Nursery Rhymes›Asian Lullabies›Arabian Gulf Lullaby
With Tobia · Yemen, Oman & the Gulf

Arabian Gulf Lullaby

Key: C~56 BPMGuitar & Piano chords

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A gentle lullaby inspired by the shared maritime and desert heritage of the Arabian Gulf — from Yemen and Oman to Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain — where wooden dhows once sailed the coast and the desert night falls quiet and still. Long before oil, this coastline built its living from pearl diving, with fleets of dhows setting out for months at a time — a hard, patient trade not unlike the quiet patience of rocking a child to sleep.

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Verse 1

C         F      C
Sleep now, little one, the tide has gone to sleep,
F         C      G7
the dhows are resting in the bay, the sea is calm and deep.

Verse 2

C         F      C
Sleep now, little one, the desert moon is high,
F         C      G7
tomorrow’s sun will wake you soon, but rest now, hush now, bye.
Play it

Chords — guitar & piano

C
x
Guitar
CEG
Piano
F
Guitar
CFA
Piano
G7
Guitar
DFGB
Piano
Good to know

What this song means

Across the Arabian Gulf — Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain alike — generations of families have shared a way of life shaped by the sea and the desert: wooden dhows sailing the coast, and wide, quiet nights beneath the stars. This lullaby draws gently on that shared heritage, honouring a tradition too varied and too widely spread across small coastal and desert communities to be captured in any single fixed song.

Traditional Gulf Arabian lullaby style, inspired by the shared maritime and desert heritage of the region. The English lyrics are an original singable arrangement offered as a respectful tribute.

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Sources & rights

  • Words and melody: see the credits in the text of this page. Older songs are traditional or in the public domain; songs by known authors keep their authors' credit.
  • Recording and arrangement: real instruments played by hand, no AI music, by Relax In No Time.
  • Chords: written by us for guitar and piano.
  • Translation: our own meaning-for-meaning translation, written for understanding. The sung words stay in the original language.

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