Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
1889 
USA Lyrics
sailed off in a wooden shoe —
Sailed on a river of crystal light,
into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
the old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
that live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
The old moon laughed and sang a song,
as they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
that lived in that beautiful sea —
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish —
never afraid are we";
So cried the stars to the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
All night long their nets they threw
to the stars in the twinkling foam —
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
bringing the fishermen home;
'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed
as if it could not be,
And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
of sailing that beautiful sea —
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
and Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
is a wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
as you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.
History and Meaning
"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" is a beloved children's lullaby poem written by American writer and journalist Eugene Field, first published on March 9, 1889, under its original title "Dutch Lullaby." Field (1850-1895), often referred to as the "Poet of Childhood," included it in his 1889 collection "A Little Book of Western Verse." The poem tells a fantastical bedtime story about three fishermen who sail in a wooden shoe across a "river of crystal light" into a "sea of dew," casting nets of silver and gold to catch "herring fish" that are revealed to be stars. The names carry symbolic meaning: "Wynken" and "Blynken" represent a child's two blinking eyes, while "Nod" signifies a sleepy, nodding head, and the "wooden shoe" is interpreted as a child's trundle-bed rocked by a singing mother. The poem has been widely anthologized, illustrated by notable artists like Maxfield Parrish, and adapted into various musical settings and animated films.