Duerme Negrito is a popular Latin American lullaby, originally from an area near the Venezuelan and Colombian border. The song was compiled by folk singer Atahualpa Yupanqui when visiting this region and popularised by himself and other musicians, including Mercedes Sosa, who sings our version. The song tells the story of a slave who leaves her child in the care of a friend or neighbour while she goes out to work in the fields. It is sung to the child who has been left under her care. The carer tells the child to fall asleep because his mother is working in the fields. She promises that the child's mother will bring him treats if he falls asleep. The carer tells the boy that, if he doesn't fall asleep, the white devil, meaning the slave driver, will come to eat his little feet. His mother continues to work, coughing (we assume she has tuberculosis). Nothing like a happy story and threats of mutilation to send your child off to sleep. In South America, negrito or n...