Dark nursery rhymes

[heavens-champion 1,907]

Have you noticed that a lot of old nursery rhymes are dark and gruesome?

[Photon Jet 5,497]

You're not the only one. I dunno why they made these rhymes for kids very dark. Especially the 'Ring Around the Roses' one.

[Rising Dusk 28,897]

Old nursery rhymes come from a different time and usually served one of two purposes.

First, they were used as a scare tactic for small children that focused on using fear to teach them to be moral and listen to adults, or else.  Of course you couldn't just say that to a child, but make it a rhyme or song and they tend to learn it better.  They didn't have the same mentality we do today of being nice and more positive when raising children.

The second, is just the times they were created in.  In those eras, saying something directly negative about one's ruler was a big no no.  And they didn't quite have the internet to be hidden while giving their opinions.  So they sang instead about their discontent, hiding it in rhymes.  Giving it a more positive tone for the kids, while serving as a taunt to rulers.  When a group of children are spinning around singing a song they think to be positive, but then all fall down 'dead' from the plague, it sends the ruler a very clear message.

[Lucky Bolt 35,246]

The one where the baby falls from the tree, cradle and all (I forgot how the whole thing goes) is pretty dark. 

I know there's others but this is the one I know best. 

Edited April 13, 2018 by Lucky Bolt

[Will Guide 21,372]

3 minutes ago, Lucky Bolt said:

The one where the baby falls from the tree, cradle and all (I forgot how the whole thing goes) is pretty dark. 

I know there's others but this is the one I know best. 

Rock-a-bye Baby in the Treetops/

when the wind blows the cradle will rock/

when the bough breaks the cradle will fall/

then down will come baby cradle and all"

There you go.

[Lucky Bolt 35,246]

6 minutes ago, SwitchGuy2018 said:

Rock-a-bye Baby in the Treetops/

when the wind blows the cradle will rock/

when the bough breaks the cradle will fall/

then down will come baby cradle and all"

There you go.

Ah thank you. 

But yeah, my grandma used to sing this to me when I was little, and I would always picture a baby falling from a tree. Which is kinda creepy. 

[Will Guide 21,372]

The only murder mystery I've ever read was Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". It featured a murderer killing 10 people including himself/herself in a mansion on a secluded island  according to a dark nursery rhyme. The original nursery rhyme title was offensive so it was changed to "10 Little Sailor Boys":

Ten little soldier boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were Nine.

Nine little soldier boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were Eight.

Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there and then there were Seven.

Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were Six.

Six little soldier boys playing with a hive;
A bumble bee stung one and then there were Five.

Five little soldier boys going in for law;
One got in for Chancery and then there were Four.

Four little soldier boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were Three.

Three little soldier boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were Two.

Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun[1];
One got frizzled up and then there was One.

One little soldier boy left all alone;
He went out and hanged himself

And then there were None.

Edited April 13, 2018 by SwitchGuy2018

[Stone Cold Steve Jobs 22,507]

If I recall, Ring Around the Rosie was allegedly about the Black Death. 

Ring around the rosie was a description of a symptom,

Pockets full of posies were used to mask the stench of death, illness, and otherwise poor hygiene.

ashes were for some believing fire would protect them from the disease, cremations, and other pseudoscientific uses of ash.

we all fall down- plague victims adopted a phrase something like "Well at breakfast, ill at lunch, dead at dinner" in regards to the illness.

Modern researchers believe that this rhyme came about seperate of the plague, but nobody is in total agreement about it.

 

The bubonic plague still exists today, by the way. Currently we have the ability to cure it, provided it is caught early enough. Good hygiene is also a major player in keeping it at bay. If it were to become resistant to antibiotics, however...

Edited April 17, 2018 by Stone Cold Steve Tuna