Batuko Lullaby
▶ More lullabies on YouTube
Batuko Lullaby Lyrics. An original lullaby inspired by batuko, a women’s call-and-response drumming and dance tradition kept alive on Cape Verde’s Santiago island. Batuko was banned outright under Portuguese colonial rule for a time, seen as a threat to authority, yet women kept the tradition alive in secret, and in its older form the rhythm was often kept not on a drum at all but on a tchabeta, a tightly rolled bundle of cloth pounded rhythmically between the knees. Here you will find the lyrics, meaning, and chords.
Lyrics & chords
An original arrangement, with guitar & piano chords above each line.
Verse
What the words mean
Chords — guitar & piano
What “Batuko Lullaby” Means
On the island of Santiago, women keep alive batuko, a call-and-response drumming and dance tradition performed with cloth bundles wrapped around the waist as makeshift drums. This original lullaby draws on those drumming and community images of Santiago island life.
More songs to sing & play
Back to all our nursery rhymes and lullabies — each one with a different friend.
← All nursery rhymes Compare Lullaby Traditions 🌍Sources & rights
- An original lullaby by Relax In No Time, inspired by the musical traditions of its region. The words, melody, arrangement and recording are ours.
- 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.
Spotted a mistake or know a better source? Tell us. How we work · Get in touch