"Star Light, Star Bright" is an English language nursery rhyme of American origin. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 16339.
| "Star Light, Star Bright" | |
|---|---|
| Nursery rhyme | |
| Published | Late 19th century |
| Genre | Children's song |
| Composer(s) | unknown |
| Lyricist(s) | unknown |
Lyrics
The lyrics usually conform to the following:
- Star light, star bright,
- First star I see tonight;
- I wish I may, I wish I might
- Have the wish I wish tonight.[1]
Origins
The superstition of hoping for wishes granted when seeing a shooting or falling star may date back to the ancient world.[2] Wishing on the first star seen may also predate this rhyme, which first began to be recorded in late nineteenth-century America.[3] The song and tradition seem to have reached Britain by the early twentieth century and have since spread worldwide.[2]
In popular culture
It is used in the 1940 Disney film Pinocchio and related Disney media.
It is used in the 1953 Sci-Fi film It Came from Outer Space.
The first half is featured in the chorus of Madonna's 1983 song Lucky Star.
It is featured in the chorus of Dave Loggins’ 1979 song “If I Had My Wish Tonight,” which was a Top 40 hit for David Lasley in 1982.
It is partially quoted in the song "Take Me Away" on Blue Öyster Cult's 1983 album The Revölution by Night.
The rhyme is quoted and referenced on Metallica's 1996 single “King Nothing”, released for the album Load.
In Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, it is used as the plot's basis, the quest for the Wishing Star, in addition to providing deeper meaning to the film's central themes. It is read verbatim in the opening and repeated later on.
It is also quoted in Nicki Minaj's 2023 song Last Time I Saw You.
It is also quoted in the chorus of an unreleased [Simple Minds] track [Space], taken from the album [Our Secrets Are The Same] which was recorded in 2000 and was not commercially released due to a dispute with their record company. However, the album was included in the 2004 [Silver Box] boxset.
