Lullaby for Ondine

English version of the song Kołysanka dla Ondyny [A Lullaby for Ondine]  from ONDINATA.Songs for Ondine.

Breath and heartbeat. Inseparable, and synonymous with life itself. Soothing, natural, and ever so familiar, they are with us every second of every day and every night.

But there comes a time when the breathing stops and machines have to take over: the ventilator, the oxygen concentrator, the pulse oximeter. Their disturbing mechanical sound makes for a strange kind of lullaby.

This is the world of people living with CCHS. People who stop breathing as soon as they fall asleep. They spend their nights surrounded by a shrill hum, a dull knocking, the thrum of machinery pumping air in and out of their lungs. Though not pleasant to the ear, that noise is reassuring: it tells us that the equipment is doing its job of sustaining life. These sounds, at once intrusive and welcome, set the rhythm for Lullaby for Ondine,  sung by Ania Karwan. A series of mechanically-induced breaths, in and out, that has to go on until the curse is lifted.

I know a lot of night songs
Sweet lullabies, so quiet
But this one is a loud one
But this one we keep private…

Though it may seem so roaring
Like an electric organ
This song lets Dad or Mummy
Sleep for a peaceful moment

This lullaby sounds so bizzare now
It praises din and clatter only
So good to bring us peace at night-time
This lullaby is sung to Ondine

Remember that this racket,
Sounds of the apparatus
Will save from night till morning
The lives of our dear babies

Though it may seem so roaring
Like an electric organ
This song lets Dad or Mummy
Sleep for a peaceful moment

This lullaby sounds so bizzare now
It praises din and clatter only
So good to bring us peace at night-time
This lullaby is sung to Ondine