Lullabies can be found in every human culture. The English term lullaby is thought to come from lu, lu or la la sound made by mothers or nurses to calm children, and by by or bye bye, either another lulling sound, or a term for good night. Until the modern era lullabies were usually only recorded incidentally in written sources. The Roman nurses lullaby, Lalla, Lalla, Lalla, aut dormi, aut lacta, is recorded in a scholium on Persius and may be the oldest to survive. The oldest childrens songs of which we have records are lullabies, intended to help a child sleep.\r
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A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the late 18th /early 19th century. In North America the term Mother Goose Rhymes, introduced in the mid-18th century, is still often used.\r
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Many medieval English verses associated with the birth of Jesus take the form of a lullaby, including Lullay, my liking, my dere son, my sweting and may be versions of contemporary lullabies.[3] However, most of those used today date from the 17th century. For example, a well known lullaby such as Rock-a-bye, baby on a tree top, cannot be found in records until the late-18th century when it was printed by John Newbery (c. 1765)