Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Sandhill Cranes Lullaby - Music Story

Dear Sara Lily,

This lullaby was written for you, to celebrate your first Christmas, the Christmas three months before your birth.
Saara Lily
Sara Lily
It was a chilly November day that sandhill cranes sang to me. Grandpa and I were outside washing our cars before winter set in and it snowed. We heard beautiful music in the skies. Grandpa pointed to sandhill cranes flying south to Georgia and central Florida for the winter.

Public Domain Image
Sandhill Crane
These cranes would return in March or April, singing as they fly over our house again. But most cranes take a different migration route.

Sping Migration
Spring Migration Routes
Something magical happens every spring in Nebraska.

Platte River
Crane Trust, Wood River NE
Over a quarter of a million cranes crowd together along an 80 mile stretch of the Platte River waiting for warmer weather. When it warms up, they will fly away to Canada, Alaska, or Siberia to raise their young.

This lullaby was my Christmas, 2009 gift to you. The baby born on the very first Christmas slept near animals on a mattress of hay. Jesus’ mother, Mary, wrapped him in strips of cloths and laid him in a manger, the animals feeding trough. He may have been serenaded by sheep or donkeys or oxen.

I hope you never outgrow lullabies. I hope you find wonder in the wild and beautiful songs just outside your window. I hope you grow to love the Creator who writes these songs in the hearts of his creatures and who then chose to become that Christmas baby.

Love,
Grandma

From the album “Silly or Celebratory – Songs for Sara Lily” this video is scrolling playback of the song. Pizzicato strings imitate the vocalizations of sandhill cranes. Put headphones on and they will fly right over your head, moving from ear to ear.


Click here for the original Sandhill Cranes Lullaby Sara Lily video (music overlaid on slides).
Click here and here for Sandhill Cranes Lullaby wall art.

You can get print (PDF) and/or digital (MusicXML™) sheet music for Sandhill Cranes Lullaby.
Sandhill Cranes Lullaby
Click here for print sheet music (lead sheet format).
Sandhill Cranes Lullaby
Click here to for digital sheet music.
(MusicXML™ is the standard open format for sharing digital sheet music.
Check the help files in your music notation app for directions on importing MusicXML™ files.)