People are shocked after discovering dark meaning behind nursery rhyme every child sings

[Social Media]

 

Do you know this one ?

 

People are just now discovering the true meaning behind a classic childhood nursery rhyme and it's darker than anyone could have thought.

 

'It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring.

'He went to bed and bumped his head and couldn't get up in the morning.'

 

But do you know what it means? Viewers were mind-blown that it's not actually about the weather.

 

'Surprisingly this rhyme has nothing to do with the weather at all.

'In actual fact, the old man liked a good drink and 'it's raining and pouring' refers to the alcoholic drinks being poured very liberally like it's raining cocktails and shots.'

'That's right, the old man was drunk, very drunk,' she continued.

'Anyway, after drinking so much that he couldn't stay awake, he started nodding off and snoring so he decided it's time to sleep it off.

'But, by this point he was so inebriated, he probably couldn't even walk in a straight line.

'So, when he went to bed, he stumbled, fell, or otherwise drunkenly bumped his head.

'And that must have been some bump because he couldn't get up in the morning, because well... he was dead.'

 

FULL STORY

 

[HappyExpat57]

"Ring Around the Rosie" was about the bubonic plague.

 

Three blind mice, three blind mice
See how they run, see how they run
They all ran after the farmer's wife
She cut off their tails with a carving knife
Did you ever see such a sight in your life as three blind mice?

 

I could go on but you get the picture.

[BritManToo]

21 minutes ago, Social Media said:

'Surprisingly this rhyme has nothing to do with the weather at all.

'In actual fact, the old man liked a good drink and 'it's raining and pouring' refers to the alcoholic drinks being poured very liberally like it's raining cocktails and shots.'

I don't think they had cocktails or shots back in those days.

[Crossy]

A couple of posts removed.

 

Do I really (really) need to say why??

[thaibeachlovers]

People are shocked after discovering dark meaning behind nursery rhyme every child sings

 

LOL. Only ignorant people would be "shocked". Most if not all "nursery rhymes" have a darker meaning and were IMO created when openly mocking one's "superiors" would lead to a very unpleasant end. Over time they have become children's rhymes.

I knew that decades ago.

[JeffersLos]

Thank you very much for such an insight into the meaning of children's English nursey rhymes, AN.

 

Just what adult English speakers in ASEAN are interested in. I don't think anybody guessed that an old man going to bed, bumping his head, and being unable to get up in the morning meant that he had passed away. 

[Neeranam]

2 minutes ago, JeffersLos said:

Thank you very much for such an insight into the meaning of children's English nursey rhymes, AN.

 

Just what adult English speakers in ASEAN are interested in. I don't think anybody guessed that an old man going to bed, bumping his head, and being unable to get up in the morning meant that he had passed away. 

Indeed 

[Lucky Bones]

My Old Man, RIP,  told me that this was about excessive mead drinking while the shepherd took care of the flock during winter. Sounds possible?????????

[bbko]

I still remember hearing about what some thought of the  "Puff the magic Dragon" song from Peter, Paul & Mary.

 

• Puff – Taking a puff on a joint.
• Jackie Paper – Paper would describe rolling papers needed to roll joints.
• By The Sea – It was reworded to “by the C,” with the “C” for cannabis.
• Mist – Standing for smoke, but also mist covering everything could reference hotboxing.
• Honalee – Less obvious, but could have stood for “Hashish.”
• Dragon – Referencing “draggin’” on a joint/pipe and inhaling smoke. Also, dragons breathe fire, referencing the burning of the weed.

 

[wwest5829]

21 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

"Ring Around the Rosie" was about the bubonic plague.

 

Three blind mice, three blind mice
See how they run, see how they run
They all ran after the farmer's wife
She cut off their tails with a carving knife
Did you ever see such a sight in your life as three blind mice?

 

I could go on but you get the picture.

Thanks. Many dark events in history of the rhymes. Some not so dark … NPR did a program on the real meaning of nursery rhymes if anyone is interested in a goggle search.

[Drumbuie]

Further reading for anybody actually interested in the topic ( as opposed to a Daily Mail intern 'journalist' desperate for clicks to avoid getting sacked) :- 

Iona & Peter Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes

 

 

[billd766]

Anybody can find offense in anything if they want.

 

It doesn't mean that it is true or offensive to the majority of people, just to those who think

[klauskunkel]

How about this:

 

It's raining, it's pouring, the old woman is snoring.

'She went to bed and bumped her head and couldn't get up in the morning.'

 

In the spirit of equality and all that...

[BritManToo]

27 minutes ago, Drumbuie said:

Further reading for anybody actually interested in the topic ( as opposed to a Daily Mail intern 'journalist' desperate for clicks to avoid getting sacked) :- 

Iona & Peter Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes

 

 

 

Published 1955 ...........

https://zlibrary-asia.se/book/25205087/af05ce

 

Sadly written by academics and consequently almost completely incomprehensible.

[educ8me]

And her authority/credentials to speak on this topic are ?? Don't be too quick to believe this unless she has some evidence in hand.

[Paul Catton]

Humpty Dumpty.

The Grand Old Duke of York.

Sing a song of sixpence.

And even Mary, Mary Quite contrary seems to have a dark past.

 

They were satirical, subversive folk songs about historical events or the despised conduct of leaders. Behind these, lie darker tales of cowardice, greed, immorality, cruelty, religious persecution, execution, sickness, and death.

 

 

 

 

[Dionigi]

I find it quite amazing that people with nothing to do can make up rubbish about things and tout them as being true. Why do they have to mean anything, can't they just be nonsense rhymes like Edward Lear's rhymes. Perhaps in a few years time stories will be made up about Eskimo Nell.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet.......☺️

 

[VocalNeal]

Whether or not children understand them, nursery rhymes are meant to teach children something???? 

[billd766]

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

Anybody can find offense in anything if they want.

 

It doesn't mean that it is true or offensive to the majority of people, just to those who think

Sorry about that. Fie dap 2 days in a row and it it ran my UPS flat again.

 

Anybody can find offense in anything if they want.

It doesn't mean that it is true or offensive to the majority of people, just to those who think it is is.

 

AFAIAC they are more than welcome to their opinion.

 

What really annoys me is that they seem to want to shove their opinion over everybody else's.

 

If you want to have a different opinion, then you can do so, but please respect my opinion also.

[digger70]

On 8/9/2023 at 3:50 PM, Social Media said:

It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring.

'He went to bed and bumped his head and couldn't get up in the morning.'

Your making this up, there's nothing in there that identified a different meaning.

Stop seeing bad things in innocent rhymes.  Grow up

[mrwebb8825]

4 hours ago, Dionigi said:

I find it quite amazing that people with nothing to do can make up rubbish about things and tout them as being true.

Then you've obviously joined the wrong forum. ????

[transam]

Dare I mention Captain Pugwash & his crew names................????.........????

 

[swerve]

Lyrics (as I recall) from a Dice Clay nursery rhyme:

 

Old Mother Hubbard

Went to the cupboard

To get her poor dog a bone.

When she bent over

Rover took over

And now she's got a bone of her own.

[transam]

11 minutes ago, transam said:

Dare I mention Captain Pugwash & his crew names................????.........????

 

Someone's confused.............????

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, swerve said:

Lyrics (as I recall) from a Dice Clay nursery rhyme:

 

Old Mother Hubbard

Went to the cupboard

To get her poor dog a bone.

When she bent over

Rover took over

And now she's got a bone of her own.

We rhymed about a ‘young lady from Ealing’….. before our nursery teacher was fired !!!! ????

[thaibeachlovers]

20 hours ago, bbko said:

I still remember hearing about what some thought of the  "Puff the magic Dragon" song from Peter, Paul & Mary.

 

• Puff – Taking a puff on a joint.
• Jackie Paper – Paper would describe rolling papers needed to roll joints.
• By The Sea – It was reworded to “by the C,” with the “C” for cannabis.
• Mist – Standing for smoke, but also mist covering everything could reference hotboxing.
• Honalee – Less obvious, but could have stood for “Hashish.”
• Dragon – Referencing “draggin’” on a joint/pipe and inhaling smoke. Also, dragons breathe fire, referencing the burning of the weed.

 

Some are idiots.

Whatever the failings of that group it wasn't illegal drug use.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, digger70 said:

Your making this up, there's nothing in there that identified a different meaning.

Stop seeing bad things in innocent rhymes.  Grow up

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary,_Mary,_Quite_Contrary

 

Mary has also been identified with Mary I of England ("Bloody Mary"; 1516–1558), with "How does your garden grow?" said to refer to her lack of heirs, or to the common idea that England had become a Catholic vassal or "branch" of Spain and the Habsburgs. It is also said to be a punning reference to her chief minister, Stephen Gardiner. "Quite contrary" is said to be a reference to her unsuccessful attempt to reverse ecclesiastical changes effected by her father Henry VIII and her brother Edward VI. The "pretty maids all in a row" is speculated to be a reference to miscarriages, her execution of Lady Jane Grey, or alternately to her executions of the Protestants