Nursery and kindergarten school, ah those were the good times. When we sat around singing some rhymes we had no clue what they really meant and we didn’t care. There was no pressure of scoring or learning some random theorems. Everything was fun and play. But what if I told you, your entire time at nursery school was a lie? Everything you’ve been taught was a farce?!
The nursery times we sang had different origins and most of them were not appropriate for 3-4-year-old. These rhymes had a pretty shady history that our teachers never bothered telling us. What if I told you, your favorite rhymes were about murder, screw ups by historical figures or about royal politics? Most of these rhymes were derived from British historic influences and represent their story.
These nursery rhymes were more disturbing than innocuous. This is their origins.
#1. Humpty Dumpty
One theory states that this rhyme was actually a riddle. Another states that Humpty Dumpty was actually King Richard III of England. Humpty Dumpty also appears in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass.
#2. Mary Had A Little Lamb
This rhyme is actually based on a real life incident. A young girl had a lamb that followed her to school. And obviously, this caused a major scene and ended up as a poem.
#3. Baa Baa Black Sheep
In the early 13th century, King Edward I imposed a very heavy wool tax on the farmers. The wool was then distributed amongst Church, King and what was left was given to the cultivators. Some even say the rhyme was connected to the slave trade.
#4. Jack And Jill
Jack and Jill is probably the most controversial rhyme of all because there are many theories surrounding it and they are unfounded. Apparently, it is about France’s Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, both of whom were found guilty of treason and then beheaded for it. Another theory suggests King Charles I wanted to reform the taxes on how liquids were measured. Half Pint was Jack and 1/4th pint was gill (Jill).
#5. Row Row Row Your Boat
This rhyme is truly creepy and disturbing. American minstrel show was a very racist entertainment show where the white people mocked the African Americans through skits and plays. These shows were extremely popular and were allegedly from where the rhyme came into existence.
#6. Yankee Doodle
This rhyme was actually a Dutch harvest song. It then became a part of pre-revolutionary war used by Britishers to mock the Americans / Yankees.
#7. London Bridge
This rhyme sounds so innocuous and a silly guide for building bridges, right? But it is not. Some theories allege that it was about the Viking Olaf II of Norway trying to destroy the London Bridge in the early 1000s. One theory also remains that the song was actually about building stronger bridges with human sacrifices! You wouldn’t want your kids to sing this, would you?!
#8.Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo
This was not only a rhyme but also a method of selection when we wanted something and were too confused to choose! Its origins are however controversial. In the older version of the verse, it says ‘Catch a nigger by the toe’ which has racist connotations.
#9. Ring Around The Roses
Ring around the roses talks sneakily about 1665 Great Plague of London, also called Black Death. The ‘we all fall down’ was actually people dying due to bubonic plague that had killed around 15% of Britains population. The rosies meant red rashes that were part of the symptoms.
#10. Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
The song is not all merry. It came into existence ages ago and it is about female prisoners at England’s Wakefield Prison. The female prisoners used to be taken for a walk as part of their daily exercise, around a Mulberry tree! The rhyme describes their daily prison duties.