Morgan Monks

Informant: Myself/ Mom

Place Item Collected: My memory

Title: A Lullaby of Love 

Genre: Family Song

Informant: My mother is the person who would always sing this song to me and my younger brother. She has been eternally 39 for 4 years now and was born in Las Vegas. My mother grew up in a home where her parents weren’t very involved and I think that situation has made her become quite opposite to that. My mom has always tried to be very involved and supportive in my life but not overbearing. 

Context:  My mom used to sing me a song every night, even when I was older. I honestly don’t know when I stopped asking her to but I remember thinking to myself I was probably too old to have a lullaby every night but I didn’t really care. I also used to think that my mom had a wonderful voice and even told her she should go on American Idol.  She laughed at me and I never understood until later and I now recognize why she thought my idea was so comical. I never knew this until I was older but my mom would also sing that same song to my younger brother Kaden. I don’t know if the song had as much as a profound effect on him but I can only assume it was similar considering he told me that song was also his favorite and he asked for it often. 

Text: The words to the song ‘You are my Sunshine’ that my mom would sing to me every night are as follows:

You are my sunshine,

My only sunshine.

You make me happy

When skies are grey.

You’ll never know dear,

How much I love you.

Please don’t take my sunshine away

Texture:

My mom used to sing this song to me almost every night, when I was scared, and when I was sad. As expected as I grew older the songs came less and less frequent. However when I was older (as I said probably too old to be getting them) I remember some nights I would ask my mom to come into my room and sing the song to me. When she would sing the song she would sit on my bed, and push the hair away from my face as she sang to me. After she was done she would leave my room, and start to close the door just before I would stop her to leave it partly opened. (I always loved falling asleep to the noise of my parents up and talking or watching television).

Meaning:

I never really thought about the importance of this song to me until recently. I mean I always loved the song. To be honest when I was younger I thought my mom had made it up and I was the only one she sang it to because I was her only sunshine. Except when I figured it out that she in fact did not right the song nor was I the only one she sang it to, there was no difference in the meaning of it to me. I felt like she meant that song every time she sung it to me. Even when I was older to me that song meant I love you and I will always love you. I feel like my mom’s skies will be grey if I am gone for forever. I have gotten just a little glimpse of what it feels like to be away from her by being at college. Just being able to give her a hug or talk to her whenever we are in the same room means a lot and I really took that for granted when I was home. To me this song is so much more than just a lullaby; it is the characterization of my mother’s and my relationship. She is my best friend and right now she is my sunshine. I don’t know what I would do without her. She is always the one I can go and talk to about anything and we never stay mad at each other for more than a little bit. I plan to serve an LDS mission and I think that this song is one of those things I will be able to keep in my heart and be close to her.

Bonnie Moore

English 2010-027 @10:30