Sleeping Bunnies

History & Origin

"Sleeping Bunnies" is a modern action song that has become a staple of nurseries and playgroups. Its structure is simple and effective: children lie down and pretend to be sleeping bunnies, then leap up and hop about when the chorus arrives. The contrast between stillness and movement, sleep and energy, gives the song a natural appeal for young children who enjoy both the quiet of the sleeping verse and the explosive physical release of the hopping chorus.

The song is well suited to group settings precisely because it manages energy: the sleeping verse requires children to be quiet and still, building anticipation, before the chorus gives them permission to move as energetically as they like. Teachers and nursery workers have used it for many years as a way of structuring movement sessions.

The bunnies on the hill, sleeping "till it's nearly new" — nearly morning — creates a gentle, story-like context for the game. The merry tune that wakes them is, of course, the song itself: the children are the ones doing the waking, and the bunnies are themselves.

Our recording captures the energy of the hop and the quiet of the sleep.