Pajiba

"Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Judy Garland

"This Spiteful Snake" by Meshuggah

Anything by either The Softies or The Innocence Mission.

Oh OH!! and

Sweet Lullaby-Deep Forest

'natch

"Endgame" - R.E.M.
"Willow Logic" - Gord Downie
"Mining for Gold" - Cowboy Junkies
"I Will" - Radiohead
"Gold In Them Hills" - Ron Sexsmith

"Baltimore" by Lyle Lovett.
"Over the Sea to Skye" which is a Scottish folk song, and the King's Singers did it pretty nicely.

For the more down tempo kid times, you might want to pick up Kimya Dawson's Alphabutt. She has some kids and made a kid album. They have some fun things for your verbal infants, too. That song about not wetting the bed was used in Juno.

To get the kid tired enough to take a nap, I suggest an all out dance fest to Beck, CSS, MGMT, or Does It Offend You, Yeah!

Although the classical is a good move if you're kid the the type that hyperactive songs might as well be your death knell. Then I suggest anything but a march from Liszt. It might just me rhapsodies I'm thinking of, but anyway, I've used his fantasias to mellow me out before.

I second Ben Folds Lullabye.

Also: XTC Knights in Shining Karma. It's down tempo, beautiful and sweet.

"My Darling" by Wilco on Summerteeth is a beautiful, quiet lullaby. There are a couple other good soft songs on that album, too, like "Pieholden Suite" and "How to Fight Loneliness."

Also, pretty much the whole album Devotion by Beach House is just nice.

I hear some women have food cravings when pregnant; My mom had a craving for Sitting on the Dock of The Bay. As such, I have loved this song my whole life and it is my favorite to this day.

It has nothing to do with babies.

Ooh Ooh and "landslide". I have versions by Fleetwood Mac, The Dixie Chicks and The Smashing Pumpkins. The song is so beautiful.

Tangerine & Going to California - Led Zeppelin

Planet Caravan - Black Sabbath

Ah, er, that's all I got off the tops of my heads.

I totally agree with Nicole about Barenaked Ladies "When You Dream." I've sung that song about a billion times to the lil' pug. We also like "Your Song" by Elton John, "Emma's Song" by Sinead O'Connor, and "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard. Mr. Pug sings Billy Joel's "Piano Man," "Desperado," by the Eagles, and (inexplicably) "Break Your Heart" by Barenaked Ladies.

I make a personal lullabye mix for all of my pregnant friends, but until I get to my laptop to access my playlist, let me suggest the hands-down lullabye ever, courtesy of Disney:

"Baby Mine" by Alison Krauss

Morphine - Swing It Low

The Ocean Blue - A Separate Reality

The Waterboys - When Ye Go Away

The Sundays - Here's Where The Story Ends

figgy, you are so spot on with those suggestions! Wainwright's take on 'Goodnight Sweetheart' is lovely as hell.

I'd also recommend 'Dear Someone', by Gillian Welch and for some reason Bob Dylan's 'Tomorrow Is A Long Time' played softly is very relaxing.

For French speakers, 'La berceuse' by Benabar is probably the funniest song ever written. Set to a soothing lullaby melody, it's a song about a parent's exhausted, hair-tearing despair at his child not falling asleep. He tries everything and nothing works, and when the kid finally falls asleep he's only got an hour before he's got to get up to go to work. Brilliant.

Hmmm... these songs are gentle enough to sleep to, but I don't know if they all convey a message you'd send to your children...

"You Belong to Me" - covered by Lifehouse
"Sparks" - Coldplay
"Melt Your Heart" - Jenny Lewis w/the Watson Twins
"Older Chests" - Damien Rice
"Clementine" - The Decemberists
"Fireflys" - Rhett Miller & Rachael Yamagata
"Into the Mystic" - Van Morrison
"True Love Waits" - Radiohead
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" - covered by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

My fiance just suggested Billy Joel's "Lullaby." I've never heard it, except what he's just sang to me, but it sounds perfect for what you're trying to find.

"Sentimental Heart" & "You Really Got a Hold on Me" - She & Him
"Soft Rock Star [Jimmy & Joe Mix]" - Metric
"Lady In Spain", "Breakable", "Highway", & "Keep Breathing" - Ingrid Michaelson
"Name" & "Black Balloon" - Goo Goo Dolls
"Brandy Alexander" - Feist
"Jealous of the Moon" - Nickel Creek
"Try" & "Other Side of Day" - Bebo Norman
"Sunset Borderline" - Sandi Thom
"Butterfly Cry" - Kerli
"Gravity" - Sara Bareilles

Also:
Anything by Allison Krauss, Iron & Wine, Cowboy Junkies, Sarah McLachlan, Jack Johnson, Frou Frou, Lisa Loeb, Zero 7, the Shins, Damien Rice, and Venice is Sinking.

We got Raymond Scott's "Soothing Sounds for Baby" when my son was born. Worked every time, and he was not a good sleeper. Scott was an early electronica type of composer and he also adapted music for some of the early Looney Toons cartoons which was used again for Ren & Stimpy. You'll totally recognize it when you hear it.

I also highly recommend anything by Lush-- "Spooky" and "Gala" are particularly good-- they always work a treat for me when I can't settle.

You all are fantastic! My whole reason for asking for good music (and not your everyday children's songs) was because essentially I have to listen to it through the night due to the monitor. The first night I tried children's music and drove myself insane the next day because I couldn't get the songs out of my head.

after the goldrush - neil young

helpless - neil young

when the ship comes in - bob dylan

going to california - led zeppelin

landslide - stevie nicks/fm

slow song - joe jackson

wooden ships - csny

wild horses - the rolling stones

Delicate - Damien Rice
Bach Cello Suite No. 1 Prelude - Yo Yo Ma
Moonlight Sonata - Beethoven
Recuerdos de la Alhambra - Andres Segovia
Asturias - Andres Segovia
Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
As the World Falls Down - David Bowie
Killing Me Softly - Fugees
Stay Awake - Julie Andrews
Out in Space - Travis
Fly Me to the Moon - Sinatra

Personally anything with a cello or classical guitar relax me, but I think that has more to do with the fact that I grew up with a jazz guitarist who had a love for classical and flamenco music.

and some pink floyd... too many to list.
you could put on the whole "shine on your crazy diamond" album, or just choose tracks from dark side of the moon, animals, the wall, etc... all have some really beautiful songs.

One More Cup of Coffee - Bob Dylan
Angel - Sarah McLachlan
The Nearness of You - Norah Jones
What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
Whiter Shade of Pale - Procul Harum
A Woman's Work - Maxwell
Angelito - Don Omar
Ordinary People - John Legend
Angie - The Stones
Old Friend - Chris de Burgh

Oh! Figgy! I didn't know Smashing Pumpkins covered Landslide! I must have it! Thank you!

"Wonder" Natalie Merchant
"Dark Angel" Blue Rodeo and Sara McLachlan
"5 Days in May" Blue Rodeo
"A Different Corner" George Michael
"Angels" Robbie Williams

I am loving this. I'm copying every single song down so I can get it, because I love sleepytime music.

Eyvi, their cover is amazing. That song always kills me.

Some more:

-"Baby Bird" by The Wallflowers. It's a hidden track right after "Bird Cage" off of "Breach". I don't know if you can get it on its own, it's worth it.
-"Complainte de la Butte" by Rufus Wainwright
-"By Your Side" by Sade

For some latin flavor
-"Bendita la Luz" by Mana

i would totally second the cowboy junkie's 'trinity sessions'.

i myself sleep to it turned down low.

or 'tonight that i may see' by mazzy star

Check out the soundtrack to "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" Some good soft awesome songs on that.

Also:

"Dream" by Priscilla Ahn, gorgeous.

"I Adore You" by melpo mene

If you like John Denver, he's got loads of great mellow stuff.

Otis Redding? Soulful and lovely.

"Way Over Yonder" Carole King

Chopin's Nocturnes

Oooo! Adieu False Heart, a CD by Linda Ronstadt and Ann Savoy....LOVELY haunting Cajun tunes

legib Awww you have a baby Katie? I have a 14 year old Katie. I used to sing her "The Rose" and "Amazing Grace." (No ipods back then.) Strange choices, I guess, but I sang them to her well into her preschool years and she still fondly remembers singing them with me, so it's our "thing." Cool memories.

Baby Katies are the best. :)

Since no one else has mentioned it, how about Dvorak's Symphony #9 - From the New World?

Movement #2, please, have to be careful about that. Also, someone mentioned Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, but stick to the first movement. The second movement is lively and happy, and the third movement could wake the dead!

-Ralphie

Ralphie, I dropped a couple more suggestions for you on the "Bands That Need to Stop" thread, check it out.

Also, Los Lobos in general. David Hidalgo's voice is a sweet thing of comforting beauty.

"Purgatory Line" -- Drive-By Truckers

Sleeping on the Roof (The Flaming Lips)
Skindiving (James)
You Come Through (PJ Harvey)
Wishlist (Pearl Jam)
Mayfly (Rasputina)

I can't wait to check out some of the suggestions others have made to add to my mellow playlist :)

I have the same thing for my daughter (she's just over 1 now). We started with just four songs, which was a pretty weird collection:

"Still Alive" by Jonathan Coulton & Ellen McLain (the awesome end credits song from the game Portal)

"1234 - Sesame St Version" by Feist

"All I Want Is You" by Barry Louis Polisar (from Juno)

"Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt (from Darjeerling Limited)

And although we're not religious (at all), the next batch of songs that we added have a lot of god-bothering about them:

"God Is In The House" by Nick Cave

"Sinnerman" by Nina Simone

"The Partisan" by Noir Desir & 16 Horsepower

"Tomorrow Wendy" by Andy Prieboy

"Ain't Got No... I've Got Life" Nina Simone

"Coat Of Many Colours" by Shania Twain*
* The Dolly Parton version's good, but she yaks on for ages after the song's over...

We're still working out the next set...

A lot of the easy ones have been picked off, so I'm going to go a little farther afield.

The entire album Letter From Home by Pat Metheny Group...holy cow, there are some great slow jams on that! But if you add just one of its songs to your playlist, go with Dream of the Return and its achingly beautiful guitar.

You also can't go wrong with the Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento. I was introduced to him by Paul Simon (courtesy of Graceland), and I'm eternally grateful. Do your best to secure the song Portal de Cor (Threshold of Colors) from the album Encontros e Despedidas -- his melodies tend to be simplistic but he sings in Portugese, which is just a delightful language sung, and Portal de Cor is simply one of the most gorgeous songs I've ever heard.

And how about Eye in the Sky by Alan Parsons Project? That song always put me to sleep, and it has the right parental overtones...

Have You Ever Seen the Rain by CCR is on my sleep playlist. For classical, try Meditation from Thais by Massenet, the Mahler Adagietto (Symph 5, mvmt 4), and Air on the G String or any other version of Bach's Air.

Wow, looking at this list after I've made it, I feel like I'm hogging space here in the comments. But truth is, I could easily have made it 10 times longer. I love this kind of thing. So I tried to stick to more unusual choices and lesser known bands. Let the perusal of my iTunes begin:
Aerosmith - Boogie Man (Instrumental)
Anita Kelsey - Sway
The Band - The Weight
Barenaked Ladies - When You Dream
The Beatles - Norwegian Wood
Blue Merle - Burning in the Sun
The Church - Under the Milky Way Tonight
The Cranberries - No Need To Argue
Dar Williams - The Beauty of the Rain; Mortal City
Depeche Mode - Waiting For the Night
eastmountainsouth - You Dance
Freedy Johnston - Bad Reputation
Garfunkel and Oates - As You Are
Gary Jules - Mad World
Grateful Dead - Ripple
Hooverphonic - Eden
James - Dream Thrum; Lullaby
The Jane Does - Bring the Devil
Josh Ritter - Come and Find Me; Song For the Fireflies
K's Choice - Live For Real
Kaki King - Gay Sons of Lesbian Mothers
Lady Antebellum - Can't Take My Eyes Off of You
Lyle Lovett - If I Had a Boat
Marcella - Sunshine
Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
The Notting Hillbillies - Your Own Sweet Way
Orba Squara - Perfect Timing
R.E.M. - Endgame
Rusted Root - Blue Diamonds
Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Thomas Lane - For Days
Wilco - Radio Cure
Yo La Tengo - Our Way to Fall

I'm with Cindy, even in college I used Cowboy Junkies Trinity Sessions to go to sleep. Actually, I've been having trouble sleeping lately, maybe I should try it again.

There was a soundtrack that was great on its own, but was also calm enough to lull--I'm thinking it was the High Art soundtrack, most of it done by Shudder to Think. Kind of slow, trance stuff, hardly any of the tracks have words. I think it would work really well.

Oh, also "Twice" by Little Dragon. Great album, but that first track is perfect for this list.

"Faraway Voice" by Katie Melua

"Space they cannot touch" by Kate Miller Heidke (this is really gorgeous, definitely try it, she's an amazing Australian musician

"Happily Ever After In Your Eyes" or whatever it's called by Ben Harper on his Morning Yearning album (apparently, Heath Ledger asked Ben Harper to write a lullaby song after he had his child and this is what Ben wrote. It's a beautiful song).

On that note, "Morning Yearning" is very beautiful, but maybe slightly morose. Anyhow, I still love it.

"Swallowed in the Sea" by Coldplay

"Moonshadow" by Cat Stevens

"Morning has broken" by Cat Stevens

"Watch Over me" by Bernard Fanning

"River" by Joni Mitchell

And also "Dreaming my Dreams" by the Cranberries. That song totally got my fifteen-year-old self through many a heartbreak and the subsequent sleepless nights!

I have a couple to add that I haven't seen posted yet. If I'm mistaken, sorry.

Night Swimming - REM
Return to Pooh Corner - Kenny Loggins

I agree with a lot of the songs/artists mentioned above... I would also add:
Go to Sleep by Sarah Harmer
Lake Constance by Mike Oldfield
aaaaand maybe Pink Moon by Nick Drake

DeVotchKa - how it ends

Snow Patrol - You could be happy

Snow Patrol - Run

Keane - Bedshaped

thought of two more :

Au Revoir Simone - the lucky one

Emiliana Torrini - big jumps

Anything by David Gray (that's what my 5 month old sleeps to).

And I find the Rock-A-Bye Coldplay CD very soothing.

I had a very religious roommate at summer camp who couldn't sleep without music, and she gave me the choice of falling asleep to either weird Christian rock or Jewel's album "Spirit". Naturally, I picked Jewel, and liked it so much I went out and bought it. Some of the songs are very sad, but most are really soothing.

Lullaby - Dixie Chicks
Where's my love - Cat Power
Strawberry - Paul Baribeau
You can never hold back spring - Tom Waits
Somewhere there's a feather - Nico
Baby don't you cry -Quincy Jones (Waitress soundtrack)
Baby of Mine (Dumbo soundtrack)
More Adventurous - Rilo Kiley
Place to be - Nick Drake
Hammond song - The Roches

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I have to tack on a few more:

"Good Feeling" by the Violent Femmes. Perfect for this.

"Do You Believe in Rapture?" by Sonic Youth.
I would also recommend the beginning of Diamond Sea as it is just a beautiful, but you may want to cut it off before things get all dissonant and experimental (unless the kid is into it)

Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits. Plenty of great stuff out there from these gruff, soothing voices to expand little minds.

Regina Spektor... Iron & Wine... Flaming Lips... She and Him... Bowie... Elton John... The Beatles... Bell & Sebastian.. Smashing Pumpkins....

Kids should hear real music not that patronizing watered-down bullshit that gets marketed to them. Kids are a lot smarter then they get credit for and if you don't treat them like they are handicapped little half-people you will be surprised by how fucking cool the little ones can be.

BWeaves- We just started playing music recently. I am not training her to fall asleep to music, just wanting something that will mask out the sounds of our dogs etc during the night.

I would vacuum outside of her room, but a) I don't have any carpet in my house and b) the vacuum (currently) scares the crap out of her.. so it would only succeed in making the situation more unhappy. Plus, she's 7 months old now so we're pretty far removed from the whole "sound of the womb" thing.

I used to work at a preschool and I got so sick of the three CDs they had to play during nap time that I came up with my own playlists for them:

The whole discs of:
-"Sacred Arias" by Andrea Bocelli
-"The Life Aquatic" soundtrack by Seu Jorge
-"Quelqu'un M'a Dit" by Carla Bruni (now Sarkozy)
-"Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust" by Sigur Ros

Individual Songs:
-"Comeback" and "Better People" by Xavier Rudd
-"Ne Me Quitte Pas" by Nina Simone
-"Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap
-"Waiting for my Real Life to Begin" by Colin Hay
-"Dearest" by Buddy Holly
-"If I had a Boat" by Lyle Lovett
-"Honey and the Moon" by Joseph Arthur
-"Be Here Now" by Joseph Arthur
-"Older Chests" by Damien Rice
-"Winter" and "Closer" by Joshua Radin
-"Bright Smile" by Josh Ritter
-"For the Widows in Paradise,for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti" by Sufjan Stevens
-"Wild World" by Cat Stevens
-"Stars Above" by Maria Doyle Kennedy
-"Sweetest Thing" by St. Fiachra's Junior School
-"Mountains O' Things" by the Duhks
-"Ooh Child" by Nina Simone
-"Blackbird" by the Beatles
-"The Crane Wife 3" by the Decemberists
-"Born Into a Light" by Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
-"Your Face" by the Frames

okay, I could think of more, but that is probably enough.

Just a quick correction: "Be Here Now" is by Ray LaMontagne, not Joseph Arthur

The Welsh lullibye "Suo Gan" from Empire of the Sun

I don't know how easy this would be to find, but if you were able to find an acoustic version of "Yellow Submarine", that would be nice and soothing and abnormal. My dad used to sing it to me when I was a bebbeh, and it was one of the few things that would get me to sleep. I'm a hardcore insomniac, so much so that it was noted when I was an infant. For some reason, "Yellow Submarine" as a lullaby was magic.

"Merman" from Tori Amos. Beautiful song.

Putting my education to practical use? Great googly-moogly! This will NOT make your baby smarter. Only knowledge makes babies smarter. Motor skills help.

Beware of tears.

Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, 2nd movt. Suite Francaise- Pavane, Sicilienne, Sarabande for Guitar, Elegie for Two Pianos.
Franck: Sonata for Violin and Piano, 3rd movt.
Ravel: Pavane for a Dead Princess, Jeux d'eau, Prelude, Minuet from Le Tombeau de Couperin, Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn
Schubert: Moment Musicaux no 2
Bach-Gounod: Ave Maria
Vivaldi: Guitar Concerto, second movement, La Primavera, second movement
Beethoven: Appassionata Sonata, second movement
Pathetique Sonata, second movement, piano sonata no 27, second movement
Handel: V'adoro, pupille from Julio Caesare
Stravinsky: Sonata for Piano, second movement
Couperin: Les Barricades Mysterieuses
Debussy: The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, Footsteps in the Snow, Scents and Sounds Turn in the Night Air, Dancers of Delphi, Arabesque No. 1, Dead Leaves, Heather, Canopy, Hommage a Rameau, Sarabande from 'For the Piano'
Saint-Saens: The Swan
Faure: Sicilienne from Pelleas et Melisande, pavane
D'Indy: Arrau from Helvetia (don't bother with anything else, the rest of his output is so boring it's almost illegal, and he was an Olympic-level asshole to boot. But this one thing is nice)
Villiers Sanders: The Bluebird
Satie: Gymnopedies, Gnossiennes (especically the first four), Sarabandes
Liszt: Transcendental Etude number 9
Britten: The Birds, Corpus Christi Carol
Messiaen: Turangalila-Sinfonie, 6th movt
Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, 2nd movt
Purcell: Thy Hand, Belinda and When I am Laid in Earth from Dido and Aeneas
Strauss: Four Last Songs- number three
Chopin: Nocturnes
Sibelius: The Swan of Tuonella
Schumann: Traumeri
Dowland: Pavana Lachrymae
Verdi: O cieli azzuri (o patria mia)
Dvorak: New World Symphony, second movt.

Jordan: Werewolf Bar Mitzvah

This stuff will make you and the baby too sweetly drowsy to bother each other.

one of my favorite topics so i have to add:

- i try: ben taylor
- baby mine: bonnie raitt
- never ending song of love: delaney and bonnie
- blackbird: don latarski
- once in a blue moon: edie brickell
- you are my sunshine: elizabeth mitchell
- you: fisher
- anything by innocence mission
- if i had words: from the movie babe sung by the actor james cromwell
- dream a little dream of me: cass elliot
- kiss at the end of the rainbow: mitch and mickey (actually catherine o'hara and eugene levy from the movie a mighty wind)
- sweet sweet baby: michelle featherstone
- here comes the sun: nina simone
- only you: nrbq
- it must be love: ricki lee jones
- la vie en rose: louis armstrong
- into the mystic: van morrison
- can't go back now: weepies
- world spins madly on: weepies
- think about a lullaby: merle haggard