Nursery Rhymes · Traditional American nursery rhyme with new bedtime verses
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
A little boat drifts down a stream in the familiar round, then continues beneath stars and past the willows in two new bedtime verses. Rock side to side as you sing.
The traditional rhyme
Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.
More verses for bedtime
Row, row, row your boat,
Under silver light.
Quietly, quietly, quietly, quietly,
Stars come out at night.
Row, row, row your boat,
Past the willow deep.
Dreamily, dreamily, dreamily, dreamily,
Home we go to sleep.
About this story
Rocking to the repeated words turns this tiny rhyme into a settling ritual for babies and toddlers alike.
Read this next
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Rock-a-bye Baby 1 min · Ages 1–3Another genuine one-minute rhyme for ages 1–3.
-
Jack and Jill 1 min · Ages 1–3Another genuine one-minute rhyme for ages 1–3.
Talk about it
A gentle journey can be joyful all by itself.
Questions to ask
- What moves down the stream?
- How does the boat travel?
- Can you rock gently like a boat?
Words to know
- row
- Move a boat using oars.
- stream
- A small flowing river.
- merrily
- In a happy, cheerful way.
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