My children and their cousins love nursery rhymes. This is largely my mother’s doing as they often play the “ABCD game.” It’s a family tradition where you sing the alphabet to a certain cadence and then take turns reciting a nursery rhyme to that same tune. You have to keep the game going by picking a different nursery rhyme each turn, and if it’s your turn and you can’t think of one, you’re out (though Grandma doesn’t often kick too many people out).
It’s one of those simple games that has become a staple around our family campfires. My 4-year-old daughter, Zephie, is especially good at it because she has a nursery rhyme storybook at home. She studies that book like she’s preparing for the biggest test of her life, proudly announcing that she’ll be ready for the next game. It’s pretty cute to watch.
Even though I grew up with most of these nursery rhymes, every once in a while I stop and actually think about the words. Some of them are...odd. Others are downright dark. I got curious enough to do a little digging, and it turns out many of these familiar rhymes have some surprisingly interesting theories behind them. (Information from Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and Time.com.)
“Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush,” first published in 1840, may have been inspired by women prisoners exercising around a mulberry tree at England’s Wakefield Prison. Another theory says it referred to Britain’s failed attempt to start a silk industry because silkworms feed on mulberry leaves. Neither explanation is quite as cheerful as the song itself.
“Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” has long been associated with Queen Mary I, better known as “Bloody Mary.” According to one interpretation, the “garden” represents England while the “silver bells” and “cockle shells” symbolize methods of persecution used during her reign. Historians debate whether that’s really the case, but it’s certainly a far cry from the innocent rhyme we learned as children.
Then there’s “Humpty Dumpty.” Most of us picture a smiling egg perched on a wall, but the original rhyme never actually says Humpty was an egg. One popular theory suggests Humpty Dumpty was a massive cannon used during the English Civil War that fell from a church tower after enemy forces attacked the building.
“Georgie Porgie” is widely believed to poke fun at Britain’s Prince Regent George IV, who was known for his large appetite and numerous romantic affairs. The references to pudding and pie may have been aimed at both his waistline and his reputation.
“Baa Baa Black Sheep” may trace back to King Edward I’s wool tax in the 1200s. Historians believe the “three bags full” represented how wool profits were divided among the king, the church and the farmer. It’s amazing how taxes can even make their way into children’s songs.
“Jack and Jill” also has a surprisingly tragic backstory. One legend claims the rhyme tells of an unmarried couple who secretly met on a hillside. Jill became pregnant, Jack died before the baby was born, and Jill later died in childbirth. Whether true or not, it’s certainly darker than two children fetching a pail of water.
“Three Blind Mice” is another rhyme often connected to Queen Mary I. Some historians believe the three mice symbolize Protestant bishops who were executed during her reign. Thankfully, the version children sing today leaves out some of the much grislier lines found in older versions.
“Old Mother Hubbard” may not have been about an elderly woman or her hungry dog at all. One theory says it referred to Cardinal Wolsey’s unsuccessful attempt to obtain an annulment for King Henry VIII so the king could marry Anne Boleyn. When Wolsey failed, he also lost the king’s favor.
Perhaps the nursery rhyme with the most debated history is “Ring Around the Rosie.” Many people have heard that it describes the symptoms of the Black Plague—”rosie” for the rash, “a-tishoo” for sneezing and “we all fall down” representing death. Historians, however, say there’s little evidence connecting the rhyme to the plague, and many believe that explanation was invented centuries later. Like several of these rhymes, the real origin remains uncertain.
Finally, there’s “London Bridge Is Falling Down.” The leading theory connects it to a Viking attack led by Olaf II around the year 1014, although historians still argue about whether that event even happened. Other theories suggest the rhyme simply reflects the bridge’s constant need for repairs over the centuries.
Well kids, next time you sit around the campfire with grandma, I hope you enjoy your tales of prisons, cannons, taxes, kings, plagues and wars. It definitely gives those innocent little nursery rhymes a whole new meaning.
