The lullaby (kolyskova) is the song that accompanies the very first experience of music in a person's life. Its hallmarks are a quiet, monotonous, “rocking” rhythm in time with the cradle, a simple songful melody, and tender words. It is a women's, maternal genre, in which love, protection, and the deepest tenderness are conveyed.
Ukrainian lullabies are true poetry: in them live the images of the purring cat, of Sleep and Slumber as gentle beings, of doves, of a little star. The most famous is “Oi khodyt son kolo vikon,” whose melody, by legend, George Gershwin used in the celebrated “Summertime.” The lullaby carries within it archaic protective beliefs and at the same time boundless humanity; it is the first thread that binds a person to their native song, language, and culture.
