In relation to the proportions of his total oeuvre, Mussorgsky wrote more lullabies than any other composer in the history of art music. He also wrote the saddest, most despairing, most hopeless lullabies in the history of art music. The second of the sad lullabies was Yeremusha's Lullaby, also known as Eriomushka's Cradle Song. Composed on March 16, 1868, and setting a text by Nikolai Nekrasov, the lullaby is a peasant mother's bitterly ironic lament over the extremely limited possibilities open to her daughter in czarist Russia. Commonly agreed to be one of Mussorgsky's best songs, Yeremusha's Lullaby is predominantly lyrical, harmonically ambiguous, and emotionally heartrending.

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