The children’s classic lullaby, “Rockabye Baby on the Treetop,” has, in its lifetime, achieved almost universal acceptance, but no significant analysis has been made of its lyrics since its inception. Focused on the dystopian world of a resting infant, the song raises almost as many questions as it has put babies to sleep. In this review, I shall address these matters using the polarized light of modern musical scholarship to provide insight into the song’s meaning and address the underpinnings of its enduring, multi-generational popularity.
The song, on the surface, is simple, containing only one verse with four lines and no chorus. We are presented with the image of an infant, presumably at peace and possibly asleep, though this is implied rather than explicitly stated. Darkness dances on this child’s horizon. Nameless and genderless, the child is referred to throughout the song as “baby”. At the most literal level, “baby” could be a newborn whose parents either have not yet chosen an appellation or, alternatively are keeping its identity secret. We are left in either case to wonder why and this question remains unresolved through the conclusion of the song. Some have posited that “baby” is a metaphor with ominous overtones and by the end of the first line, this perspective begins to spread its seed. The sinister theme bursts from the ground with the author’s unusual choice of setting, a “treetop”. What, exactly, IS “baby” doing on a treetop? Alternatively, could treetop instead be the metaphor? We don’t know.
The second line provides little insight to address these questions, instead sketching an impressionistic view of serenity. Addition of a cradle to this picture provides a structural and intellectual framework to directly resolve the issue of how “baby” could rock on a treetop. Critically, “cradle” also plays a central role in the plot complication of the song’s second half. Listeners may be lulled into overlooking the role of the wind in this line, content that it simply provides the impetus for rocking. Strong arguments, however, can be developed for aligning it with social or sinister themes – e.g., the wind of change or, perhaps a bad wind blowing, respectively. Indeed, the role of the wind should not be trivialized. Without it, the plot would remain under-developed.
To say the wind provides conflict would overstate its importance, though, given the song’s limited story development. It does, however, assume the yoke of creating tension and excels in that reduced capacity.
By the third line, the story is poised for action and it’s a doozy. I’ll avoid spoiling the plot line for those who haven’t yet heard the song, but suffice it to say that all of the story’s elements introduced to this point (tree, cradle, baby, and wind) are cut loose from their restrictions and they revel in their freedom with ferocity, though the wind’s role can only be inferred from the action it performed in the second line. A subsection of the tree (the bough) enters the picture abruptly as a central character and then exits just as quickly from view (never to appear again), having provided the necessary locus of action for the other players. Gravity also acts in an uncredited role (spoiler alert!) with the fall. By the end of the line, the listener is left in limbo as to the fate of the baby and the cradle.
The build-up of tension in the masterful third line is only partially relieved in the fourth and final one and for this unsettling ending, critics may reasonably fault the song. Though the baby and the cradle successfully negotiate paths to reach their conclusions, it’s unclear what that is. Are they hurt, damaged, scared, safe? We don’t know, but after spending this time with them, we feel entitled to an answer.
If you’re looking for a happy ending, you won’t find it in “Rockabye Baby on the Treetop,” but that may also be central to its allure for parents over the generations. Many have noted that life itself often ends unhappily and with uncertainty and “Rockaby Baby on the Treetop” merely prepares “baby” and indeed, all babies, for the path that lies ahead.
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