The Little Pony Song

My sister and I had a great joint shower today and got to spend time with extended family that we haven't seen in ages.  During some conversation with my great aunt she asked if I knew/used the Little Pony song.  Little did she know it is one of my most favorite lullabies!  I proceeded to recite for the few who weren't familiar and some of the second cousins joined in.  I remember Mom singing it to us kids, having her teach it to me when Dan and Deb came home so I could sing it to them with her and the great origin story behind it.

My Great Granny Murphy sang this lullaby to all of her children as they were growing up (so my Grandpa and his siblings), and apparently to some of her grandchildren because that's who Mom remembers hearing it from.  But Mom was upset by the original because it involved the pony being lent to a mean man who whipped it and drove it through the mire - so Granny Murphy changed it for her!  An essential aspect of the song was rocking in the chair on Granny's lap at the same time.  Mom has often commented that Granny Murphy was the best rocker for babies and littles she has ever met, partly because she was so comfy, partly because she was so patient.

What I didn't realize was that Grandpa's sisters sang this to their children, and then they sang it to their children, and now my generation is singing it too!  So we have this neat family lullaby spread through generations of our family, almost woven into our family culture of how to raise children, you could say.  This idea just really excited and inspired me!  I love knowing that I share this cherished lullaby with so much family, and that through my Great Granny a beautiful love of children, and a desire to comfort them to sleep with song and rocking, was passed to so many generations.

So are you curious about Mom's special lyrics yet?  I hope so because you're going to hear them anyway :). You can customize and insert any child's name, so for now I'll use Eb for an example!

I had a little pony his name was Billy Boy,

I loaned him to Eb to ride a mile away,

He watered him and fed him and took good care of him,

And I will loan my pony to Ebenezer again.

I got me another pony he was all over gray,

His head was made of pumpkin seeds,

His tail was made of hay,

I bridled him and saddled him and rode him into town,

Along came a puff of wind and blew him up and down!

As you can imagine this is well used in our home and I look forward to using it with our future babies, and hopefully someday with our grand babies!