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From ZeroWiki

In the mountains of the Mutsu region, there is an old lullaby that was passed on to certain villages.

"The Sleeping Priestess: Verse One"
Sleep, child, Go to sleep.
Sleep, child, Go to sleep.
If you cry, the boat you ride
The boat to the other side
Once you get there
The bib you shall wear
And you will be punished
Should you fail to lie still

Within the same mountain chain, the song "The Sleeping Priestess" was only transmitted to a certain number of villages.

The dissemination is thought to be dependent on elements such as the village's roads and location.

As the usage of the word "Priestess" implies, this song is thought to have its origins in indigenous folk rites, given it's method of transmission.

As for the lyrics themselves, the opening line "Sleep, child, Go to sleep" calls the child to go to sleep.

The next part, "If you cry, the boat you'll ride, The boat to the other side" uses words like "boat" and "the other side", which is suggestive of banishment.

It can be taken as a stanza of a "threatening song" which is to frighten the child into sleep.

"The bib you shall wear" can be understood to depict, "you will be dressed up to go."

After "Should you fail to lie still" the inclusion of the frightening words "you will be punished" impresses admonition upon the child.

Perhaps as the once ceremonial song changed into a lullaby, it metamorphosed into the "threatening song" so common in the Mutsu area.

"The Sleeping Priestess: Verse Two"
Sleep, child, Go to sleep
Sleep, child, Go to sleep
If you should wake
From your slumber at night
Great wooden stakes
Shall pin you down tight
Lest the doors open wide
And the others that sleep wake too

The second verse develops in a very similar way and makes use of the same elements.

"If you should wake" threatens that "if the priestess should wake during the ceremony (in the lullaby, this means sleep)" the woken priestess, or child, will have her limbs pinned by stakes. These "great wooden stakes" may be a remnant of a religious phrase.

At the last part, "Lest the doors open wide / And the others that sleep wake too," there is a shift from a familiar story centering on the priestess (child) to an uneasy end, both vague and large in scale. It is thought that this expresses religious fear, such as the dread of the underworld.