I too LOVE this-- and am starting to collect lullabies as well.  I LOVE your singing on this....I was surprised when you started singing late in the tune but it's just so right! 

I'm inspired to play my dulcinette more :-) fingers get ouchy...but you have guitar player's toughness me thinks.

YO....I'd love to be informed when your book comes out.....I love lullaby's....aloha, irene

@irene, hopefully in a few months my response to this question will be to "buy my book" since I'm currently putting together a book of lullabies from around the world for the beginning mountain dulcimer.  But for the moment, please see the attached documents.

Dusty, where can I find the tune and words to this lullaby?  Would it have been found in the "All things Dulcimer" music section?  aloha, irene

Thanks, @irene. I find the tune haunting as well.  I've been collecting lullabies recently and this one really grabbed me.

@steven-berger, I'm glad the tune resembled at least a bit the Yiddish version you grew up with.  I wish I could sing it in Yiddish myself.

My grandmother used to sing this song in Yiddish. You brought me back some nice memories Dusty, thanks. 

this was just beautiful.   I sooooo love Jewish music and this tune was  haunting.  thank you for singing as well.  I sang soooooooo many lullabys to my babies...This sounds not far off from a soprano Ukulele....but not.  aloha, irene

Thanks so much. @christine-shoemaker!

Wow - sooo beautiful!  Outstanding, Dusty!!!     Thank you for sharing this.  

Thanks, @sam and @gail-webber.  You guys are too kind.

You make that little dulcimer sound so lovely!

Sweet! I'd never seen an octave dulcimer either. What a wonderful sound it has (due largely to the style with which you play it). Beautiful instrument, beautifully played. 

Well thanks for listening, @jenniferc and @robin-thompson.

Wow, Dusty, your flat-picking on that little Ewing is so sweet!  And your voice paired so nicely with the instrument.  

How lovely!  

Thanks for listening, @bob. Not every song or playing style works on an octave dulcimer, but when you find a nice pairing it can be pretty special.

I had seen but never heard an Octave Dulcimer until watching your video. What a lovely little instrument! Your song and musical skills are just so beautiful, Dusty! Thanks for this video

Dusty, that's exactly the kind of technique a lot of folks use on little epinettes.  Where a long sustain dulcimer could have just a broad strummm after a melody note (and it can sustain that for the duration), a small epinette sounds good when you follow a melody note with a strummm/middle/bass sequence -or another 'sequence' depending on your tuning. You naturally figured that out on your own.  

@strumelia, I can't thank you enough for your comments.  Since these small octave dulcimers have so little sustain, it can be a challenge to to play slower tunes without a lot of dead air.  In this case I decided just to use  arpeggios to fill in the gaps in between melody notes and add an underlying rhythm.

Dusty, this just blows me away. The beautiful and soothing delicacy of both your playing and singing together here sparkles like a jewel. Bravo, friend!