When the Children Go to Sleep
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II collaborated in several Broadway musicals. I think that the most successful were Oklahoma, South Pacific, The King and I and Sound of Music.
But to me their masterpiece was Carousel. The music is beautiful, the story, based on a play by Ferenc Molnár, talks seriously about life and death. The songs If I Loved You and You’ll Never Walk Alone became famous, the latter is an inspired hymn that became very popular in religious services.
But there are other songs that are definitely worth listening to, such as What’s the Use of Wondering, June Is Bustin' Out All Over and Soliloquy.
One song that I particularly love is When the Children Go To Sleep. I found it in YouTube; it is actually a segment of the movie picture, sung by Barbara Ruick and Robert Rounseville. I am including its link on this page, in case you want to hear it.
But what happens when children go to sleep?
There are some legends about children going to bed.
The Sandman is a mythical character that originated in central and northern Europe. He brings good dreams by sprinkling a magical sand on the eyes of the children when they sleep. He moves very quietly and waits for the children to close their eyes – that is the reason why the children never see him.
In Spain the Sandman became Pedro Chosco; in Portugal, João Pestana.
My parents, who grew up in Bahia, were quite familiar with João Pestana but, unlike the old tradition, the bahian João Pestana did not sprinkle the children’s eyes with sand. He brushed their eyes, very gently, with a sort of glue, that he brought in a small pot, called Mingau das Almas (Soul Porridge). When we wake up in the morning there is always a small amount of glue remaining in our eyes and that is reason why we have to wash our faces very carefully.
Both the Sandman and João Pestana are supposed to bring good dreams to the children that they protect. But what can be done about the bad dreams and the nightmares?
The American Indians apparently had a solution to this problem: the dream catchers. They originated with the Ojibwe people, who lived chiefly around Lake Superior. The dream catchers were then adopted by neighboring Amerindians, either through intermarriage or trade. Gradually they began to be used by number of different Indian nations and also to Americans in general.
The dream catchers are built by tying thread strands around a small wood frame, either round or oval, creating a web. In the center a small area is left open. They are then hung above a child’s bed.
It is believed that the dream catchers can filter all of the bad dreams. The good dreams are capable of entering through the hole in the middle of the catcher, reaching the child’s mind. Bad dreams, however, are trapped by the net and there they stay until the rising of the sun. The light of the day makes the trapped bad dreams disappear.
If you have small children or grandchildren, do tell them about the Sandman, or João Pestana. We must not let this legend disappear. And build them a dream catcher, so that they will have only nice technicolor dreams.
But to me their masterpiece was Carousel. The music is beautiful, the story, based on a play by Ferenc Molnár, talks seriously about life and death. The songs If I Loved You and You’ll Never Walk Alone became famous, the latter is an inspired hymn that became very popular in religious services.
But there are other songs that are definitely worth listening to, such as What’s the Use of Wondering, June Is Bustin' Out All Over and Soliloquy.
One song that I particularly love is When the Children Go To Sleep. I found it in YouTube; it is actually a segment of the movie picture, sung by Barbara Ruick and Robert Rounseville. I am including its link on this page, in case you want to hear it.
But what happens when children go to sleep?
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| A drawing of a Dream Catcher |
The Sandman is a mythical character that originated in central and northern Europe. He brings good dreams by sprinkling a magical sand on the eyes of the children when they sleep. He moves very quietly and waits for the children to close their eyes – that is the reason why the children never see him.
In Spain the Sandman became Pedro Chosco; in Portugal, João Pestana.
 |
A Dream Catcher |
Both the Sandman and João Pestana are supposed to bring good dreams to the children that they protect. But what can be done about the bad dreams and the nightmares?
The American Indians apparently had a solution to this problem: the dream catchers. They originated with the Ojibwe people, who lived chiefly around Lake Superior. The dream catchers were then adopted by neighboring Amerindians, either through intermarriage or trade. Gradually they began to be used by number of different Indian nations and also to Americans in general.
The dream catchers are built by tying thread strands around a small wood frame, either round or oval, creating a web. In the center a small area is left open. They are then hung above a child’s bed.
It is believed that the dream catchers can filter all of the bad dreams. The good dreams are capable of entering through the hole in the middle of the catcher, reaching the child’s mind. Bad dreams, however, are trapped by the net and there they stay until the rising of the sun. The light of the day makes the trapped bad dreams disappear.
If you have small children or grandchildren, do tell them about the Sandman, or João Pestana. We must not let this legend disappear. And build them a dream catcher, so that they will have only nice technicolor dreams.
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