Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

thumb|[[World War I poster of the United States]]

Now I lay me down to sleep is a Christian children's bedtime prayer from the 18th century.

Text

Perhaps the earliest version was written by George Wheler in his 1698 book The Protestant Monastery, which reads:

Upon lying down, and going to sleep.

<poem>

Here I lay me down to sleep.

To thee, O Lord, I give my Soul to keep,

Wake I ever, Or, Wake I never;

To thee O Lord, I give my Soul to keep for ever.

</poem></blockquote>

A later version printed in The New England Primer goes:

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my Soul to keep[;]

If I should die before I 'wake,

I pray the Lord my Soul to take.

</poem></blockquote>

Grace Bridges, 1932:

<poem>

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray my lord my soul to keep,

In the morn when I awake

Please teach me the path of life to take.

</poem></blockquote>

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

His Love to guard me through the night,

And wake me in the morning's light amen.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,

Bless the bed that I lie on.

Four corners to my bed,

Four angels round my head;

One to watch and one to pray

And two to bear my soul away.

</poem></blockquote>

Sometimes the prayer ends with, “and this I ask for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

In Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street, the film's protagonist, Nancy Thompson, recites the prayer before entering the dream world to confront Freddy Krueger.
American heavy metal band Metallica uses the whole prayer in their hit song "Enter Sandman" from their 1991 album Metallica.
American heavy metal band Megadeth uses the whole prayer in their song "Go to hell" from their 1995 compilation Hidden Treasures.
Art Garfunkel performed the song live during his 2016–2020 In Close-Up tour as the encore song.
Belgian hardcore DJ DRS uses this prayer in the introduction of his Thunderdome set in 2022.
Rapper JPEGMafia uses lines from this prayer in the chorus of his song "the 27 club" from his 2016 album Black Ben Carson.

The Finnish gothic rock group HIM incorporates a modified version of the prayer in their song from 2003, Buried Alive by Love.
Rapper JID takes from the first two lines and incorporates them into the first verse of "Kody Blu 31" from his 2022 album The Forever Story.
Singer Halsey uses The New England Primer version of the prayer in the intro portion of their 2019 single "Nightmare".
Singer Kid Cudi uses part of The New England Primer version in his A Kid Named Cudi album song "The Prayer".
XXXTentacion incorporates a modified version of the first two lines of this prayer in the closer of his ? album, "Before I Close My Eyes".
Canadian singer the Weeknd references this prayer in his song "Big Sleep" from his 2025 album Hurry Up Tomorrow, where featured artist Giorgio Moroder recites the lines "Now I lay me down to sleep, pray the Lord my soul to keep, angels watch me through the night, wake me up with light" in the second verse.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar includes two modified lines of the prayer to his song "Alien Girl (Today W/ Her)" from his 2010 mixtape, "O(verly) D(edicated)".
Rapper Snoop Dogg uses The New England Primer version in the bridge after the second verse of his song "Murder Was The Case" from his 1993 album Doggystyle.

</references>