As children, we loved a catchy nursery rhyme. Whether it was a short and sweet song to chant with our friends or something our mothers sang to us to lull us to sleep, it made us happy. I would say that our favourite nursery rhymes played a happy role in our childhood. Well, buckle up and cling to your childhood as tightly as you can, because I am here to ruin that happy role your favourite nursery rhymes played. Have you ever wondered what the possible origins behind your favourite nursery rhymes are? All the classics? If you want to know, then please enjoy this morbid list that I have compiled just for you!
1. Ring Around the Rosie
Ring around the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall down…
Oh boy, we’re starting heavy. This particular nursery rhyme was one that we all loved as children. We would stand in a circle among our friends, hold each other’s hands, skip around in the circle, then fall to our knees by the end of the song, as stated in the last line of the rhyme. How fun was it to spin and skip in a circle with a group of your friends and then to promptly fall down? Well, what if I were to tell you that this nursery rhyme was about the plague? Yes, you read that right. The plague, also known as the Black Death, was a deadly disease that spread throughout Europe and killed a third of the population. The “ring around the rosie” refers to the red circles that would develop on the skin of someone with the plague. The “pocket full of posies” refers to the flowers people would carry in their pockets as a means of warding off bad smells, which was how people believed the plague spread. “Ashes, ashes, we all fall down…” I’m sure this last bit is pretty self-explanatory. So when you fall down with your friends at the end of the song, you’re acting as corpses reducing to ashes and, well, falling down.
2. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
Here we go round the mulberry bush
On a cold and frosty morning…
What a sweet image: a group of people circling an innocent mulberry bush and performing the actions in the rhyme like washing their faces. It seems like a fun way to teach children how to wash up. Well, I’m here to tell you that this may not be the case. In fact, it’s more depressing than that. This seemingly fun and cute nursery rhyme may actually be associated with female Victorian prisoners exercising in a yard in a prison in England. They had to endure hard labour within this prison. Apparently, a mulberry bush grew in the middle of the prison yard, and the women would dance around it with their children while singing the song.
3. London Bridge is Falling Down
London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down,
Falling down,
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady…
Do you remember not only singing this rhyme, but also acting it out? You would have a group of your friends, two of whom are holding each other’s hands and raising them above their heads. Each of your friends would duck under their extended arms in a line while singing the song. By the time the song reached the end, your two friends would swiftly lower their arms around whoever was unable to duck underneath them in time and ultimately trap them. It almost seems like a different rendition of Duck Duck Goose, right? Boy, do I have some news for you! Please pay close attention to the lyrics. There are a lot of possible origins for this song, but this is the one I’m going with. Back in 1281, the London Bridge endured ice damage and was also weakened by several fires in the 1600s, including the Great Fire of London in 1666. However, the bridge did survive for 600 years. Why is that? Well, there’s a theory that the bridge maintained its survival for so long because there were dead bodies encased in its moorings. So when you look back at the lyrics while also playing the game that comes with it, the arms trapping the child is a suggestion of the bridge falling over a dead body. I played this as a kid! I was one of the victims of London Bridge! God help me.
4. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockleshells,
And pretty maids all in a row…
Aw, how pretty does that sound? Silver bells, gardens, beautiful maids, and a girl named Mary. Well, let me ask you something: have you ever heard of a certain Mary I, who was a British queen and a devout Catholic in the 16th century? To those of you who said yes, did you know that she had another name? Most of you might recognize this name – Bloody Mary. She was renowned for torturing Protestants, the silver bells being a nickname for thumbscrews and the cockleshells acting as torture devices. The pretty maids in a row, as stated in the rhyme, may refer to people lining up for execution. The question of “how does your garden grow?” may be in mockery towards Mary for failure to produce an heir to the throne. Not so pretty now, is it?
Have I ruined your childhood? Well, I’m sorry to say this, but there are plenty more nursery rhymes with morbid origins. If you’re curious, feel free to search them up! Or else I may just compile another list and destroy more cherished childhood memories.
Sources:
https://medium.com/weird-history/ring-around-the-rosie-a-song-for-the-plague-4647a45b01b1
https://allthatsinteresting.com/london-bridge-is-falling-down