The Man in the Moon

by Sue Walsgrove
(England)

My Mum used to sing this to me – she learned it from her Mum, and I sang it to my children and now sing it to my grandson. I have never heard it anywhere else, and have been unable to find any trace of it on the Web so far, so if anyone knows where it might be from I’d be delighted to hear from you! It’s called ‘The Man in the Moon’ and goes:
The Man in the Moon is a shepherd dear
And all the bright stars are his sheep
He watches and guards with a tender care
When you little ones are asleep
I’m sure he has counted them all, my dear
For he is a shepherd true
And if we but try, perhaps you and I
Can count them and name them all too.
Bye-low we’ll count as we go
Each little twinkling star
First one for you, then for me, my dear
What a fine lot there are
Bye-low we’ll name as we go
Each little starry sheep
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, rock as we go
Into the Land of Sleep