WYNKEN, BLYNKEN and NOD
(Dutch Lullaby) by
Eugene Field
(1850-1895)
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe---
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in that beautiful sea---
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish---
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam---
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought 't was a dream they 'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea---
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
Eugene Field
was born in St. Louis at 634 South Broadway, on September 3, 1850. His
father, Roswell Martin Field, was a well-known attorney. In 1853 he served
as the attorney for the slaves Dred and Harriet Scott and their daughters,
Eliza and Lizzy, when they brought action in federal court for their
freedom. The Scotts were denied their freedom on the grounds that
African-Americans were not citizens and therefore could not sue in federal
court. The refusal of the United States Supreme Court to treat Dred and
Harriet as citizens is believed by many to be a factor that precipitated the
Civil War.
In November 1856, Frances Field, Eugene's mother, died and the next year
Eugene and his brother, Roswell, were sent to Amherst, Massachusetts, to
attend school and live with their paternal aunt, Mary, and their cousin,
Mary Field French, until they entered college.
