Lee Shipton wrote looking for the lyrics to a lullaby…
I am trying to find the full set of lyrics to a children’s lullaby which my father used to sing. The words are something like this:
The Sandman’s Coming in his Train of Cars
The Sandman’s coming in his train of cars
With moonbeam windows and with wheels of stars
So hush you little ones and have no fear
The man in the moon he is the engineer
The railroad track it is a moonbeam bright
That leads right up into the starry night
So come you little ones and run up the stairs
Put on your ‘jamas and say your prayers
And ride with Mr. Sandman
Ride with Mr. Sandman
‘Til daylight comes again
An you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland
In the Sandman’s TrainI have had suggestions that “my Sandman” is the Dream God and Ole Lukoie from old Danish or Norwegian folklore but the words are not the same as mine.
Elsewhere in mythology the Sandman is an evil character and not a bit like mine.
Can you help please?
Lee Shipton
If anyone can help with information about this lullaby, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Lisa
NOTE: Here you can hear an mp3 of Hush Here Comes the Sandman
This article was posted on Saturday, February 17th, 2007 at 10:34 pm and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, Denmark, Lullabies, Norway, Questions, Readers Questions, United Kingdom, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
93 Responses to “Do You Know the Lyrics to “The Sandman’s Coming in his Train of Cars”?”
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May 17th, 2009 at 2:33 am
As I said before I have the sheet music and would be happy to copy it and send on if anyone would lilke a copy.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:15 am
I would love a copy of the sheet Music Rachelle, Like Gwen (who I think I know) I am a Magic Lanternist, though I am in the UK. I recall the song and have a notion of the tune, bt not sufficiently well to actually be able to sing it. How would that be accomplished?
I spend a lot of time looking for late 19th & early 20th Century song lyrics. The National Library of Australia database pops very regularly with what I am looking for, but being in the UK I can’t get to see the items themselves, it is like looking through the window of a locked sweet-shop!
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I was just chatting to my mum about the lullaby that she used to sing to me, and subsequently to my children and grandchildren, she said “I have no idea where it came from, and I have never heard it sung by anyone else” I knew that the world wide web would have the answer! her version goes like this….
The dream man’s coming in his train of cars
With moonbeam windows, and with wheels of stars
A chord of seaweed rings the engine bell ’tis made from a winkle in an oysters shell.
Now you children, run up the stairs,
Put on your nighties, and say your prayers…
And ride, with Mister Dream man, til daylight comes again,
and see all the wonders, in wonderland. . .
In the dream mans train.
We all loved it, and it would be nice to find out where it came from
Best wishes
Jan Davies
( my mum’s name is Joyce Billinghurst )
August 15th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I found the lyrics to Hush Here Comes the Dream Man on http://www.boysoloist.com My father sang this to me and my sister when we were children (I am now 70) and I think this is the one sung and recorded by Charles Hawtrey. There is quite a lot about him on the Internet.
I would love to receive the sheet music from Rachelle and would pay all costs.
August 15th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Hi Juliette Harcourt,
Have searched for you on Facebook, and sent you a message. Hopefully I have sent it to the right person.
Rachelle
August 18th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
And so everyone else knows – Rachelle found me. And I would just like to say a very big and public THANK YOU!!!!
September 18th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Hi Vera,
Are you on Facebook. If you are what is your last name or your email address and I will email you the sheet music like I did for Juliette.
I will check on here again in a few days.
Rachelle
September 26th, 2009 at 5:13 am
indeed it is well travelled. i was born and grew up in INDIA and it was sung to my sisters,brother and myself by granny , mummy and aunts diana and arline…we sre talking 40s and 50s! i now live in mexico,sisters in canada and india and brother in the USA!
September 27th, 2009 at 4:38 am
I’m nearly 66 now. My grandfather used to sing a snatch of a song about the dream man when I was a boy. It differed from anything so far put on this site. It went:
“The dream man’s coming in a train of cars
The dream man’s coming from beyond the stars
And you who never will be young again
Are welcome too upon the dream man’s train”.
I wonder where he got that? (It was asking that question that led me to this site.)
Mowadays, postmodernist deconstruction would probably say that the words are those of a song in praise of drug-taking. But I know my grandfather would have been horrified to think he might have been crooning any such thing. Nor was he. I never thought of the song as a lullaby. Nor, I think, did he. He once confided (well after I was old enough not to need lullabies anyway) that he found the lines about people “who never will be young again” being “welcome on the dream man’s train” very moving. So perhaps he was singing it to please himself. Perhaps he made those lines up, too.
October 5th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
What a great website. I am from Sussex originally and now live in Florida in the USA. This song has now gone through 5 generations of Jenkinsons as my grandmother sang it to my mother, who in turn sang it to me, and I sang it to my 2 daughters when they were little. I have just sung it to my 4 month old grandson for the very first time. Who would have thought this simple little song would have touched so many people’s childhoods all around the world?
February 21st, 2010 at 5:07 pm
my great nan sand this to my nan, nan sang this to my mum, my mum sang it to me now i sing it to my daughter, but it is slightly different to the rest i have seen.
The dream man’s coming with his train of cars,
With moonbeam windows and his wheels of stars,
So kiss your mummy and kiss your pa
All aboard you little ones
And those who never shall be young again
Take one more trip onto the dream mans train
One more trip into the land of bliss
Leave your mummy with a good night kiss
Husssh here comes the dream man
Husssh here comes the dream man
All you children run up the stairs
Put on your nighties and say your prayes
Ride with mr dream man till daylight dawns again
And you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland
On the dream mans train.
Would love to know where it started from and what the lyrics actually where??
March 29th, 2010 at 10:35 am
I have copies of the music, anyone wanting one please find me on Facebook. And for those of you who can’t quite recall the tune – here is a very evocative recording http://www.serpell.org/genealogy/showmedia.php?mediaID=619&PHPSESSID=bkncqnszuvcb
April 7th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Hi everyone,
How wonderful to come across this debate and to know that some of you have accessed my website and found the song by Edith Serpell.
Unfortunately my site is down at the moment. We had some hacking attacks and I’ve removed it until I can make it more secure.
I have the original record of Edith Serpell singing this song. It is on a Pathe recording from around 1913. It is unusual in that it played from the inside out rather then the more conventional way that vinyl plays these days.
I did get this copied onto CD and I do have MP3 versions of the song which I would be happy to send to anyone who would like a copy. My e mail address is nick.serpell@serpell.org.
Please bear with me if it takes some time to reply. I have to fit this in with work and feeding horses, cats dogs and chickens but I’ll respond as quickly as I can.
Best wishes
Nick Serpell
May 1st, 2010 at 7:41 pm
I am thrilled to find all this information about The Sandman. My father who was born in 1907 had this sung to him and sang it in turn to me, my son and daughter. My daughter has just had a baby son and it is being sung to him. I was not aware of all the verses.
Surely it is American in origin? In England we have ‘carriages’ not ‘cars’ and a train ‘driver’ not an ‘engineer’. Can anyone shed any light?
I am also looking for another lullaby of my father’s called ‘Goodnight Mr Moon’.With all these memories of aunties and grannies there may be someone who can help.
The words as I know them are-
Goodnight Mr Moon,
I shall have to go and leave you.
Goodnight Mr Moon,
Hurry home but come back soon.
And when I’m asleep
Through my window pane you’ll peep
And I’ll wake up-
And call out-
Goodnight, Mr Moon.
I’m fairly certain this is the chorus and there are verses but as with The Sandman my father did not remember the verse. it is probably the same vintage as The Sandman or possibly older.
May 16th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
At the Mudcat Café web site, several other people have inquired about the song they call GOODNIGHT MR. MOON. Although nobody has identified a printed source, recording, songwriter, or even a confirmed official title, they have several quotes that are longer than yours.
As usual, some helpful people have confused it with other songs with similar titles or lines, so beware of misleading advice.
Look here: http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=107305#2908315
June 14th, 2010 at 8:16 pm
My Grandma sang to my mum, who sung to me, and I have sung to my daughters, now 15 and 10. Just like me they like to hear it when they are sick, even now! I googled a few years ago, with no result, and am delighted to have found this site, and have listened to the recording. Our version was of The Dream man, although my mum did tell me about the Whizz Bang version. I hope it gets passed from my daughters to their children.
June 19th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Jim – “Goodnight Mr. Moon” looks like a different song from “The Sandman’s Coming in his Train of Cars”.
June 27th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
What a wondeful site – I’m so glad I found it. My mother (who is still alive – born in 1913) sang the Dream Man to us.. I just came across some words she has written for us in a recollections book… it has one line that I haven’t noticed anywhere else about ‘realms of bliss’…and she seems to have forgotten about the engineer
‘The Dream Man’ – from infant class, Caulfield Nth Central School (1918-1919) (a suburb of Melbourne, Australia)
The Dream Man’s coming in his train of cars
With moonbeam windows and with wheels of stars
So kiss your mummies and kiss your pa’s
And ‘all aboard’ you little ones.
The railway track – it is a rainbow bright
That leads right up into the starry night
And one short journey from the realms of bliss
Will bring back your Mummy and her goodnight kiss.
Hush, here comes the dream man, Hush, here comes the dream man,
Now you children run up the stairs,
Put on your nighties and say your prayers
Ride – with Mr Dream Man,’til daylight comes again
& see all the wonders of wonderland, on the dream man’s train.
Thanks everyone for the wonderfully rich discussion.
July 15th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
My grand mother passed away the early hours of this morning 15/07/2010 I couldnt sleep so googled the lullabys she use to sing to me when I was a child so hearing the stories of how so many other people hold this lullaby in there beloved childish memories is wonderful and how so many of our elders changed modified or added to the song warms me . My gran was an incredible woman and will be so missed by the 3 generations she sang this song to!
July 15th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Sorry to hear about your grandmother Amanda. It sounds like she was a lovely lady who left behind fond memories for the people who love her.
September 30th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
My mother who is 94 just recently remembered most of the words to Mr. Dream Man and wrote them down, then sang them to me, as best she could. Her mother sang the song to her in the 1920’s in Mountain Green, Utah. Her mother was an excellent pianist and her dad had a gorgeous tenor voice and collected lots of songs of the era. She thought she had sung the song to me, but I didn’t remember it, though I remembered many other songs that she heard as a child and sang to me and my siblings. Thank you so much for the gift of this web site and all the wonderful comments about memories of the song. A special thank you to Juliette Harcourt for providing the link to the recording of Edith Serpell. I can’t wait to have my mother listen to it.
November 29th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
My mother who was born in 1923 used to sing me a song that went like this Hey mister take me on the train…I want to see my Ma. They say she lives in heaven…is it very very far? Thats all I know. I was born in 1957 and she used to sing it to me when I was a very little girl. She died in 1983 and I can’t find this song anywhere.
Can anyone help me find this?
December 27th, 2010 at 9:33 am
My mother also sang a version of The Sandman to me. She was born in Birmingham,england and would have been 100yrs old now.
The Sandmans coming on his train of gold
Moonbeams glisten and his face is old
Hush you children,climb up those stairs
Put on your nighties and say your prayers
Hush ride with the Sandman man
On his train of gold
And you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland
on the Sandmans train
March 1st, 2011 at 1:11 pm
my dad who would be 95 on friday sang this to me and my sibings and his grandchildren in 50s and 60s in liverpool england. I sang it to my children. I have never met anyone who knows this song!!
the words I knew were….
the moon man is coming in his train of gold with moving windows and the wheels go round so come you little ones and have no fear cos the man in the moon is the engineer…….
March 2nd, 2011 at 8:02 pm
I can’t believe I’ve just found this! May nanna also sang The Dream Man to me in the ’50s; and to my children in NZ in the 70’s/80’s and I’ve sung what I could remember of it to our grandchildren, but no-one else in the family remembered it at all. To find the words and hear the song being such again is a real treasure. Thank you! Another song Nanna used to sing to me was about ‘mother’s Siamese twins’. Has anyone heard that?
March 28th, 2011 at 8:20 am
Juliette has remembered almost the same version that my mother sang to me. I have a feeling that she made some of the words up if she had forgotten them! But – H=the chorus – Hush here comes the Dream man – is the same and I requested it every night. I am now 80 so it was a long time ago. nHow important these little songs are and how they nmake for happy memories.
June 22nd, 2011 at 2:53 pm
My Granddad used to sing this to me when I was little, and now I sing it to my God daughter.
The words as I remember them are:
The dream mans coming on a train of cars
with moonbeam windows and wheels of stars
so kiss your Mummy’s and kiss you pa’s
all aboard you little ones
hush hush hush here comes the dream man
hush hush hush here comes the dream man
now you children run up the stairs
put on your nighties and say your prayers
ride with mr dream man til morning comes again
you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland on the dream mans train
Go to sleep my baby (or insert childs name) close your pretty eyes
go to sleep my baby, close your pretty eyes
great big moon is beaming, stars begin to peep
times for little (boys/girls) like you to go to sleep.
I am desperate to find a recording of this to give to another child I know and would really appreciate any advise on where I could find one – I don’t mind paying!
Thanks
July 15th, 2011 at 12:31 am
Anyone have the sheet music they could facebook or email me?
July 15th, 2011 at 9:10 am
If anyone has a score or knows where there’s one online, please let me know and I’ll link to it or post it here. Thanks! Mama Lisa
August 15th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
I’ve been looking for the lyrics of the Dream man for ages, my mum sang it to us and my kids…. so thanks all those who posted before.
Like others, I’d love to hear a recording on utube or similar but no luck so far!
November 5th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Michael from NYC, USA Says: on April 25th, 2008 at 12:36 am
He wondered if anyone had heard the song that his mother used to sing to him and her father sang to her –
I wandered one day by the penny arcade,
a place of the children’s toys.
Where you might find a dolly or a spade
for a good little girl or boy.
And as I passed this certain store,
a little tin voice said to me…
I am a Tin Soldier
with a little cocked hat,
and I ride on a tin GG.
I am a Tin Soldier
with a little cocked hat,
and I ride on a tin GG.
Well my mother used to sing it to me but I don’t remember all the lyrics but it was a gorgeous song and I loved it… what I remember continuing on from Michael’s above is:-
…now that little tin soldier he sobbed and sighed
so I patted his little tin head
what vexes your little tin sole said I
and this is what he said
I’ve been on the shelf for a very long time and I’m marked 1 and 9 as you see
while just on the shelf above my head is another??? and he’s marked 2 and 3
there’s a pretty little dolly girl over there
and I’m madly in love with she
but she turns up her little wax nose at me
and flirts with 2 and 3
And Oh she’s dressed in a beautiful dress
it’s a dress I do admire
she has pearly blue eyes that open and shut
they’re worked inside by wire
sometime when the folks were gone she used to olgle me
but I’m only marked at 1 and 9 so she turns up her nose at me
(it then goes on like this)
cheer up my little tin sole said I
I’ll see what I can do
you’re a fine little fellow and it is a shame that she should so treat you
so I took down the label from the upper shelf and I labelled him 2 and 3
I labelled the other fellow 1 and 9, which was very very wrong of me
but I felt so sorry for that little tin sole as he rode on his tin GG
Now that little tin sole he puffed with pride
at being marked 2 and 3
and the saucy little dolly girl smiled once more
for he had risen in life you see!
(And in then finishes something like this)..
and so in this world for I’m in love with a maid of a high degree
and a girl never looks at a 1 and 9 if a possible 2 and 3!
I really would love if anyone knows the words and if Michael from USA is reading this he may remember more than me…. (I am from New Zealand)
November 16th, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Wow I cant believe this site. I have just sung Dream man to my 3 children and they asked where it came from and all could say was that my mum sang it to me and her mum used to sing it to her. I thought I would look it up! The words that my mum and gran use are:
Dream mans coming in his train of cars
with moonbeam windows and with wheels of stars
Hush little (…name)have no fear
the man in the moon is the engineer.
Hush here comes the dream man
Hush here comes the dream man
so come little (…name)
run up the stairs
put on pyjamas and say your prayers
go with the dream man
until morning comes again
and see all the wonders
of fairyland
In the dream mans train
My granny was from shropshire and I noticed that there was another post from someone who said their Gran was from Birmingham so maybe there is a regional version.
I wish I could compare my tune with others
x
November 16th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Hi Jen – If you’d like to sing the song for us, we can post the recording and see if other people use the same tune. Cheers! Mama Lisa
January 11th, 2012 at 6:55 pm
My mum who was born in Essex in the 1950’s, was sung this as a little girl and she in turn sang it to her own children and now I too am singing it to my children too. These are the lyrics that we know. Has anyone found a recording of it yet, I would love to hear it in full.
Hush, all you children run up the stairs,
put on your nighties, say your prayers, and ride….
with mr. dream man, til day light comes again.
And you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland on the dream… mans… train.
The dream mans coming with his trains and cars, moon beam windows made of silver stars.
Hush you little ones, have no fear, the man in the moon is the engineer, and ride…. with mr dream man til daylight comes again. And you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland, on the dream mans train.
January 11th, 2012 at 7:32 pm
YouTube video
January 11th, 2012 at 7:37 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctHDaI7rIso
I found this guys =)
April 5th, 2014 at 10:45 am
I was sung this song as a baby too and I now sing it to both my hubby (it makes him cry) and my baby boy. These are the lyrics I sing….
Hush here comes the dream man,
Hush here comes the dream man,
Now you little ones come have no fear,
The man in the moon is the engineer,
Ride with mister dream man,
Til daylight comes again,
And you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland,
On the dream mans train,
The dream man’s coming on his train of course,
Moonbeam windows with the stars across,
Now you little ones come have no fear,
The man in the moon is the engineer,
Ride with mister dream man,
Til daylight comes again,
And you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland,
On the dream mans train.
April 5th, 2014 at 10:58 am
Does anyone remember Fairy Frilly? My nana was from Essex in the 1930s and she would also sing this one. …
Fairy Frilly for half an hour,
Went to sleep on a poppy flower,
Went to sleep in a pretty pink frock,
The time for the ball was eight o clock,
Fairy Frilly was deaf to all,
And had forgotten the time to get to the ball,
(Im missing 2 lines here)
Little West Wind blew by that day,
He blew off the petals where Frilly lay,
Blew off the petals Frilly and all,
And thats how she managed to get to the ball.
June 13th, 2014 at 5:30 am
My dad also sings this and I sing it to my girls.. You tube it ..
Hush Here Comes The Dream Man, sung by Stanley Kirkby c. 1880-1949
June 13th, 2014 at 5:58 am
The dream mans coming on a train of cars,with moon beamed windows and with wheels of stars ,
So kiss yr mammies and kiss your pa’s, and all a-board you little ones !
The rail road track it is a rain-bow bright that runs right up in to the star-ry nite.so come you little ones have no fear,The man in the moon is the engineer!
(Chorus)
Hush here comes the dream man hush here comes the dream man..
All you children run up the stairs Put on your nightys and say yr prayers
And ride with mr dream man till the daylight comes again and u will c all the wonders of wonder land on the dream mans train
Noah’s ark elephant has packed his trunk,And rip van winkle in his sleeping bunk,with sin bad sailing a Chinese junk,so all aboard you little ones!
There’s Tom-thumb riding on a big black snail, and neptune sitting on old jonahs whale! a cord of seaweed rings the engine bell , it’s made with a winkle in an oysters shell .
(Repeat Chorus)
The dream mans fare I’m told Is aw-f’ly cheap you just curl up in to a dimply heap, take 40 winks and your fast asleep, so all aboard you little ones, and you who never will be young again,are welcome too up on the dream mans train, just one short journey to the realms of bliss may bring back your mummy and her good night kiss!
Now hush here comes the dream man till the daylight comes again and you will c all the wonders of wonderland on the dream mans train :)
October 18th, 2015 at 6:25 pm
The bit I remember most (with the head tapping that sent you to sleep) was
Mr Elephant has packed his trunk
Packed it up in his sleeping bunk
So come on you little one say your prayers
put on your nighties and run up the stairs
and
Hush away to dreamland…..
January 15th, 2017 at 8:23 am
Didn’t have time to read all the letters, but like most, thought only our family knew of it. It is of course on You-Tube as “Hush Here Comes the Dream Man”.
April 22nd, 2021 at 11:44 am
Also this verse :
Rip Van Winkle in his sleeping bunk,
Sinbad Sailor on a Chinese junk,
And elephants walking linking trunk to trunk…