The hidden meaning of Nursery Rhymes

 

I bet you didn’t know this one!!!

There are hidden meanings to nursery rhymes, and I ran into one of these while I was watching an episode of “CSI: NY”, and would you believe the first one that I found out about – it was a beautiful little rhyme about “Ring-a-ring-o roses”.

Consider this to be a citation from the great Wikipedia:

Ring a Ring o' Roses

Many have associated the poem with the Great Plague of London in 1665, or with earlier outbreaks of bubonic plague in England. Interpreters of the rhyme before World War II make no mention of this; by 1951, however, it seems to have become well established as an explanation for the form of the rhyme that had become standard in Britain. Peter and Iona Opie remark: ‘The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, posies of herbs were carried as protection, sneezing was a final fatal symptom , and "all fall down" was exactly what happened.’ Variations of the same theory allow it to be applied to the American version of the rhyme and to medieval plagues. In its various forms, the interpretation has entered into popular culture and has been used elsewhere to make oblique reference to the plague

Humpty Dumpty

According to an insert taken from the East Anglia Tourist Board in England, Humpty Dumpty was a powerful cannon used in the Siege of Colchester during the English Civil War. It was mounted on top of the St Mary's at the Wall Church in Colchester defending the city against siege in the summer of 1648. Although Colchester was a royalist stronghold, it was besieged by the Roundheads for 11 weeks before finally falling. The church tower was hit by enemy cannon fire and the top of the tower was blown off, sending "Humpty" tumbling to the ground. Naturally all the king's horses and all the king's men (royalist cavalry and infantry, respectively) tried to mend "him" but in vain. Other reports suggest Humpty Dumpty refers to a sniper nicknamed One-Eyed Thompson, who occupied the same church tower.
Visitors to Colchester can see the reconstructed Church tower as they reach the top of Balkerne Hill on the left hand side of the road. An extended version of the rhyme gives additional verses, including the following:
In Sixteen Hundred and Forty-Eight
When England suffered the pains of state
The Roundheads lay siege to Colchester town
Where the king's men still fought for the crown
There One-Eyed Thompson stood on the wall
A gunner of deadliest aim of all
From St. Mary's Tower his cannon he fired
Humpty-Dumpty was its name
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall...

 

Jack Be Nimble is a nursery rhyme. Suggestions about its origins are: it is related to a marriage ceremony; it celebrates the escapes of a pirate; or it is about a religious choice which could have led to burning at the stake.
Another tradition holds that the Jack be Nimble nursery rhyme refers to the Yellow Fever (also called the yellow jack fever), which was believed to be kept at bay by flames. Candles would be put at the bedsides of children to keep the fever away.
It is also suggested that "jumping over a candlestick" was a way of foretelling the future. If the candle stayed lit, good luck should follow, whereas if it went out, bad luck would follow.

 

Who killed Cock Robin?
I, said the Sparrow,
with my bow and arrow,
I killed Cock Robin.

The story has been connected with Robin Hood:
"The Death of Cock Robin is frequently taken as a Robin Hood analogue and the ready offers of help following this event, as described in the lyrics, reflect the high esteem that the legendary figure of Robin Hood was, and is, still held."
There is, however, no direct indication in the text of the rhyme to support this claim beyond the simple similarity of name. Also, in the later Robin Hood tales, Robin Hood is killed by a nun who betrays the outlaw and drains his blood.

 

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
In the 17th century,King Charles I tried to reform the taxes on liquid measures. He was blocked by Parliament, so subsequently ordered that the volume of a Jack (1/2 pint) be reduced, but the tax remained the same. This meant that he still received more tax, despite Parliament's veto. Hence "Jack fell down and broke his crown" (many pint glasses in the UK still have a line marking the 1/2 pint level with a crown above it) "and Jill came tumbling after". The reference to "Jill", (actually a "gill", or 1/4 pint) is an indication that the gill dropped in volume as a consequence. A variant of this is that liquids (specifically alcoholic beverages) were watered down, hence, "fetch a pail of water."

 

And this one link has a great audio piece that you should listen to:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4933345

 

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