Nursery Rhymes›Ojibwe Lullaby
Ojibwe Lullaby
Key: E minor~58 BPMGuitar & Piano chordsOjibwe · Great Lakes, USA
Ojibwe Lullaby. A traditional song of the Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) people, sung to comfort children and reflecting the culture and bond with nature of these people. On this page, you will find the meaning and chords.
Sing & play
Hum & play
A steady chant on soft syllables, moving like slow waves over the three chords below.
Chant — soft vocables
Em D C
Loo-way, loo-way, hmm-mm, ho,
Em D C
loo-way, loo-way, hmm-mm, ho.
Em D C Em
Hmm-mm, hmm-mm, loo-way, ho.
Play it
Chords — guitar & piano
Em
Guitar
Piano
D
Guitar
Piano
C
Guitar
Piano
Free printable chord sheet
Ojibwe Lullaby — guitar & piano chords
A clean, printable PDF of the chords on this page. Free for members — sign in to download.
Good to know
The story
Songs of the water and the woods. The Ojibwe people live in deep kinship with the lakes and forests of the North, and their lullabies often echo the sounds of that world — the rustle of leaves, the slow rhythm of waves on the great lakes. In this tradition, sleep is a journey through the sacred forest: the song walks beside the child’s soul, so it can rest safely in the arms of nature, guarded by the ancient trees.
Vocal coach tip. Look for an earthy, steady quality of voice. Don’t reach for vibrato — the voice should stand like the trunk of a tree: solid, calm and protective.
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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