Escape at Bedtime — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out
Through the blinds and the windows and bars;
And high overhead and all moving about,
There were thousands of millions of stars.
There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,
Nor of people in church or the Park,
As the crowds of the stars that looked down upon me,
And that glittered and winked in the dark.
The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter, and all,
And the star of the sailor, and Mars,
These shown in the sky, and the pail by the wall
Would be half full of water and stars.
They saw me at last, and they chased me with cries,
And they soon had me packed into bed;
But the glory kept shining and bright in my eyes,
And the stars going round in my head.

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Learning from "Escape at Bedtime"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "Escape at Bedtime" uses 16 lines to create a memorable verse — proof that effective poetry doesn't need to be long. Pay attention to the meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is what makes the rhyme stick in your head.

Songwriters and poets can borrow these patterns. Try writing your own lyrics using the same rhyme scheme and line length as this nursery rhyme. You can also use words from the poem above as starting points — click any word to find rhymes or look up its definition, then build from there.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the words to Escape at Bedtime?
The lyrics to Escape at Bedtime are: The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out / Through the blinds and the windows and bars; / And high overhead and all moving about, / There were thousands of millions of stars. / There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree, / Nor of people in church or the Park, ... Read the full 16-line nursery rhyme at Rhyme Buster.
How many lines does Escape at Bedtime have?
"Escape at Bedtime" has 16 lines of verse.

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