes over your smile

Sleep tight, my caring child…”

…expressing how she wants them to be happy, calm, playful and smiling. A wish she extends to all mothers’ children, when she writes in her dedication “May God bless the children all over the world, to grow up brave, strong, caring and loving individuals”.

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