Nursery RhymesHaida Lullaby
Haida Lullaby lyricsHaida Lullaby lyrics
With Nelly · A lullaby in the Haida tradition

Haida Lullaby

Key: A minor~56 BPMGuitar & Piano chordsHaida · Pacific Northwest

Haida Lullaby. A traditional song of the Haida people, an Indigenous nation of the Pacific Northwest Coast, reflecting their connection to the sea, nature, and family traditions. The Haida are renowned for towering cedar totem poles and oceangoing dugout canoes carved from a single log, skills passed down through generations on Haida Gwaii, their traditional island homeland off the coast of British Columbia. Central to Haida life is the potlatch, a ceremonial gift-giving feast that Canadian law banned for decades in the 20th century before the tradition was reclaimed and is now openly celebrated again. On this page, you will find the meaning, cultural context, and chords.

Sing & play

Hum & play

A swaying chant on soft syllables. The two chords rock back and forth like the tide.

Chant — soft vocables

Am        Dm         Am
Oh-way-oh, oh-way-oh, hey,
Am        Dm         Am
oh-way-oh, oh-way-oh, hey.
Am      Dm      Am
Hmm-mm, hmm-mm, oh-way, hey.
Play it

Chords — guitar & piano

Am
×
Guitar
CEA
Piano
Dm
××
Guitar
DFA
Piano
Free printable chord sheet
Haida Lullaby — guitar & piano chords

A clean, printable PDF of the chords on this page. Free for members — sign in to download.

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Good to know

The story

Echoes of the Pacific tide. The Haida live in a world of ocean, totems and rainforest, and their melodies carry the power of the sea and the stories of marine ancestors. Their lullabies often move with the rhythm of the water itself: to sing to a baby is to welcome them into the world of the living, calling on the creatures of the sea and the sky for protection.
Vocal coach tip. Here you can allow yourself more fluidity. The sound should sway. Don’t be too strict with the tempo — let the melody breathe with an organic rhythm, like the sea.

Indigenous lullabies are part of a millennia-old oral heritage. The arrangement presented here is an original reworking, intended as a respectful tribute to the beauty and spirituality of these cultures.

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