Who's behind the notes? Discover Arthur Sullivan: The Musical Genius Behind Gilbert & Sullivan
"Birds in the Night" is a Victorian parlor ballad that originated from Arthur Sullivan's first successful comic opera "Cox and Box" (1866), where the melody served as a lullaby "Hush-a-bye, Bacon". Sullivan, believing in the melody's potential, commissioned new lyrics from Lionel H. Lewin in 1869, transforming it into a sentimental drawing-room song that became quite popular in its time. Sullivan also created a piano version titled "Berceuse" using the same thematic material.