Tag: Shawn Mullins

I was trying to think of the name of this song and described what I could…and my friend Dave gave me the answer from my few clues. In 1998 I heard this song constantly and always liked it.

The lyric that made me like the song was They hung out with folks like Dennis Hopper and Bob Seger and Sonny and Cher. I’m a sucker for pop culture references… like that should surprise anyone. Shawn Mullins wrote the song after a woman in Los Angeles talked to him about her childhood and teenage years. Mullins said “There were certain details, like Sonny & Cher and Bob Seger, things in it that were real. But there’s also certain things about her character in the song that aren’t really like her. The person in the song took a sadder turn. The actual girl really had her act together and she was very smiley. Her smile was incredible.”

Shawn was based in Atlanta and pressed copies of the single that was released independently. Good fortune hit when an Atlanta radio station slipped the song into the rotation. Lullaby gained traction and Columbia won a bidding war and he signed with them. He started to open up for big names but never hit the Hot 100 again. Mullins’ first album, he said he wanted to do something different and it flopped… as well as his second album. He now records independently.

He has probably made a decent living off of this song because it’s been used in movies and TV shows…I remember hearing it on The Office. The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard 100, #2 in Canada, and #9 in the UK in 1998-99.

Shawn Mullins: “The whole album was written from journal entries that I would do on the road, so, after that night the lyric was pretty much done. I never edited back then at all.”

Lullaby

She grew up with the children of the stars
In the Hollywood hills and the boulevards
Her parents threw big parties
Everyone was there
They hung out with folks like Dennis Hopper and Bob Seger and
Sonny and Cher

She feels safe now in this bar on Fairfax
And from the stage I can tell that she can’t let go and she can’t
Relax
And just before she hangs her head to cry
I sing to her a lullaby
I sing:

Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye
Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye

She still lives with her mom outside the city
Down that street about a half a mile
And all her friends tell her she’s so pretty
But she’d be a whole lot prettier if she smiled once in a while
‘Cause even her smile looks like a frown
She’s seen her share of devils in this angel town

Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye
Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye

I told her I ain’t so sure about this place
It’s hard to play a gig in this town and keep a straight face
Seems like everybody’s got a plan
It’s kind of like Nashville with a tan

Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye
Everything’s gonna be all right
Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye

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