World Sleep Day 2025: Five most bizarre lullabies from across the world

It all started when a musician friend, one day, sent this author a YouTube link of a Russian lullaby that he said he had found ‘fascinating’. Half–expecting a soothing tone to calm her down when she clicked on it, only for it to send a chill down her spine — thanks to the lullaby’s lyrics that seemed to have been created with the intent of scaring a baby to sleep! If this has intrigued the ethno–explorer within you, we bring you five of the world’s most bizarre lullabies, this World Sleep Day. Tune in!

While the tune of this lullaby is soothing, it doesn’t take away the fact that at the end, it suggests that the baby will come down when the cradle breaks (!?). However, some attribute its origin with the time when King James II and his wife Mary of Modena smuggled a baby inside the birthing room, as they couldn't produce a male heir!

Written by Jónas Árnason for a play in 1970 called Þið munið hann Jörund, this lullaby creates a sense of dread with the implication of a mysterious, unseen presence lurking outside the window. Perhaps the unknown nature of this presence is what makes it so chilling.

This one’s our favourite. Nana Nenê features a whole host of frightening creatures, including Cuca (a crocodile–hag) and Bicho Papão (a bogeyman). It essentially lists all the things that could get a child if they don't sleep, making it a catalogue of horrors. Mom–1, Baby–0.

Duérmete Niño is one of the most popular lullabies in the Spanish–speaking world and has really got an enchanting tune. However, the recurring theme of El Cuco, a shapeshifting bogeyman who will come and eat children who don’t sleep, still stands as a classic example of using fear to enforce obedience.

Remember the Russian lullaby that we talked about earlier? This is it — the inspiration for this story. Unlike most of the other lullabies in this list, Tili Tili Bom is a song that creates atmospheric horror not just through its lyrics, but also through its sonic structure. The song creates an atmosphere of suspense and fear, narrating the story of a being that comes to those who can not sleep. The way the lyrics build the tension, with the being getting closer, is brilliantly disturbing.