Nursery Rhymes›Slaap Kindje Slaap
Slaap Kindje Slaap
Key: C~66 BPMGuitar & Piano chords
The best-known lullaby in the Netherlands, sung to almost every Dutch child at bedtime for generations. A sheep grazing outside, drinking its milk — small, homely images that make the whole world feel safe and near. Here you will find a singable English adaptation, the meaning, and chords.
▶ More lullabies on YouTube
Verse 1
C F C
Slaap, kindje, slaap,
F C G7
daar buiten loopt een schaap.
(Sleep, little child, sleep — outside walks a little sheep.)
C F C
Sleep now, my little one, sleep tight,
F C G7
a small white sheep grazes in the night.
Verse 2
C F C
Een schaap met witte voetjes,
F C G7
dat drinkt zijn melk zo zoetjes.
(A sheep with tiny white feet, drinking its milk so sweetly.)
C F C
Small white feet upon the ground,
F C G7
drinking milk without a sound.
Play it
Chords — guitar & piano
C
Guitar
Piano
F
Guitar
Piano
G7
Guitar
Piano
Good to know
What this song means
Slaap Kindje Slaap (“Sleep, Little Child, Sleep”) is the single most familiar lullaby in the Netherlands — almost every Dutch adult can hum it from memory. It paints bedtime as something small and gentle happening just outside the window: a sheep with little white feet, quietly drinking its milk while the child drifts off inside. Simple, circular, and endlessly repeatable, it’s often the very first song a Dutch parent ever sings.
Traditional Dutch lullaby. The English lines here are a singable adaptation for this arrangement, offered as a respectful tribute — not a literal translation.
More songs to sing & play
Back to all our nursery rhymes and lullabies — each one with a different friend.
← All nursery rhymes