Day 5: Nursery Rhymes
Every time people talk about dark nursery rhymes, ring-a-ring-o'-roses comes up. Some people say this is about the plague, documenting what a victim would go through. The ring of roses describes the rash, a pocketful of posies is in reference to the flowers that were used to mask the sell of sickness and also used to combat the miasmas people believed could cause illness. Atishoo is referencing sneezing, another symptom and the falling down is, of course, death. It wasn't until after the second world war this theory was put forward though. There is dispute now over whether or not it is based on the plague. There is a suggestion that originally, 'Rosie' was the girl in the middle of the circle who as danced around. There are also several different versions of the rhyme. It may be about the plague, it may not. It is not the only nursery rhyme that has a potentially dark history.
Baa Baa Black Sheep
Baa baa black sheep have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir three bags full
One for the master, one for the dame
And one for the little boy who lives down the lane
Overly sensitive people have objected to this in recent years saying that the black sheep calling someone master is a reference to slavery. I don't see it at all and I am not singing baa baa rainbow sheep. For goodness sake there are black sheep and we learnt baa baa white sheep at school too. What is actually dark about it is both the subject matter and the original last line.
Baa baa black sheep is about a tax on wool that came into effect in 1275. Originally the sheep has one bag for the master, one for the dame and none for the little boy who cries down the lane. While the gentry, master and dame, could afford the tax, the poor could not.
Goosey Goosey Gander
Goosey Goosey gander,
Wither shall I wander
Upstairs and downstairs and in my lady's chamber
There I met an old man who would not say his prayers
So I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs
This sounds pretty dark without the explanation. It is, as you might guess, about religious persecution. From 1559-1791, Catholicism was illegal in England (Henry VIII having founded the Church of England in 1534). Catholic priests, who said their prayers in Latin rather than English, were hunted and executed. Often, they hid in 'priest-holes', usually in the homes of sympathetic citizens. The wandering in the rhyme is searching for the priest and the priest hole in which he is hiding. When he refuses to say his prayers in English he is punished.
Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
Mary, Mary quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row
At first glance this doesn't seen dark at all. However, the original version of the rhyme didn't say 'garden' it said 'graveyard'. This rhyme is about Mary I of England, also known as 'Bloody Mary'. In her five year reign, Mary executed nearly 300 protestants for refusing to convert to Catholicism. The 'silver bells' in the rhyme are thumbscrews, a torture device used to crush the thumb. The 'cockle shells' are believed to refer to a torture device that was attached to the genitals. Though Mary is famous for burning Protestants at the stake, the 'pretty maids' refer to the guillotine.
The guillotine is probably best known for being the method of execution in France, especially during the French Revolution. It was invented because beheading people with an axe wasn't easy, it could take more than one blow. People also were known to resist, one woman was chased round the scaffold by the executioner and had to be hacked at. The guillotine, called the Maiden, was a much easier way of beheading people. Rather a chilling rhyme when you know what it's actually about.
Three Blind Mice
Three blind mice, three blind mice
See how they run, see how they run
They all ran after the farmers wife
Who cut off their tails with a carving knife
Did you ever see such a thing in your life
As three blind mice
As a child I found this a little dark. I always felt sorry for the mice having their tails cut off. This is yet another reference to something that happened during the reign of Mary I. The three blind mice are Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Radley and Thomas Cranmer, The Archbishop of Canterbury. All three were Protestant bishops who plotted to overthrow the Queen and burn her at the stake for heresy. Of course they were unsuccessful. Although it's not 100% clear, it is believed the blindness refers to their religious beliefs.
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo
Eeeny, meeny, miny, mo
Catch a tiger by the toe
If it squeals, let it go
Eeny, meeny, miny, mo
A rhyme that's used a lot, there isn't really anything dark about it, at least these days. The word 'tiger' is a relatively new development. It used to be the n-word. For those who don't know, the n-word is a derogatory way to refer to a black person. It is not the only rhyme with a racist origin.
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
We also wash our faces, brush our teeth and I'm pretty sure a few other things I've forgotten about. A popular children's rhyme and game when I was at primary school. It actually is a reference to female inmates at England's Wakefield Prison. The women would be exercised in a yard in which there was a mulberry tree. On some level I wish I had known that. Imagine walking away from that game, especially in PE and being able to tell my friends we were imitating prisoners. Since I do have a memory of doing it in PE, makes my school days sound pretty dark.
Rock-a-bye Baby
Rock-a-bye baby on the treetop
When the wind blows the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall
And down will come baby cradle and all
Poor baby right? That's what I thought when I heard this rhyme as a child. A dark rhyme in of itself, it is actually about child abduction. There are many that think that the son of James II of England and his wife, Mary of Modena, died at birth. Needing an heir to the throne, their baby was smuggled out and switched with the baby of a commoner. Whether the parents of the child were aware or not is unknown. Simply the dead child was exchanged for a live one.
Lucy Locket
Lucy Locket lost her pocket
Kitty Fisher found it
Not a penny as there in it
Only ribbon round it
Lucy Locket and Kitty Fisher were actually real people. Both worked as prostitutes. One of Lucy's clients was dropped by her when his funds ran low. After this he and Kitty Fisher became lovers. The ribbon is a jibe at Lucy. Prostitutes at the time kept their money tied to their thigh or waist with a ribbon. Kitty got the man, and any money he had in the future.
Orange and Lemons
Oranges and lemons
Sing the bells of St Clements
You owe me five farthings
Sing the bells of St Martins
When will you pay me?
Sing the bells at Old Bailey
When I grow rich
Sing the bells at Shoreditch
When will that be?
Sing the bells at Stepney
I do not know
Sings the great bell at Bow
Here comes a candle to light you to bed
And here comes a chopper to chop of your head
Chip, chop, chip, chop
The last man is dead
A cheerful one played as a game, with the last person being caught and being 'out'. There are variations. The actually locations of the bells is significant. this is the route prisoners would walk through London from the docks to the place of execution. They would here the bells as they went past and, at the end, would be executed. "Here comes a chopper to chop off your head"
There are nursery rhymes that sound dark, they are nursery rhymes that sound innocent. Even the ones with not very dark origins, still have origins you might not guess. After all, Old Mother Hubbard is about Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who fell out with King Henry VIII when his annulment from Catherine of Aragon was refused. Humpty Dumpty is about a cannon. Jack and Jill are about an amorous couple. Georgie Porgie is about George VI and his lustful ways. Scratch the surface and many nursery rhymes have, if not dark, questionable source material. I invite you all to do some research on your favourites and find out what, exactly, you have been singing about. I shall leave you with a poem that is beautifully dark without any explanation. For some background, this poem started off as ten little n-words by Frank Green and other versions are ten little Indians, often spelt injuns. due to the racist wording of these poems, it has been changed.
Ten Little Soldier Boys/And Then There Were None
Ten little soldier boys went out to dine
One choked his little self, then there were nine
Nine little soldier boys staying up late
One overslept himself, then there were eight
Eight little soldier boy going down to Devon
One said he'd stay there, then there were seven
Seven little soldier boys chopping up sticks
One chopped himself in half, then there were six
Six little soldier boys playing with a hive
A bumble bee stung one, then there were five
Five little soldier boys going in for law
One got in chancery, then there were four
Four little soldier boys going out to see
A red herring swallowed one, then there were three
Three little soldier boys going to the zoo
A big bear hugged one, then there were two
Two little soldier boys sitting in the sun
One got frazzled up, then there was one
One little soldier boy left all alone
He went and hanged himself and then there were none
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