An Irish Lullaby Guitar Chords And Lyrics
An Irish lullaby tin whistle sheet music notes now included plus the tenor guitar tab in CGDA, The youtube video is by The Irish Tenors. Chords in the chordpro system. Included is the 5 string banjo chords .Written in 1914 by songwriter James Shannon but the tune is much older. Made popular by Bing Crosby, and it was Bing who also made the Galway Bay Song popular all those years ago, also recorded by Bob McGrath, Kate Smith, Sarah Moore, Emmet Cahall and John Gary and they're the one's who have had the most hits on Youtube with the song. The guitar / ukulele chords here can be used on the mandolin. This song is more popular in America than Ireland, in fact the only Irish singer I heard singing it was Daniel O'Donnell. The music time signature is 3/4 The sheet music notes are included. Also recorded by The Irish Tenors, Kate Smith, John Garry and Bridgette O'Halloran.
About The Song.
this one is pure soft-hearted Irish nostalgia with a lump-in-the-throat big enough to choke a bishop. It’s not a drinking song, not a rebel song — but a quiet, tender remembrance that could melt granite.
The singer is thinking back to Killarney — years ago — when his mammy (or “Mither,” in that grand old Irish pronunciation) would sing to him in a voice gentle as warm butter. It was just a “simple little ditty,” nothing grand or operatic — but to a child, it was sweeter than angels and stronger than whiskey.
And the heartbreak? He says he’d give the world itself if she could sing that song to him again. Which is Irish code for:
“I miss me mother something fierce.”
Then we hit the famous refrain:
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral…
Hush, now don’t you cry.
That’s not just a lullaby — that’s an Irish security system for the soul. The sonic equivalent of a wool blanket, hot porridge, and unconditional love.
In the second verse, he dreams of going back to that humble cabin — small as a shoebox, but bursting with warmth — and he can still feel her hugging him tight. The kind of embrace that says:
“You’re safe. The world can wait.”
He hears her humming the old lullaby while rocking him to sleep outside the cabin door — and you can almost see it:
The turf fire glowing, the stars peeking out, the crickets chirping, and a mother’s voice softer than moonlight.
It’s a song that isn’t afraid to be sentimental — the kind of nostalgia that hits Irish people right in the emotional kneecaps. It reminds us that:
It’s the sort of song that makes grown men stare into their pint and pretend they’ve “just got something in their eye.”
this one is pure soft-hearted Irish nostalgia with a lump-in-the-throat big enough to choke a bishop. It’s not a drinking song, not a rebel song — but a quiet, tender remembrance that could melt granite.
The singer is thinking back to Killarney — years ago — when his mammy (or “Mither,” in that grand old Irish pronunciation) would sing to him in a voice gentle as warm butter. It was just a “simple little ditty,” nothing grand or operatic — but to a child, it was sweeter than angels and stronger than whiskey.
And the heartbreak? He says he’d give the world itself if she could sing that song to him again. Which is Irish code for:
“I miss me mother something fierce.”
Then we hit the famous refrain:
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral…
Hush, now don’t you cry.
That’s not just a lullaby — that’s an Irish security system for the soul. The sonic equivalent of a wool blanket, hot porridge, and unconditional love.
In the second verse, he dreams of going back to that humble cabin — small as a shoebox, but bursting with warmth — and he can still feel her hugging him tight. The kind of embrace that says:
“You’re safe. The world can wait.”
He hears her humming the old lullaby while rocking him to sleep outside the cabin door — and you can almost see it:
The turf fire glowing, the stars peeking out, the crickets chirping, and a mother’s voice softer than moonlight.
It’s a song that isn’t afraid to be sentimental — the kind of nostalgia that hits Irish people right in the emotional kneecaps. It reminds us that:
- a cabin can be a castle
- a lullaby can be a legacy
- and a mother’s voice can echo through a lifetime
It’s the sort of song that makes grown men stare into their pint and pretend they’ve “just got something in their eye.”
Brigitte O'Halloran An Irish Lullaby Song
The below link is for the 5 string banjo tab in Open G tuning.
An Irish lullaby tenor guitar tab in CGDA below
Ukulele chords guide.
Below are the 4 chords to be played on the 5 string banjo. Standard tuning.
An Irish Lullaby piano sheet music in Solfege do re mi format notes
