Your Favorite Country Songs as Lullabies

Garth Brooks' high-octane live shows have never been known to put a fan to sleep. But these renditions of Brooks' hits have been reworked for the nursery crowd, trading pop-country riffs for sleep-inducing arrangements on acoustic and pedal steel guitar. You'll do a celebratory two-step thanks to the soothing powers of the songs, from favorites like "The Dance" to "Friends in Low Places."

After clocking in a hard 9 to 5 workday, you might be ready to channel a little Dolly Parton-style sass. With or without Parton's signature bravado, you can lull your little one to sleep with the country icon's folksy ballads, from "Here You Come Again" to "Love Is Like a Butterfly," remixed with soft instrumentals and sprinkled with dreamy undertones of celesta, glockenspiel, and xylophone.

Your little rascal will love falling asleep to the quiet takes of Rascal Flatts' hit songs, such as "These Days," "Mayberry," and their popular cover of Tom Cochrane's "Life Is a Highway." Though the pop-country trio is famous for pyrotechnic-heavy performances that rock large arenas, these sweet renditions are intended to only rock the cradle.

American Idol singer Carrie Underwood will be your naptime idol thanks to these versions of her country hits. Lull your little one asleep to "Jesus Take the Wheel," "Before He Cheats," "So Small," "All-American Girl," and more.

Who better to rein in a fitful naptime than the King of Country? In this album, living legend George Strait's classics are revamped as honky-tonk lullabies. You and Baby are sure to love these country-western tunes turned into baby ballads: "Baby Blue," "I Saw God Today," "Carrying Your Love with Me," and "Amarillo by Morning."

For all those parenting moments when you feel like you're walking the line between sanity and otherwise, let the Man in Black saunter to the rescue. Johnny Cash's deep bass-baritone gets recast with tinkling tones, trading his tortured "Folsom Prison Blues" for pleasant nursery melodies. By the time the last song, "Cry, Cry, Cry," spins, your baby will be fast asleep -- without a tear in sight.

Nashville meets napville with Patsy Cline's hits reimagined as soft lullabies, with the country icon's booming contralto swapped for xylophone and banjo. Grand Ole Opry classics, such as "Walkin' After Midnight," "Sweet Dreams," "I Fall to Pieces," and "He Called Me Baby," are sure to inspire sweet sleep.

Like country star Vince Gill's hit, "Loving You Makes Me a Better Man," loving lullaby renditions of his songs might make you feel like a better parent! Or at the very least, this album will probably make you a happier one, watching your baby fall asleep smiling to cradle-friendly versions of "I Still Believe in You," "Feels Like Love," "When I Call Your Name," and more.

Troublemakers-in-training will relate to Willie Nelson, the original icon of the outlaw country movement. Here, some of the nonconformist's most popular songs are turned into twangy cradle fare, from "Whiskey River" to "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain." (Be sure to heed Nelson's parenting advice on the CD's first track: "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.")

Copyright © 2010 Meredith Corporation.

Looking for more baby-friendly, parent-approved lullaby tunes? Be sure to check out these classics, both old and new!