Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

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Now I lay me down to sleep is a classic children's prayer from the 18th century. The version printed in The New England Primer goes:

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Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
Should I die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

[edit] Popular culture

This prayer was referenced by the heavy metal band Metallica in their song "Enter Sandman". Barenaked Ladies' song "Who Needs Sleep?" uses the line "Now I lay me down not to sleep," and XTC also play on the prayer for a stanza in the song "Real by Reel". The line "if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take" is used by Kid Cudi in the chorus for "The Prayer", by Brian Wilson, Puff Daddy in the track "Ready to Die" from the Notorious B.I.G. album of the same name. An adaptation is used in the HIM song "Buried Alive by Love". It has also been used by Megadeth in "Go to Hell", John Butler Trio in "Losing You", Snoop Dogg in "Murder Was the Case", the metal band Dope in "Dream", and in wrestler The Undertaker's theme song. In 2009, the song "Now I Lay" from Joe Budden's Padded Room album utilized the prayer as the chorus.

A modified version of the prayer is used by rapper Crooked I In Chamillionaire's song "Solo" From Mixtape Messiah 7

The prayer was also used in the films A Nightmare On Elm Street, Identity and The Haunting in Connecticut.

An organization created in April 2005 was named the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation (NILMDTS). The organisation which administers a network of almost 6,000 volunteer photographers in the United States and twenty-five international countries. These photographers provide infant bereavement photography for families at no cost.

[edit] Other versions

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
When in the morning light I wake,
Teach me the path of love to take.


Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
Guard me Jesus through the night,
And wake me with the morning light.


Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
thy angels watch me through the night,
And keep me safe till morning's light.^[1]


Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
May angels watch me through the night,
And keep me in their blessed sight.^[1]


Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
Keep me safe all through the night,
And wake me with the morning light.
AMEN

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.^[2]
Amen


Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep;
Guide me safely through the night,
Wake me with the morning's light.


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


Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
Guide me through the starry night,
Wake me when the sun shines bright,
For Jesus' sake. Amen.


Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
Guide us through the starry night,
and wake us with the morning's light.
I ask not for myself alone,
but for thy children--every one.


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.


Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the lord my soul to keep
While angels watch me through the night
Til I awake in the morning's light

[edit] Other versions (Satirical)

Now I lay me down to sleep,
The speaker's dull, the subject's weak;
If he should stop before I wake,
Give me a nudge for goodness sake.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my bladder doesn't leak;
If I should pee before I wake,
I pray the lord to dry my lake.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake,
Blame it on the drugs I take.

[edit] References