Those old nursery rhymes are a horrid bunch, now aren’t they? What the heck were are parents thinking when they read these things to us just before bedtime? It is no wonder that half my friends are afraid of snakes, spiders, heights, flying… and of COURSE… curds and whey.
Yes. Those old nursery rhymes have hidden meanings. Hidden, dark, creepy meanings.
Just a few tonight…. lest I’ll scare myself half-awake.
Of course, Ring Around The Rosey is the most well-known horrible and depressing children’s tale. This rhyme dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665. Yep. The good old plague.
The symptoms of bubonic plague included a rosy red ring-shaped rash, which inspired the first line. People back then would carry around pockets full of fresh herbs, or “posies” …. because the dying didn’t smell so good. And then, the inevitable…… the “ashes, ashes” line is believed to refer to the cremation of the bodies of those who died from the plague.
Great thing to read your kid before they doze off for the night. Sleep tight Johnny.
And what about Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary. You know the one. With the cockleshells and all. It turns out…. this rhyme is a reference to Bloody Mary. The garden refers to growing cemeteries, as she filled them with religious opponents (in the ongoing war between Catholics and Protestants). Silver bells and cockle shells were instruments of torture….. and the maiden was a device used to behead people.
Most of them… from Little Bo Peep… to Rock-A-Bye Baby…. have a dark, and doleful side.
But what about Jack be nimble. Hey dude… be quick. Jump the heck over the candle stick? How could that be bad?
Turns out… Jack was a murderous pirate… fleeing authorities.
Boom. Boom. Out go the lights.
So there you have it. The next time you go dancing around a Mulberry Bush… remember it was punishment for women prisoners at England’s Wakefield Prison…. for nearly 420 years.
Sweet Dreams child. Sweet Dreams.
Most of the shadows of life are caused by standing in our own sunshine. — Ralph Waldo Emerson