I See the Moon, and the Moon Sees Me Lyrics, Origins, and Video  

Lullabies are soothing and heartwarming, aren’t they? And the ones that involve the moon are sweeter. I See the Moon and the Moon Sees Me is an 18th-century nursery rhyme. Though the exact origins are unknown, we have enough information to know when it was first published. 

It became famous as people came up with different versions of the lyrics. A simple two-line nursery rhyme turned into a complete song in 1953. The meaning of the lyrics also changed, though the essence lingers. It’s a song of nostalgia and love. 

Read to know more about the rhyme and download the lyrics for various versions. 

Written Lyrics

Original Version: 

I see the moon, and the moon sees me,
God bless the moon, and God bless me!

Version Two: (1896)

I see the moon and the moon sees me,
The moon sees somebody I wanna see
God bless the moon and God bless me:
And God bless that somebody I wanna see.

Version Three: (1909)

I see the moon, the moon sees me,
God bless the moon and God bless me:
There’s grace in the cottage and grace in the hall;
And the grace of God is over us all.

Meredith Wilson’s Version: 

Over the mountain, over the sea,
Back where my heart is longing to be,
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love.(Chorus) 

I see the moon; the moon sees me
Down through the leaves of the old oak tree.
Please let the light that shines on me
Shine on the one I love.

I hear the lark; the lark hears me,
Singing a song with a melody.
Please let the lark that sings for me
Sing for the one I love.

I kiss a rose; the rose kisses me,
Fragrant as only a rose can be.
Please let the Rose that comforts me
Comfort the one I love.

Printable Lyrics 

You can download the printable PDF with three versions of lyrics for I See the Moon and the Moon Sees Me here.  

Photo Lyrics 

Download the below image to save it on your device. 

Video Links

Watch this animated video with the original lyrics:

Watch this lullaby with another version of the lyrics:

This video has Meredith Wilson’s lyrics:

Origins and History

The first recording of the old English nursery rhyme was in 1784. The Gammer Gurton’s Garland, The Nursery Parnassus collection contained just two lines of rhyme. New versions appeared as the song spread around orally. People began to customize the lyrics for their little ones. Some artists also created different variants of the original by adding their own words. 

A four-line version was published in the What They Say in New England: A Book of Signs, Sayings, and Superstitions collection by Clifton Johnson in 1896. The second line from the original was shifted to the third place. New sentences were inserted in the second and fourth positions. The theme remained the same, except that it included the narrator and ‘somebody’ they loved. 

The Old Irish Folk Music and Songs is a magnum opus collection by Patrick Weston Joyce published in 1909. This had another four-line version of the nursery rhyme. However, additional lines were added as the third and fourth lines in the rhyme. 

Almost half a century later, in 1953, Meredith Wilson wrote I See the Moon (Over the Mountain). He was an American composer, conductor, playwright, writer, flutist, music arranger, and bandleader. Wilson is famous for the lyrics of Broadway musical hits. His version is the longest and uses only the first line of the nursery rhyme. 

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