If you’ve ever hummed Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to your baby, you might think French lullabies are more of the same - gentle tunes to help little ones drift off to dreamland.
Spoiler: they’re not.
French lullabies are famous for being… well, a little dark. Sweet melodies paired with lyrics about plucking feathers, shipwrecks, or lonely candlelit nights. Because apparently, nothing says “bonne nuit” quite like reminding your baby of life’s inevitable struggles.
The case of Alouette (good luck un-hearing this one)
If you’ve ever taken French 101, you probably know Alouette. It sounds cute, right? A little bird, a lilting tune. But listen closer and you’ll find you’re singing about plucking every feather off a poor lark, head to tail (before being cooked).
🎵 Watch it on YouTube (prepare to never sing it the same way again).
Au Clair de la Lune (pretty, but lonely)
This one is actually lovely, until you realize it’s about a guy asking his friend for a pen so he can light a candle and write a love letter. In the middle of the night. To impress a girl.
Romantic? Sure. Appropriate bedtime material for a two-year-old? Questionable.
🎵 Listen here.
Il était un petit navire (shipwreck, anyone?)
Imagine lulling your sweet newborn to sleep with a story about sailors stranded at sea… deciding which one of them to eat first.
Yes, really. (French parents will say it’s “just a song” but come on).
🎵 Hear it on YouTube.
Allez Crocodile (spoiler: someone gets eaten)
This upbeat little ditty about crocodiles “going to war” is a preschool favorite. But yes, it involves one of them being gobbled up in the end.
Nothing like a splash of reptilian violence before nap time.
🎵 Watch on YouTube.
Savez-vous planter les choux? (endless cabbages)
This one isn’t dark, but it is absurd. The lyrics are basically: “Do you know how to plant cabbages? Like this!” followed by children acting it out - hands, elbows, feet. By the third verse, you’ve got an entire vegetable patch planted by interpretive dance.
🎵 Listen here.
Why so gloomy (or silly)?
Historically, lullabies weren’t really for kids, they were for tired parents trying to get through endless nights.
Singing about the harshness of life? Maybe it was a coping mechanism. Singing about cabbages? Maybe it was just boredom relief.
And you know what? It works. Babies don’t understand the words anyway, they just like the rhythm, the repetition, and the soothing sound of your voice.
Where La Petite Crème comes in
Here’s the truth: it doesn’t matter if you sing a centuries-old ballad about doomed sailors or make up your own nonsense song. What matters is the routine. Babies thrive on it.
So if your routine is: fresh diaper, soft lotion, silly lullaby → you’re doing just fine. La Petite Crème can handle the mess. You just handle the music (lyrics optional).
Petites pensées
French lullabies might sound dramatic, but maybe that’s part of the charm. Parenthood is equal parts beauty and chaos. If a feather-plucking bird or a cabbage-planting song can soothe a crying baby, who are we to argue?