Does anyone know what some our Nursery Rythmes mean?

Question

Like Ring around the rosie for instance Think about it OK and let me know what you all think

Answer 1

If I remember correctly Ring Around the Rosie is a chant from the days of the Black Plague.

Ashes ashes we all fall DOWN!

edited... well Snopes says I'm wrong lol...
Origins: If "few people realize" that "this seemingly happy little nursery rhyme actually refers" to the Black Plague, so much the better, because the explanation presented above is nonsense. "Ring Around the Rosie" is simply a nursery rhyme of indefinite origin and no specific meaning, and someone, long after the fact, concocted an inventive "explanation" for its creation

http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/rosie.htm

Answer 2

Ring, a ring of roses: The Great Plague: the ring of roses were the scabs on the bodies of the inflicted. Pocket full of Posies: a posie is a small bunch of flowers. Healthy people carried them to keep the smell of death away from them. Atishoo: one of the symptoms before death.

Little Jack Horner: He was an emissary from the King who was collecting the deeds to estates in England that had been seized. They were in parchment form and rolled up. They were carried in boxes and the only way to get them out was to 'stick in your thumb'. This is what he did, stealing a prime estate (plum).

Rock-a-bye-baby: The story of an illegitimate child of the King. When the wind blows: when the people find out the truth. Down will come baby, cradle and all: the King and the monarchy will collapse.
Incidentally, about the Posie: The most senior Judge at the Central Criminal Court in London, to this day, still carries a posie of violets when he calls upon all the other judges each Monday. He also carries a black square of silk which he used to put on his head when sentencing someone to death. The Posie was to help with the smell coming up from the cells beneath the court.

Answer 3

What the hell is ring around the rosie??? And I always thought they were rhymes not rythmes?

It's "Ring-a-ring o' roses according to my sons nursery rhymes book. And I recall a history lesson in primary school which said something about this song being about the plague?

Answer 4

Ring Around The Rosie is about the The Black Death that struck Europe in the 14th century. The Black Death was the Bubonic Plague. The rosie rings were the marks that appeared on the body at the onset of the disease. A pocket full of posies refers to the nosegays that people wore on the persons or held in their hands to overpower the smell of death and decomposition that was all around them because people were dying faster than they could be buried. Ashes, ashes refers to the cremation of bodies due to the mass deaths and lack of ability to carry out funerals. We all fall down refers to roughly 1/2 of the European population succumbing to the Black Death.

Answer 5

I found an old Disney comic book perhaps about a TV show called "The truth About Mother Goose". As several people say, ring around the rosie is about the Black plague. Mary, Mary quite contrary is about Mary Queen of Scots who was so contrary that Elizabeth I had her executed. The silver bells in her garden were on her costly dresses. Jack Horner was a real man who stole property whose deed was hidden in a pie as was a custom in his time. The plum he found was the deed. Wee Willie Winkie in his nightgown was King William who established curfews. London Bridge is falling down criticized the state of the bridge that needed repairs.

Answer 6

Ring around a Posy- the plague cause red ring shaped swellings on the peoples bodies.
Pocket full of posies- there were so many dead that the stink was awfull and people carried flowers to smell when it got bad.
Ashes ashes we all fall down- Everywhere there were ashes from the bodies being burned and most children died.

Answer 7

London Bridge is falling down is about people dying of the plague

Jack and Jill went up the hill is a true story of a young married couple - Jack did die

Ring around the Rosie is also about the plague I think - I know its about some disease which killed alot of people "we all fall down"

Answer 8

The ring o roses one originates in England at the time of the great plague (c1665).

The ring of roses refers to the skin rash that the afflicted people exhibited. A sweet smelling pocket full of poses was what people foolhardily thought would protect them from the miasmas (foul smells) they thought caused the infection by inhalation.
Atichoo atichoo was symptomatic of the disease. We all fall down means we all die from the plague.

Answer 9

I don't know many of them, but I do know that "Ring Around the Rosie" has to do with the Plague (I believe the Bubonic Plague) in Europe.

"Ring around the rosie...": The Plague would cause round, red sores on the patient.

"Pocket full of posies ...": After death, of course, the bodies would smell and people would carry a small bouquet of flowers to hold under their noses when walking through the streets to combat the stench from the dead and decaying bodies.

"Ashes, ashes ...": Because there were so many bodies, they would burn the dead in mass graves.

"We all fall down ...": Millions and millions of people died from the plague, so it would have been literally like people falling down (dead).

Answer 10

London Bridge and the game with it supposedly comes from the tradition of sacrificing children to the water gods so a bridge would stay up by interring them alive in the foundations.

Like most of these "horrors of the past now amusing little innocents" explanations, it is complete bullcr*p thought up to suit pet theories in the mid 1950's.