Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

World War I poster of the United States

Now I lay me down to sleep is a Christian children's bedtime prayer from the 18th century.

Text

Perhaps the earliest version was written by George Wheler in his 1698 book The Protestant Monastery, which reads:[1]

Upon lying down, and going to sleep.

Here I lay me down to sleep.
To thee, O Lord, I give my Soul to keep,
Wake I ever, Or, Wake I never;
To thee O Lord, I give my Soul to keep for ever.

A later version printed in The New England Primer goes:[2]

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my Soul to keep[;]
If I should die before I 'wake,
I pray the Lord my Soul to take.

Other versions

Grace Bridges, 1932:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my lord my soul to keep,
In the morn when I awake
Please teach me the path of life to take.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
His Love to guard me through the night,
And wake me in the morning's light amen.[3]

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
Please angels watch me through the night,
And keep me safe till morning light.[3]

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
Angels watch me through the night,
And wake me with the morning light.
Amen[4]

Now I wake to see the light,
As God has kept me through the night;
And now I lift my voice to pray,
That Thou wilt keep me through the day.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
See me safely through the night,
And wake me with the morning light. Amen.

It is sometimes combined with the "Black Paternoster", one version of which goes:[5]

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
Bless the bed that I lie on.
Four corners to my bed,
Four angels round my head;
One to watch and one to pray
And two to bear my soul away.

Sometimes the prayer ends with, “and this I ask for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”[6]

In popular culture

Music

• Art Garfunkel performed the song live during his 2016–2020 In Close-Up tour as the encore song.[7]

• Belgian hardcore DJ DRS uses this prayer in the introduction of his Thunderdome set in 2022.[8]
• Rapper JPEGMafia uses lines from this prayer in the chorus of his song "the 27 club" from his 2016 album "Black Ben Carson".[9]
• American Heavy Metal band Metallica uses the whole prayer in their hit song "Enter Sandman" from their 1991 album "Metallica (album)"
• Rapper JID takes from the first 2 lines and incorporates into the first verse of "Kody Blu 31" from his 2022 album "The Forever Story"
• Singer Halsey uses The New England Primer version of the prayer in the intro portion of their 2019 single "Nightmare".[10]
• XXXTENTACION incorporates a modified version of the first 2 lines of this prayer in the closer of his "?" album, "before i close my eyes".[11]

Film and television

• In Poltergeist (1982), Carol Anne recites this prayer when she and her mother bury her pet canary in their garden.[12]

See also

• Christian child's prayer – Easily memorable prayers recited by children
• Adon Olam - a Jewish prayer bearing some similarities

References

1. WHEELER, Sir George (1698). The Protestant Monastery: Or Christian Oeconomicks. Containing Directions for the Religious Conduct of a Family. (Hymns Suited to the Several Hours of Prayers. Short Tunes to Chant Several of the Hymns.). p. 294.
2. The New England Primer Archived 10 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine, 1750 ed., p. 23.
3. Debbie Trafton O'Neal; Nancy Munger (1994), Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep: Action Prayers, Poems, and Songs for Bedtime, Augsburg Books, p. 6, ISBN 978-0-8066-2602-4
4. James Limburg (2006), Encountering Ecclesiastes: a book for our time, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, p. 103, ISBN 978-0-8028-3047-0
5. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), ISBN 0-19-860088-7, pp. 357–60.
6. "Catholic Prayer Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep". www.catholicprayer.ca. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
7. "In Close-Up tour". setlist.fm. August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
8. Thunderdome 2022 | DRS, retrieved 10 February 2023
9. "JPEGMafia - the 27 club | Genius".
10. Halsey – Nightmare, retrieved 8 November 2024
11. XXXTENTACION – before I close my eyes, retrieved 11 December 2024
12. "Poltergeist (1982 film) Quotes | IMDB". IMDb.