Nursery Rhymes›African Lullabies›Tigrinya Lullaby (Eritrea)
Tigrinya Lullaby (Eritrea)Tigrinya Lullaby (Eritrea)
A lullaby from Eritrea

Tigrinya Lullaby (Eritrea)

Key: A minor~53 BPMGuitar & Piano chordsOriginal · Tigrinya, Eritrea
Relax In No Time video

▶ More lullabies on YouTube

Tigrinya Lullaby (Eritrea) Lyrics. An original lullaby inspired by the Eritrean highlands, where the coffee ceremony is a daily ritual of hospitality and family gathering. A full coffee ceremony unfolds in three rounds, called abol, tona, and baraka, with the beans roasted fresh over a flame each time and incense burning alongside, a ritual that can take a few hours from start to finish and is considered a mark of deep hospitality. Here you will find the lyrics, meaning, and chords.

Sing & play

Lyrics & chords

An original arrangement, with guitar & piano chords above each line.

Verse

Am Dm Am
Sleep now, adey’s little one, the coffee pot rests still,
Dm Am E7
the roasting smoke has quieted now, upon the highland hill.
Am Dm Am
Sleep now, little one, the incense smoke is near,
Dm Am E7
tomorrow’s sun will rise for you, and chase away all fear.
In English

What the words mean

“Sleep now, adey’s little one, the coffee pot rests still, the roasting smoke has quieted now, upon the highland hill. Sleep now, little one, the incense smoke is near, tomorrow’s sun will rise for you, and chase away all fear.”
Play it

Chords — guitar & piano

Am
x
Guitar
CEA
Piano
Dm
xx
Guitar
DFA
Piano
E7
Guitar
EBG#
Piano
Good to know

What “Tigrinya Lullaby (Eritrea)” Means

“Adey” is a warm Tigrinya word for mom. In the Eritrean highlands, the coffee ceremony, roasting and brewing beans over an open flame with incense, is a daily ritual of hospitality and family gathering. This original lullaby draws on those coffee-ceremony and highland images of Tigrinya life, with “adey” used as a warm address rather than 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 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