I wondered one night after rocking Clark to sleep, where the sandman came from.
So I Googled it.
I wasn’t surprised to find that it was some old folk lore from our European Ancestors.
“The Sandman is a mythical character in central and northern European folklore who brings good dreams. Traditionally, he is a character in many children’s stories. He is said to sprinkle sand or dust on or into the eyes of the child at night to bring on dreams and sleep. The grit or “sleep” in one’s eyes upon waking is supposed to be the result of the Sandman’s work the previous evening.”
Cleaver what they did with the “sleep” in the eyes thing, huh?
However, I was a little creeped out by the Disney cartoon and lyrics that followed my search.
It’s so interesting to watch or read things from decades centuries ago and see how nothing was sugar coated when it came to teaching a lesson.
You know what I mean if you have read any of the Mother Goose stories or Grimm’s Fairy Tales
(Both amazingly from the 17th century and still relevant)
They include tales that now days would be inappropriate and not safe for children.
Enter
The 1933 Walt Disney Silly Symphonies cartoon Lullaby Land ends with the Sandman putting the baby to sleep.
This ain’t your modern day Barney Cartoon.
A few Lyrics tid bits I found funny :
“No, no! A-a-ah! Baby mustn’t break. No, no! Burny-burn! Baby mustn’t touch. No, no! Burny-burn! They’ll hurt you very much. A-a-a-a-ah! Oh, no, no! Baby, throw it away! Oh, now the boogieman will get you, ’cause you didn’t obey. We are the boogie boogie boogiemen, We will get you, Get you if we can, When we come out into the night, Babies always waking with a fright”
Furthermore in my research I found some interesting facts about old time Nursery Rhymes and childhood songs. Check out an explanation of popular rhymes you grew up singing HERE. You will be shocked what some of them really mean!
