We all grew up on nursery rhymes, and we teach our children the same ones. It never occurred to me that the nursery rhymes were negative. Most of the nursery rhymes originated back in the 1600’s in England. I found out that some are political, religious and personal. When people were being hanged or executed for crimes, they wrote in code; hence nursery rhymes. I will be discussing Humpty Dumpty, Lucy Locket, Lady Bird Lady Bird, Ring Around The Roses, There was An Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe and Wheels on the Bus lyrics.
HUMPTY DUMPTY LYRICS
I could not believe that Humpty Dumpty was not an egg, he was a cannon! The cannon name was Humpty Dumpty, and it was used for war. The cannon sat on a tower that was destroyed by many cannons and later destroyed. Humpty Dumpty could not be put back together again. This rhyme sort of makes sense, once you know the history of it. There are four versions of the rhyme, the last two verses are different in all of them.
LUCY LOCKET
I thought this was a lady who lost her locket and another woman found it, but there was nothing in it. This Nursery Rhyme is about two women who dated the same man whose name was Pocket. The first woman Lucy stopped dating the man when he no longer had any money. Her rival, Kitty started dated the man and taunted Lucy about it. The ribbon is where the women in those days kept their money tied around their thigh. There are two versions of Lucy Locket, the last two lines are different.
LADY BIRD LADY BIRD (LADYBUG LADYBUG)
I really thought it was a bug escaping a fire and only one bug survived. This Rhyme is about Religious persecution. Lady Bird is another name for a Catholic. In the 16th century, Catholics were persecuted and fined for practicing their religion. The Priests ( the fire )were burned at the stakes if they were found practicing Catholicism. There are many versions of this song, they are all dissimilar.
THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN WHO LIVED IN A SHOE
This nursery rhyme is a lady with a lot of children, so I thought. The second part of the rhyme is where later that night she checked on the children and they were dead. The children were pretending and their mother rang the bell and the rope broke and she fell. There are different versions and theories about this nursery rhyme.
There are many more Nursery rhymes with sad endings. Each one has its own meaning. It makes you wonder how did these sad stories turn into children nursery rhymes? Making a positive out of a negative can never be wrong. They may have had a negative history, but the rhymes have brought joy to many children for many years all over the world.