Why are nursery rhymes so morbid?

What is the nastiest nursery rhyme in the world?

RING AROUND THE ROSIE // 1881

But of all the alleged nursery rhyme backstories, “Ring Around the Rosie” is probably the most infamous. Though its lyrics and even its title have gone through some changes over the years, the most popular contention is that the sing-songy verse refers to the 1665 Great Plague of London.

What is the scariest nursery rhyme?

“It’s Raining, It’s Pouring

The old man is snoring. He bumped his head on the top of the bed, And couldn’t get up in the morning. Much like “Rock-a-bye Baby,” this song is actually really dark when you think about it.

Why are children’s songs so dark?

If you’ve got kids, you’ve probably wondered at some point why so many of their favorite bedtime lullaby have dark undertones. … Essentially this means that any song could serve as a lullaby – to be soothing the singer simply has to adjust the pace and rhythm at which the song is sung.

Why is Baa Baa Black Sheep offensive?

Baa, baa, black sheep, Have you any wool? Schools had been told that the old rhyme was negative and could cause offence. … “The history behind the rhyme is very negative and also very offensive to black people, due to the fact that the rhyme originates from slavery.

Why is Humpty Dumpty banned?

The BBC insisted the nursery rhyme was not modified due to its target audience and said it had only been changed for ‘creative’ purposes. But Tom Harris, the Labour MP for Glasgow South, called the alteration ‘ridiculous’. ‘Kids should be exposed to real life a bit, not cosseted away,’ he said.

What is the meaning behind Hickory Dickory Dock?

Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock, The clock struck one, And down he run, … Other written accounts of the rhyme from the nineteenth century suggest that children used ‘Hickory, dickory, dock’ as a way of deciding which of them would start a game: it was a way of selecting who was to go first.

What is the origin of Mary Mary Quite Contrary?

The tragic Mary Queen of Scots is commonly accepted as the heroine of the rhyme, “Mary, Mary quite contrary”. … Mary was a devout Catholic and upon taking the throne on the death of her brother Edward VI, restored the Catholic faith to England, hence ‘Mary Mary quite contrary’.

What is a creepy rhyme?

cheapie, cheapy, creepie, fpi ppi, heapy, pdi p, pee pee, py py, pÍ pÁ, quipe, rdi p, seepy, sheepy, sleepy, steepy, sweepy, tee pee, tripi, t pee, weepie, weepy. 3 syllables: canipe, courtepy, downsteepy, euripi, gariepy, oedipe, pewdiepie, phillippi, principe, sergipe, synepy.


What happens to the weasel in Pop Goes the Weasel?

That’s the way the money goes, Pop goes the weasel. To “pop” is a London slang word for pawn. … Even a very poor Victorian Londoner would have had a Sunday best coat or suit that could be pawned when times got hard (Pop goes the weasel), perhaps on cold and damp Monday morning, only to be retrieved on pay day.

What was Little Jack Horner eating in the corner?

(Reading) `Little Jack Horner sat in a corner eating his Christmas pie. He stuck in a thumb and pulled out a plum and said, “What a good boy am I.”‘ … Now the title deeds were held and sealed in a pie, and Jack’s off to London.

What did Mother Hubbard go to the cupboard for?

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard, To fetch her poor dog a bone. But when she got there the cupboard was bare, … To fetch her poor dog a bone.

Have you any wool meaning?

Have you any wool? This classic nursery rhyme has attracted recent controversy as it was believed to be politically incorrect, but most scholars agree that it has little to do with the slave trade. The most common conclusion is that it’s actually about the Great Custom, which was a tax on wool in the 13th century.