Nursery Rhymes›Numi Numi, Yaldati
Numi Numi, Yaldati
Key: C~58 BPMGuitar & Piano chords
Israel’s most famous lullaby, written in the 1920s and sung ever since — a simple, tender promise that even when father is away at work, he will come home under the moonlight with a gift for his little one.
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Verse 1
C F C
Numi, numi, yaldati,
F C G7
numi, numi, nim.
(Sleep, sleep, my little girl – sleep, sleep.)
C F C
Sleep now, sleep now, my little one,
F C G7
sleep now, sleep now, my dear.
Verse 2
C F C
Aba halach la’avoda,
F C G7
yashuv im tzeit halevana.
(Daddy’s gone to work – he’ll return when the moon comes out.)
C F C
Daddy’s gone away to work today,
F C G7
he’ll come home beneath the moon, with a gift to give away.
Play it
Chords — guitar & piano
C
Guitar
Piano
F
Guitar
Piano
G7
Guitar
Piano
Good to know
What this song means
Numi Numi, Yaldati (“Sleep, Sleep, My Little Girl”) was written in Palestine in the 1920s, with words by Yehiel Halperin and music by Yoel Engel, and quickly became the most beloved lullaby in Hebrew. Its simple promise — that a working father will always return, bearing gifts by moonlight — carried the hopes of a whole generation of young families, and it is still one of the first songs many Israeli children ever hear.
Traditional Hebrew lullaby (Numi Numi), written in the 1920s. Lyrics and translation adapted from the well-known traditional text.
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