Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) is the seventh track and final single from Billy Joel’s 1993 album ‘River of Dreams’. The song was inspired by Alexa Ray Joel, his daughter. It was originally written as a prelude to the song River of Dreams in the style of a monophonic Gregorian chant. Joel had written English words in the chant describing a man who had lost his faith and had the words translated into Latin. He changed his mind upon hearing the recording and incorporated it into River of Dreams. He later removed the interlude from the final studio version of the album, and instead wrote lyrics to the melody that reflected his sentiment towards Alexa Ray, who was a young child at the time of writing.
In 2004, it was announced that Joel had agreed to write two children’s books: Goodnight, My Angel (A Lyllabye) and New York State of Mind. Joel said about the former that ‘reassuring children that they are not alone or could be abandoned is very important for their well-being’.
Goodnight, my angel
Time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you’ve been asking me
I think you know what I’ve been trying to say
I promised I would never leave you
And you should always know
Wherever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away
Goodnight, my angel
Now it’s time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay
And like a boat out on the ocean
I’m rocking you to sleep
The water’s dark
And deep inside this ancient heart
You’ll always be a part of me
The past two weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster as we have said goodbye to our Year 11s and now the Upper Sixth. We wish them all good luck with their exams and their future endeavours. We know that they will all (in true FHS fashion) go out into the world holding the values they’ve been taught at School close to their hearts and be the game-changers of tomorrow.
Maki Gajic Murata, Composer in Residence