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 leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
93 Responses to “Do You Know the Lyrics to “The Sandman’s Coming in his Train of Cars”?”
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March 22nd, 2007 at 12:52 am
My grandmother sang ” Sandman” to us as children in the 1950’s. My words are the same as those posted. I sang the song to my children and now sing it to my grand daughter. I have never met anyone other than my family members who knew the lyrics or the melody. My grand mother also sang a song called “The Dream Man’s coming with his Train of cars”, do you know that one? Jane
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:40 am
I’d be happy to post a recording, if either of you would like to sing it, so we can hear the tune!
-Lisa
March 26th, 2007 at 8:26 am
My mom has been searching for the origins of this her parents used to sing this to her when she was little in the early 1950’s. These are the lyrics they are similar to those posted by Lee Shipton.
The Dream Man
The dream mans coming on a train of cars
With moonbeam windows and with wheels of stars
So kiss your mommys and kiss your pa’s
And all aboard you little ones
A rainbow dragon
Is a rainbow bright
That moves off out into the starry night
So all you little children
Have no fear
The man in the moon is the driver here
So hush here comes the dream man
Hush here comes the dream man
So all you children run up the stairs
Put on your nighties and say your prayers
April 7th, 2007 at 8:33 am
Hi All, my grandmother (and mother) also used to sing a version of this:
The dream man’s coming on a train from Mars,
With moonbeam windows and with wheels of stars;
So kiss, your mummys you daddys and everyone,
And all aboard you little ones.
There’s Tom thumb riding on a big black snail,
Neptune sitting on ol’ Jonah’s whale;
A seaweed cord rings the engine bell,
Made from a winkle in an oyster shell.
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
‘Till daylight comes again,
And see all the wonders of wonderland
on the dream man’s train.
April 27th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
My husband’s Aunty Vera sang “The Dream Man’s coming with a train of cars,” and I have an old tape recording of her singing it to my grandchildren with all the words of the first verse, and nearly all the second one.Only two weeks ago I sang it to my three-week old great grandaughter.
The song was reworked during W.W.1 to the same tune “Hush, here comes a whizbang”.
April 27th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
That’s great! If you’d like to send me your husband’s Aunty Vera’s recording or your own to post on my site – I’d be happy to!
May 10th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
My Mother use to sing to a simular version of this, but it went
“Oh we’re are going to meet Jack and we’re going to meet Jill, they live in a house, on Pumpkin Pie Hill, it’s amn all night trip, Aboard your pillow slip, on the Sleepy Night express…
All the little tots down, in sleepy town, are awaiting to meet the train… With their licorice sticks, chocolate hats and peppermint candy canes..
(the chorus is missing)
And the Sandman here, is the engineer, on the sleepy night express!
If anyone one could help with this song, It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!!
June 24th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
Can’t someone post the tune. I love the words to this song and want to sing it to my 15 month old son!
June 24th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
If anyone who knows the tune, you can email me a midi or mp3 and I’ll post it.
-Lisa
October 28th, 2007 at 1:07 am
My mum used to sing this to me when i was little, and her mum used to sing it to her!! it was slightly different to the ones that are on here but
oh well!!
“The dream man’s coming in his train of cars,
with moonbeam windows and with wheels of stars.
socome on little ones and have no fear,
the man in the mo0on is the engineer.
Hush here comes the dream man,
hush here comes the dream man,
till daylight comes again,
and see all the wonders of wonderland
in the dream man’s train!!”
there are some other verses that we have written down somewhere, we
(my mum and I) are in the process of looking for them.
Hope this helps!!
November 2nd, 2007 at 6:00 pm
please can you help. My nan used to sing the dream man to my sisters and I as children. sadly she has passed away and i would dearly love to get a recording of this song for her funeral on Friday 9th November. Can you please help…..
November 2nd, 2007 at 6:29 pm
If anyone knows where you can get a recording of this song, please let us know.
-Mama Lisa
November 21st, 2007 at 6:36 am
My Father always sang this to us with these words:
The Dream Man’s coming on a 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 is the Engineer!
Hush – here comes the Dream Man
Hush – here comes the Dream Man
All you children run up the stairs,
Put on your nighties and say your prayers.
Now, we’re off to Dream Land
Till daylight comes again,
And we’ll see all the wonders of Wonderland
In the Dream Man’s Train.
I’m thinking of making a recording of this and the other lullabies that my Mum and Dad used to sing to us.
November 27th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
THE DREAM MANS COMING WITH HIS TRAIN OF CARS WITH MOON BEAMED WINDOWS AND WITH WHEELS OF STARS .. THE ORIGINAL DREAM MAN IS WRITTEN AND COMPOSED BY R.P WESTON, F.J BARNES AND MAURICE SCOTT
November 28th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
I’ve just finished singing this to my daughter, my granda sang it to my mum and she sang it to me. My daughter plans to sing it to her children – but not for some considerable time I hope!
The dream man’s coming with his train of cars
With moonbeams for window and the wheels are stars
So come little one and have no fear
cos the man in the moon is the engineer
So hush here comes the dream man
Hush here comes the dream man
All you children run up the stairs
Put on your jammies and say your prayers
Then we’ll ride with Mr Dream man til daybreak comes again
And we’ll see all the wonders of Wonderland
From the Dream man’s train
December 1st, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I was born in the 1950’s and my mum used to sing this song to me and I am now singing it to my grandson. I had never heard anyone else sing it and a friend suggested I google a few words and behold, a page of people saying exactly the same thing! Mums version went like this;-
Hush there comes the dream man,
Hush there comes the dream man,
Now you children run up the stairs,
Put on your nightie and say your prayers,
Ride with mr dream man till daylight comes again
And see all the wonders of wonderland
On the dream mans train.
The Dream man’s coming in his train of cars,
Moonbeam windows and with wheels of stars,
So kiss your mummy and kiss your pa,
And all aboard you little ones.
The railroad track it is the rainbow bright,
Runs right on into the starry night,
Come you little ones, have no fear,
The man in the moon is the engineer,
Ride with Mr Dream man till daylight comes again
And see all the wonders of wonderland
On the dream mans train.
December 9th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
I have also been trying to find all the words of Hush Here Comes the Dream Man which my dad used to sing to me in the 40s when I was a child, and the chorus of which I sang to my own children. I now want the whole song to sing to my 5-week-old grandson, and I google-searched Hush Here Comes the Dream Man, then clicked on to Serpell One Name Study on page 1 of that google search, then clicked something (I can’t remember what, my son did it for me) and you can hear an original recording of Hush Here Comes the Dream Man dated about 1913 of it being sung by one Edith Serpell.
Jilly
I’m linking to it in the mp3 above. -Mama Lisa
December 20th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
WOW – cant believe I found htis website – I have been looking periodically for over 3yrs now!! I too was after some lyrics as my adorable Nan gets it “spot on” – or what I presume is spot on sometimes & other times is not quite sure – although her version which is generations old is missing some of the standard lyrics from what I can gather about nighties & prayers (I’ll print this & check with her) she has a pretty good version! Here ’tis:
The Dream Mans coming on the traina of cars
With moonbeam windows & wheels of stars
So kiss your Mummys & kiss your Pa’s
And all aboard you little ones
The railway traffic is the rainbow bright
That runs right up into the starry night
So come you little ones & have no fear
The Man in the moon is the engineer
Ride with Mr Dream Man
‘Til daylight comes again
And see all the wonders in wonderland
On the Dream Mans train.
Hope this helps someone, truly gorgeous song that I will miss desperately one day! I am very heavily into scrapbooking & have done a page in each of my Childs album with a photo of Granny holding them & I’ve put train & star stickers, then written my version of the lyrics – I urge you to all write it down so these songs become eternal – Merry Christmas!! Belinda
January 5th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Hi all – this is brilliant – My mother used to sing this song to me and my sisters when we were little – We were just talking about it the other day and trying to remember all the words – all we can remeber is:-
Hush, here comes the Dream man
Hush, here comes the Dream man
All you children run up the stairs
Put on your nighties and say your prayers
And Come with Mr Dream man till daylight comes again
And see all the wonders of wonderland
In the dream man’s train
There’s Tom Thumb riding on a big fat snail
And Neptune sitting on old Jonah’s whale
A cord of seaweed rings the Engine Bell
Its made from a winkle in an oyster shell
HAPPY DAYS!!!
January 10th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I couldn’t believe it when my sister emailed to say she’d found this site. We too, for many years, have been looking for the words or anything about this lullaby. Our grandfather used to sing it to us in the 50’s when we were children, and obviously to his children when they were children. After enquiries of our mother and her sisters and brother, we came to a dead end. We’d always thought it was called ‘The Dream Man.” However, my clever sister thought of googling more of the words and ..bingo. And then to hear the recording was such a thrill. With variations, it was much the same.
We had all cobbled together what we could remember, but there was also another bit, that no-one else (above) seems to have included, nor was in the recording. It was (in CAPITALS)
The Noah’s Ark elephant has packed his trunk
AND RIP VAN WINKLE’S IN HIS SLEEPING BUNK
SINBAD IS SAILING HIS CHINESE JUNK
SO ALL ABOARD YOU LITTLE ONES
There’s Tom Thumb riding…………….
I’m hoping to somehow get a recording of the tune, it would be a shame to lose it.
It did occur to me to wonder just where everyone else is writing from, to see how extensively this lullaby has travelled. I am in Perth, Australia.
January 15th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
My Gran sang this to my mum, my mum to me, and I now sing it to my son. There’s another refrain after the main chorus which no-one else seems to be adding which is*:
Hush, here comes the Dream man
Hush, here comes the Dream man
Now you children run up the stairs
Put on your jamas and say your prayers
And Ride with Mr Dream man till daylight comes again
And you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland
On the Dream man’s train
*The Dream man’s train is awfully cheap
You just curl up into a snugly heap
Forty winks and you’re fast asleep
So all aboard you little ones
And Ride with Mr Dream man till daylight comes again
And you’ll see all the wonders of wonderland
On the Dream man’s train
I’m from Gloucestershire in the UK – Jude x
February 4th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
I am from The Netherlands and a Magic Lantern Slides collector.
Bamforth & Co (London) made a set of magic lantern slides about this song. My mother has the set. It is what Magic Lantern Slides collectors call a ‘Life Model’ set.
There are 20 slides in the set. On the first and last slide is written: Song 6d Published by the Star Music Co Illustrations By Bamforth and Co. Ltd. The last slide shows the chorus of the song. The slides are about 90 years old.
The Chorus is:
Hush! Here comes the dream man,
Hush! here comes the dream man;
Now, you children, run op the stairs,
Put on your nighties, and say your prayers,
Ride with Mister dream-man till daylight comes again,
And see the wonders of Wonderland,
On the dream-man’s train
Bamforth is one of most well kown makers of Life Model Magic Lantern slides. We show the set often, with our Magic Lantern. We had also a tape with the music, sung by a man. I think it was from a 78 record.
Because the tape is damaged, I was looking for a better one on the internet and found this site.
Gwen
*****
Here’s a photo of the lantern slide that Gwen sent me. -Mama Lisa
February 7th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Fascinated to discover the words at last for The Sandman. My grandmother Sarah Bristow, from Manchester UK, sang us this song circa 1940’s and she had sung it to my mother too. They went to New Zealand in 1916 on a troop ship but I am now in Melbourne Australia. I am looking forward to hearing the tune as I remember it well. I am now singing it to my little grand childeren but had forgotten some of the words. The aetiology is interesting and I’d love to know too, where everybody is who has written in.The more modern versions are interesting too. Kaye Cossar Stokes Melbourne Australia.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
My Nana sang this to me when I was little, not the same tune as the recording though. Nana always exercised poetic licence! Mum and I put together as many of the words as we could remember so we both now sing it to my 18 month old daughter. Nana would be very proud. It’s really good to know others are enjoying this song in all it’s different forms. Our family originates from Hartlepool and it’s amazing to know the song has travelled the world.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:44 am
Fran Woods from Perth, Australia, was asking where we all came from. I live in Carnoustie on the East coast of Scotland (Golfing enthusiasts will know where that is!). However, my mother who sang ‘Dream Man’ to my sisters and I, hailed from a small mining village, Muirkirk in Ayrshire, Scotland. She met my father during the war and came to live in his home town, Broughty Ferry on the East coast where we were brought up. The ‘Dream Man’ certainly gets around!
March 24th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Oh thankyou all so much. I have been searching for so long for this lullaby. My mother also sang this to me and my brother in the 50’s. I thought it originated in Ireland because my mother had heard the song from her mother and so on… I think the words are the same but may have had some variations. I originate from Lancashire. I will now send this to my brother in America!
April 14th, 2008 at 12:02 am
My grandma sang sang this version to my mum in the 50’s in Luton (UK) and also to my brothers and I in the 80’s/90’s when we visited them in Norfolk (also: Little Mr Baggy Britches, Big Lady Moon, my grandfather’s version of Sleep Baby Sleep) . Mum’s pretty good with the words and here’s the version she sings my daughter:
The Dream Man’s Train
The dream man’s coming on a train of cars
With moonbeam windows and with wheels of stars,
So kiss your mummies and kiss your pas,
And all aboard you little ones!
The railroad track it is a rainbow* bright
That runs right up into the starry night.
So come, you little ones, and have no fear.
The man in the moon is the engineer.
// Hush –ch-ch-ch here comes the dream man //
Now you children, run up the stairs,
Put on your ‘jamas and say your prayers.
Ride with Mr DreamMan till daylight comes again
And see all the wonders of Wonderland in the dream man’s train.
The Noah’s ark elephant has packed his trunk
And Rip van Winkel’s in his sleeping bunk.
There’s Sinbad sailing in a chinese junk
So all aboard you little ones!
There’s Tom Thumb riding on a big black snail,
And Neptune sitting on old Jonah’s whale.
A cord of seaweed rings the engine bell;
It’s made from a winkle in an oystershell.
// Hush –ch-ch-ch here comes the dream man //
Now you children, run up the stairs,
Put on your ‘jamas and say your prayers.
Ride with Mr DreamMan till daylight comes again
And see all the wonders of Wonderland in the dream man’s train.
The dream man’s fare, I’m told is awfully cheap.
You just curl up into a dimply heap,
Take 40 winks and you’re fast asleep
So, all aboard you little ones!
And you who never will be young again
There’s room for you upon the dream man’s train!
Just one short journey to the land of bliss
Will bring back you mummy and her goodnight kiss!
// Hush –ch-ch-ch here comes the dream man //
Now you children, run up the stairs,
Put on your ‘jamas and say your prayers.
Ride with Mr DreamMan till daylight comes again
And see all the wonders of Wonderland in the dream man’s train.
(* having read moonbeam in some versions it makes more sense, but then kids went to bed earlier then)
Cheers,
Peter (from Chile, South America)
April 25th, 2008 at 12:36 am
My Nana, Pop-Pop and mother sang a very similar song to me and my sisters in the late 70’s, early 80’s. My Nana and Pop-Pop were from Ireland. The second verse begins with a nice dose of reality that the kids might not get, but I kind of like it. I sing it now to my three kids:
Hush, here comes the Dream Man.
Hush, here comes the Dream Man.
Now you (child’s name), run up the stairs,
put on your nighties,
and say your prayers.
Ride with with Mr. Dream Man,
till daylight comes again.
And see all the wonders of wonderland
on the Dream Man’s train.
And you, who, never will be young again,
are welcome too, upon the Dream Man’s train.
One short journey,
and a round of bliss,
and back to your (mommy/daddy/nana/pop-pop, etc..)
with a good night kiss. (you pause and give the child a kiss here)
Ride with Dream Man,
till daylight comes again.
And see all the wonders of Wonderland,
on the Dream Man’s train.
There was another song that my mom sang to me that her father sang to her. I was wondering if anyone had heard of this one or had any more verses/variations:
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.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I was so thrilled to find this site. My Dad used to sing Dream Man to me and my sisters back in the forties, but he didn’t know all the words.I’ve sung it as I remembered it to my kids. grandkids and now gret grandkids and am so glad to be able to fill in the blanks. It’s interesting to see the different versions.
I came across the original Edith Serpell recording online. Does anyone know if one can obtain the CD and where?
Jeanette Eckersley, Ann Arbor Michigan, USA
May 16th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Was really pleased to find this..
Have been singing to my children as my nana sang to us every xmas..
The Dreamman’s coming on a train of stars
With Moonbeam windows on the way to Mars
So kiss your mama’s, & kiss your pa’s
And all aboard you little ones
The Railroad track is but a rainbow bright
That runs right up into the starry night
So come you little ones & have no fear
For the man in the moon is the engineer
Hush………here comes the dream man
Hush………here comes the dream man
. Now you children run up the stairs
Put on your nighties & say your prayers
Ride with mr Dreamman
Till daylight comes again
And see all the wonders of Wonderland
In the dreamman’s train.
June 1st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
My Nanny used to sing this to me when I was little. Here are the lyrics she sang;
THE DREAM MANS COMING ON A TRAIN OF CARS
WITH MOONBEAM WINDOWS AND WITH WHEELS OF STARS
SO YOU LITTLE ONES HAVE NO FEAR
THE MAN IN THE MOON IS THE ENGINEER
HUSH… HERE COMES THE DREAM MAN
HUSH.. HERE COMES THE DREAM MAN
NOW YOU LITTLE ONES RUN UP THE STAIRS
PUT ON YOUR NIGHTIES AND SAY YOUR PRAYERS
AND RIDE WITH MR DREAMMAN, TILL DAYLIGHT COMES AGAIN
AND YOU’LL SEE ALL THE WONDERS OF WONDERLAND
WITH MR DREAM MANS TRAIN.
June 29th, 2008 at 2:58 am
Wow i was sung this by my parents over 35 years ago i now ing it to my two and i am glad i now have a second verse to sing and hopefully they will use in in twenty years or so on there children thankyou to you all who contributed
July 5th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Just today my mother who is 78 years old has asked me to find out who wrote “The Dream Man” as her mother used to sing it to her, and she carried on with the same tradition with my three children, the oldest who is now 30. My Grandmother was born in Motherwell Lanarkshire in 1894 so where did it originate? Who were R.P. Weston, F. J. Barnes and Maurice Scott? Such a beautiful nursery rhyme………unforgettable.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:30 am
Like everyone else on this site my mum used to sing this to me 30yrs ago (as her mother did to her) But fortunatley for me my mother had the words all on a musical sheet. Three verses and one chours. Unfortunatley for me I do not read music so cannot play it. But do happily sing it to my kids with the same tune my mother sang it to me. It states on my sheets that it was written and composed by RP Weston, F J Barnes and Maurice Scott. The album has a copyright on it from B Feldman & Co. London. That may be of some help to some people.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
It looks like this song was published around 1913 and was written by Weston, R. P. (Robert P.) 1878-1936, F J Barnes and Maurice Scott. I haven’t been able to find more info on Barnes and Scott.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I also am looking for this but have always remembered it as being called ‘The Dream Man’s Train’
August 7th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
How wonderful to find this! My Nan used to sing this to me in the late 60’s/early 70s, and I have sung it to my son and daughter – it’s become a family tradition. Here’s my version (originating in Stoke-on-Trent, UK) – it’s different to all the others above, of course!
The dream man’s coming on the dream man’s train
Moonbeams for windows and the stars for lights,
Hush you little ones and have no fear
The man in the moon is the engineer
So hush, here comes the dream man
Hush, here comes the dream man
Now you little ones, run up the stairs,
Put on your nighties and say your prayers
And ride with Mr Dream Man, till daylight comes again
And see all the wonders in wonderland
On the dream man’s train.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
You can check out the sheet music if you live near the National Library of Australia
Title
Hush! here comes the dream man [music] / written and composed by R.P. Weston, F. J. Barnes and Maurice Scott.
Date
[1913?]
Name
* Weston, R. P.
* Scott, Maurice.
* Barnes, F. J.
Description
1 score ([3] p.) ; 35 cm.
Published
Melbourne : A.M. Dinsdale, [1913?]
Series
Dinsdale’s popular sixpenny edition ; Volume: no. 195
Notes
* “Sung with great succes by Miss Fanny Powers”.
* Cover title.
Subject/Genre
* Popular music — 1911-1920.
Language
English
From Collection
* National Library of Australia – National Library of Australia Shelf: MUS N mba 783.242 W536
Record number
20250263
Updated
02 August 1999
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Hi,
I’ve been searching on & off for the proper words to this since I had my son 4 years ago! My nanna knew the basic words and the tune but sadly passed away this past June…so am now on a mission to find as much as I can… all I can say is she had most of the words right these past 30 years and the tune was spot on – the only tune I’ve managed to track down is ‘Hush here comes a whizz bang’ on YouTube & tune is same as nannas! If anyone finds an original recording, Fanny Powers or Florrie Forde apparently!
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:46 pm
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEKJOoDcRo
Great to see other people searching too – it must be somewhere!
Good Luck Guys
October 2nd, 2008 at 6:04 pm
…Charles Hawtrey (From the Carry On films) also recorded a version in 1930… just trying to track it down!
December 19th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
The Sand Man is used to refer to the origin of ‘sleepies’ in your eyes when you wake up. Not sure what Americans call them, those things like grit or sand you find in your eyes on waking. Just the normal ones. The idea is that the Sandman has been there at night and put them in your eyes.
Tiggy.
December 19th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
In the morning, my mother used to say, “you have sand in your eyes”. Then she’d say, “The Sandman got you!”
I’m curious where you’re from Tiggy? I wonder how far around the world the Sandman is known.
-Mama Lisa
December 19th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
It depends on which Sandman it is. In France, the Sandman is called “le marchand de sable” (the sand seller) and the expression goes back to the 19th century though in the 18th century “to have sand in one’s eyes” meant “to be sleepy, to have one’s eyes hitching from tireness”. In the early 1600’s Sleep was pictured as a man throwing sand at the children’s eyes but it doesn’t seem it was called “le marchand de sable” at that time as far as we may know.
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:29 pm
i used to dance to this at my dance classes when i was about 3yrs old! i went to the celia raye school of dance in ilford, uk and we used to have our hair in ringlets and wear pj’s to perform this song! i now have my own school and would love to use this for my baby class. if anyone finds a midi pls send a message to http://www.danceschoolwoodford.co.uk
January 19th, 2009 at 6:22 am
We were back down in Dunedin in the South Island over Christmas, which is where I was brought up. It must have triggered nostalgic memories, and for some reason I had this particular lullaby going round in my head. I was born in the 1950’s too, and my mum used to sing it to me – and likewise, I did with our 3 children (a long time ago now!)
I was surprised that I could remember all the words, except the line -“…and see all the wonders of Wonderland”.
I suddenly thought MAYBE I’d find something on the Internet – what a lovely surprise!
Thanks for this site – it saves me trying to turn my brain inside out to think of the words!!! Also interesting to find extra verses that I hadn’t come across before.
April 18th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
im sure “sand man” or “dream man” is actualy a reference to the god of sleep and dreams (nott) (morphius) (hypno).
it has been altered many times in many cultures so it has been associated with death at some point. (nott has been assosiated with the image of a large figure that creeps in to houses and stands by the bedsides of sleeping pepole).
i was told that the train of cars refered to a train of carriages.
April 28th, 2009 at 4:52 am
It has been fascinating reading all these messages to discover what a well-loved song/lullaby this is. I used to sing it to my son, and have just sung it for the first time to my gorgeous grandson who is now sleeping soundly. I had remembered almost all the words and am glad to have the blanks filled in! They don’t write them like that any more!
May 12th, 2009 at 10:41 am
my dad sing s
“the dream man’s coming on the dream man’s train
moonbeams for windows and stars for light
hush you little ones, run up the stairs
put on your nightie’s and say your prayes
and ride,with mr dream man
til’ daylight comes again
and see all the wonders in wonderlland
on the dream man’s train
May 12th, 2009 at 10:44 am
no, wait my dad actually sung this version:
The dream man’s coming on the dream man’s train
Moonbeams for windows and the stars for lights,
Hush you little ones and have no fear
The man in the moon is the engineer
So hush, here comes the dream man
Hush, here comes the dream man
Now you little ones, run up the stairs,
Put on your nighties and say your prayers
And ride with Mr Dream Man, till daylight comes again
And see all the wonders in wonderland
On the dream man’s train.
by the way… yes my dad did also post a comment on this website
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…