Looking for a Scottish Lullaby that goes “Shhh, shhh, over the glen”
June 29th, 2006

Lori wrote to me looking for help with a Scottish song. Here’s what she wrote…

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for such a wonderful site. I’ve had fun looking through it.

My question is whether you have come across a Scottish lullaby with the following words:

Shhh, Shhh, over the glen
Mom’s little goose and Dad’s little hen

My grandmother sang this to my mother (who is now 73) when she was little wee. My mother cannot remember all the words to the song and it would be neat to find them for her.

Any assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Yours truly,

Lori

Please comment below if you know the words to this song.

Thanks!

Lisa

This article was posted on Thursday, June 29th, 2006 at 10:39 am and is filed under Children's Songs, Countries & Cultures, English, Languages, Lullabies, Questions, Scotland, Scottish Children's Songs, Scottish Lullabies. 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.

56 Responses to “Looking for a Scottish Lullaby that goes “Shhh, shhh, over the glen””

  1. Julana Says:
    September 22nd, 2020 at 7:49 am

    @ LaNae – I used to sing Like the Stars Love the Night Sky to my kids every night! I have the CD it came from somewhere. I’ll look for it and get back to you.

    Julana

  2. Julana Says:
    October 7th, 2020 at 2:50 pm

    I found the CD with the Like Stars Love the Night Sky song! The CD is called The Celtic Cradle, Traditional Celtic Lullabies by Jill Rogoff. It can be found online. It’s as good as I remember. :)

  3. David Says:
    January 13th, 2021 at 10:40 am

    https://www.itma.ie/inishowen/song/daddys_baby_boy_joe_mccarron

    What is it can equal a fond mother’s love
    When sorrows come to your side
    Intemperate jealousy between man and wife
    Who is it that lays that aside?
    Who is it that plays all day on the rug
    With his potty his pride and his joy
    Who is it brings fondness to everyone’s home
    It’s Daddy’s baby boy.

    He has lovely blue eyes and golden hair
    Daddy’s baby boy
    And ask of the Lord that he might spare
    Daddy’s baby boy.

    How happy you feel when your day’s work is done
    And go home to your neat little cot
    And you find at the doorstep your fond little son
    With the laughter a child’s always got
    He’ll scramble for sugar and upset your tea
    Surprise you but never annoy
    There’s no use denying that the king of the house
    Is Daddy’s baby boy.

    He has lovely blue eyes and golden hair
    Daddy’s baby boy
    And ask of the Lord that he might spare
    Daddy’s baby boy.

    Now years have passed over the boy turns to man
    And Daddy has left the old home
    To help his poor mother he tries all he can
    To do so he crosses the foam
    His picture is hung near her own on the wall
    And as she looks on it with joy
    The mother remembers he beautiful son
    As Daddy’s baby boy.

    He has lovely blue eyes and golden hair
    Daddy’s baby boy
    And ask of the Lord that he might spare
    Daddy’s baby boy.

  4. Veronica Says:
    January 22nd, 2021 at 6:15 am

    My grandmother was born in USA!, her mother was from Scotland, I wish I knew what part. She used to sing a version of shoo shaggy that went
    Shoo shaggy o’re the Glen and back again
    Mommy pet and Daddies chickie wee hen..

    I don’t remember the rest. I forgot all about this song til I heard it on a Netflix show and it brought tears to my eyes. LoL immediately could feel grandma patting my back.

  5. Tracy Clark Gallant Says:
    February 18th, 2022 at 6:39 pm

    Please email me and I’ll sing our version! I’ve been searching my whole life for some history on this. Ancestors came from Glasgow. The version I see here is most likely originated in Edinburgh. There’s an age old rivalry between the two. Maybe that’s why the difference?

    Shoo Shaggie , oer the Glen
    Momma and her speckle eyed hen

    Bow wow wow went the poolying
    Setting on the sea wee wee

    Gras wis lying
    Dog save the Kee-y-ing.

    ( god save the king ).

    I have a theory about the meaning now. Please contact me. Can’t type fast enough.
    Tracy Gallant
    clark869@yahoo.com

  6. Lisa Says:
    April 13th, 2022 at 5:50 pm

    You can find Tracy’s version of the song on Mama Lisa’s World at the link below with an mp3 recording and a YouTube video…

    Shoo Shaggy with recording and video

    You can find a shorter version of Shoo Shaggy here.

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