Maybe I’m not remembering right... It’s been about 20 years since I’ve heard it...
What would be Good NIGHT? I know she didn’t say “Guden NACHT”... Could’ve been something her father and mother used to say though — that and Gesundheit is the only German she ever spoke around me (her parents were deceased). Could be it was a sentimental-type “slang” phrase or something...
We used to have a little “ritual” where we said about 10 different things to each other when she was tucking me in. It has occurred to me as I sit here now that I can’t remember about half of it any longer... Rather upsetting, really...
"Gute Nacht" is "Good night."
Cute little German lullaby (we know it as "Brahm's Lullaby") begins with "Guten Abend, gut' Nacht".
On the other hand, "Gute Nacht" can also mean the condemned man's "last goodnight". Used to great effect in Mahler's setting of "Der Tambourg'sell" ("The Drummer Boy").
You know, you could probably remember quite a bit more of the bedtime ritual if you say what you remember out loud to yourself before you go to bed. If your memory works anything like mine, you’ll probably sit up at 2 a.m. and think, “Oh, yeah! That’s how it went!”