Durme, durme, querido hijico,
durme con sabor,
durme, cerra tu lindo ojico,
durme sin ansia y dolor.
A la scola te irás,
alef bet t’ambezarás,
mi querido hijico, querido mío,
cencia muncha embezaras.
A la scola te irás,
doctorat t’ambezarás,
queridico, mi querido hijico,
cencia muncha alcanzarás.
Sleep, sleep, my dear little boy,
sleep with pleasure,
sleep, close your pretty little eyes,
sleep without anxiety and pain.
You will go to school,
you will learn the alphabet,
my dear boy, my dear boy,
you will acquire much knowledge.
You will go to school,
you will become a doctor,
my dear boy, my dear little boy,
you will acquire much knowledge.
Jerusalem National Sound Archives placement: Y5830c/7
Referenced and notated in: El ciclo de la vida, pg. 135, Editorial Alpuerto, 2013 Susana Weich-Shahak.
This is one of the few true lullabies of the Sephardic Jewish tradition, as long narrative ballads known as Romanceros typically serve as lullabies instead. With Hispanic roots, this song has variants that are sung in both Spain and Latin America.
In it, a mother sings her hopes for her child's future, from learning the alphabet to one day becoming a doctor, as she lulls him to sleep.
This website was created by Orit Perlman with the collaboration and blessings of Dr. Susana Weich-Shahak in 2025