HNT - Sing Me A Rush Lullaby, Dad

When Alexander was a baby, I used to sing different lullaby's to him -- of course, after a while, tiring of the same old standards, I would start singing him others songs including ballads from my favourite bands, like Rush. (The three songs that work best for lullaby's are Closer to the Heart, Tears and Madrigal -- Madrigal being my favourite)

The song opens with the following words:

When the dragons grow too mighty
To slay with pen or sword
I grow weary of the battle
And this storm I walk toward
When all around is madness
And there's no safe port in view
I long to turn my path homeward
To stop a while with you

- from Madrigal by Rush - A Farewell To Kings, 1977
- lyrics by Neil Peart

The other day when Alexander was having trouble falling asleep and asked me to sing him a "Rush Lullaby", I started singing Madrigal and could hear, ever so quietly, him gently whispering the words I was singing.

And so, with signing lullaby's on my mind, I thought this week's HNT post would be a picture of Alexander and I having a snooze when he was a teeny baby.


(And speaking of Neil Peart, check out the book on my bed-side table: Peart's Traveling Music: The Soundtrack to My Life and Times -- like all his writing, this is a phenomenal read, and it's one of his best books.