8 Great Pop Songs that Make Perfectly Unique Lullabies

If you sing your little ones to sleep, you’ve probably realized a good lullaby is just as much for the parent as it is for the kid being gently ushered off to dreamland. Whisper-crooning a familiar song in the dark is a nice ritual to end the day for both of you.

A lot of people fall back on the big standby "rock-a-bye baby." Yes, it’s simple and sweet, but it’s basically about an infant horrifically dropping out of a tree, and also dates back to the 17th or 18th century. It’s time to pick a few slightly newer hits.

So what makes a good modern lullaby?

Here are eight suggestions to get you started.

Beautiful Boy - John Lennon

“Close your eyes, have no fear/The monster’s gone, he’s on the run, and your daddy’s here…” John Lennon’s present for his son Sean is lyrically on point (and, really, it’s not hard to substitute “girl” for “boy” in the chorus, if you’re so inclined.) Of course, there are tonnes of Beatles and Beatle-adjacent songs that work well as lullabies. “Golden Slumbers” is an obvious choice, but if your kid won’t go down and you’re in a dark place (mentally and literally), opt for “I’m So Tired.”

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - Lauryn Hill

Written by Bobs Crewe and Gaudio, this ditty was first famous under Frankie Valli in 1967, but we’re really thinking about the 1998 Lauryn Hill cover. Given how beautifully she performs it, this is probably a good time to remind you singing ability doesn’t matter when it’s just you and a sleepy two-year-old. They think you and your off-key voice is perfect. Just don’t try this in front of wide-awake adults unless you really know what you’re doing.

The Rainbow Connection - Kermit

Yeah, the song Kermit the Frog sings. Go on. Try to pull it off without crying. We dare you.

Over the Rainbow - Israel “Iz” Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole

Two rainbow songs in one list! Granted, the Judy Garland version of this dates back to 1939, so it already feels about as ancient as Hush, Little Baby, but we’re really thinking about the 1993 version by late Hawaiian legend Israel “Iz” Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole. It’s comforting, inspirational, pretty and everything else a lullaby should be.

Tender - Blur

In Canada, a lot of people associate Blur with “Song 2,” which would be a very terrible lullaby. However, they also did this song, which is simultaneously life-affirming and heartbreaking. A Britpop-gospel jam about trying to find love after loss shouldn’t work as a way to sing kids to sleep, but it totally does. It’s all about those repetitions, those pauses, the way you sway when you sing it, those “oh my baby's", and how you substitute “good night” or “don’t cry” for the “oh why.”

Three Little Birds - Bob Marley

Bob Marley’s 1980 hit is such a great song for kids. It’s a pretty nice thing to have “Don’t worry about a thing, ’cause every little thing is gonna be all right” be what you hear your mom or dad or grand sing before you drift off into sleep. And the song’s bounce is so repetitive you can just keep going on in an infinite chorus-loop until they finally pass out if it takes longer than usual.

We're Going to Be Friends - The White Stripes

For such a short song, this one has a lot of lyrics to memorize. But it’s totally worth it. The White Stripes’ acoustic ode to childhood school days goes from “brand news shoes and walking blues” to “numbers, letters, learn to spell/nouns, and books, and show and tell.” Jack White actually sings this one like it’s for the preschool set, so you don’t even have to adapt too much. It ends with “Tonight, I’ll dream while I’m in bed/when silly thoughts go through my head/about the bugs and alphabet/and when I wake tomorrow, I’ll bet/that you and I will walk together again/I can tell that we are gonna be friends.” Perfect.

Sweet Child of Mine - Guns n' Roses

Yes. We know. Appetite for Destruction, W. Axl Rose, late 1980s hard rock — look, Guns n’ Roses doesn’t necessarily immediately bring forth images of cooing your little angel to sleep, but some slight wordsmithing on this song’s lyrics and it works out really well. It’s totally up to you how you want to perform this, but remember the three (!) guitar solos and “Where do we do now?” outro are completely optional.