Bedtime Story

Bob Nolan
No copyright date

Little curley-headed fellow
Can’t you see the lights are low?
The sandman’s just behind you
And he’s calling you, I know.
So close your eyes and take his hand
As down the trail you go
Through the yellow leaves of a story book
To the land of long ago.

Discovered in the nostalgic collection of the estate of a good friend of Bob Nolan was this verse written on the back of a typed sheet of “Gal on the Flying Trapeze”. Bob had a daughter, but he often expressed a wish for a son as well. He wrote several songs for children. Perhaps this verse was the seed thought that led to his beautiful “Sandman Lullaby.”

Hundreds of Bob Nolan's songs were lost in a garage fire, so we are constantly on the lookout for bits and pieces he left with friends. He wrote on whatever paper was handy when the spirit moved him—and left them behind. He also had his friends copy them out for him because he was embarrassed about his poor spelling. This lyric sheet was found in a collection of Bob Nolan compositions and ephemera of Frances Shepp Irvine Longstreet, one of his close friends who also wrote an article about him.