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Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
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Wikipedia article
, 1918, formerly a fountain in Washington Park, DenverMabel Landrum's original sculpture was exhibited to critical acclaim at the Art Institute of Chicago. Denver Mayor Robert W. Speer commissioned a marble version in 1918, and a bronze copy is a fountain on the Green in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, dedicated on September 23, 1938.
"'Wynken, Blynken, and Nod'" is a popular poem for children written by American writer and poet Eugene Field and published on March 9, 1889. The original title was "Dutch Lullaby". The poem is a fantasy bed-time story about three children sailing and fishing among the stars from a boat which is a wooden shoe. The names suggest a sleepy child's blinking eyes and nodding head. The spelling of the names, and the "wooden shoe," suggest Dutch language and names, as hinted in the original title.
Text
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
sailed off in a wooden shoe
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
the old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
that live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song,
as they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
that lived in that beautiful sea
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish
never afraid are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
All night long their nets they threw
to the stars in the twinkling foam
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed
as if it could not be,
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
of sailing that beautiful sea
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
and Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
as you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Musical adaptations
By 1890, the lyrics had been set to music, by American pianist and composer Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin. Dan Hornsby recorded this song for BlueBird Records released in the 1930s. David Gude performed the song on his 1961 Vanguard album 'New Folks'.
In 1964, songwriter Lucy Simon wrote a setting (she claimed it was "the first song I ever wrote") that has been recorded by many artists, including: herself with her sister Carly as the Simon Sisters, released as a single (US #73,'Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 19551990' - Canada #20[http://chumtribute.com/64-05-18-chart.jpg CHUM Hit Parade, May 18, 1964]) and on their album, 1964; The Big 3 featuring Cass Elliot (1963); The Irish Rovers on their album 'The Life of the Rover' (1969); Roger Whittaker on his children's album 'The Magical World of Roger Whittaker' (1975);This album was only released on LP and only in Canada. Joanie Bartels, on her album "Lullaby Magic" (1985); Canadian children's entertainer Fred Penner on his album 'The Cat Came Back' (1979);[https://www.discogs.com/release/7907883 Discogs ~ 'The Cat Came Back' 1979 vinyl, Meow Records (MEOW-01) Canada ~ side_01 track_04: "Winken, Blinken & Nod"] and The Doobie Brothers (US #76,'Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 19551990' - Adult Contemporary #31) for the children's music compilation 'In Harmony' (1980).
Donovan wrote and sang a musical setting on his children's album 'H.M.S. Donovan' (1971).and recorded it again for his 2002 children's album 'Pied Piper'
Buffy Saint-Marie wrote and sang a version on 'Sesame Street' in 1975, and on her album 'Sweet America' (1976).
Producer David Bernard Wolf set the poem for the Barney & Friends 1995 album 'Barney's Sleepytime Songs'.
Kevin Roth created a version for his album 'Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep' (1996).
Tatiana Cameron sings her version on her lullaby album 'A Chance to Dream', (2006).
David Tamulevich ( of the folk duo Mustard's Retreat) wrote new original music to the poem, which was subsequently released in 2011 on the Mustard's Retreat CD " Living in the Dream". ( 2011)
Composer [http://ChristopherKlaich.com Christopher Klaich] composed a contemporary lullaby concert setting for soprano Bianca Showalter which has piano or alternatively chamber orchestral accompaniment, (circa 2013).
Composer Stephen DeCesare composed an SATB version of the poem, (2013).
Valentine Wolfe released a heavy metal version in their album 'A Child's Bestiary', (2016).
References in other artistic works
* American sculptor Mabel Landrum Torrey created "Wynken, Blynken and Nod Fountain", dedicated in 1919 in Denver's Washington Park.[https://history.denverlibrary.org/washington-park-neighborhood Denver Public Library - History 'Washington Park Neighborhood']
* In 1938 Walt Disney Productions released an eight-minute cartoon, 'Wynken, Blynken and Nod', which stylized the fishermen of the poem as three pajama-clad children playing and fishing (for star fish) among the stars.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030988/ IMDB ~ 'Wynken, Blynken & Nod' 1938-May-27th]
* In 1960 American Artist Arthur Kraft created a penguin sculpture named "Wynkin, Blynkin and Nod" for the Glendale Shopping Center in Indianapolis[https://arthurkraft.wordpress.com/tag/sculpture 'Arthur M Kraft - Tag Archives: sculpture'] It is currently on display at the Indianapolis Zoo[https://www.indystar.com/story/life/2016/07/22/where-did-glendale-penguins-go-answer-obvious/87358916 'Where did Glendale penguins go? Answer is obvious']
* Lou Reed references the trio in an early version of the song "Satellite of Love", performed by The Velvet Underground. The lyric is not present on the official release of the song on his later album 'Transformer'.
* In the 1993 film Dennis the Menace, Mrs. Wilson recites "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" to Dennis when she puts him to bed after babysitting him for the day.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5T19DmXbug Dennis the Menace - "Wynkin, Blynkin and Nod" - YouTube]
* In 2007, an animated film based on the poem was released by Weston Woods Studios.
* In the 2016-2019 series Preacher, DeBlanc sings "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" to Genesis in an attempt to coax it out of Jesse Custer and back into an empty can of Old Timer brand coffee.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvSqdhIFTg4 Preacher - "Wynkin, Blynkin and Nod" - YouTube]
* In the episode, Opie the Birdman, of The Andy Griffith Show series, Opie names his three pet birds: Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Notes
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