Why do we sing "Rock a bye baby" to lull our little ones to sleep when the song is about putting your baby in

Question

a tree and letting the wind crash the cradle to the ground?

Answer 1

Good point!

Answer 2

I have heard that the song is an allegorical reference Anti-Papacy to The fall of the House of Stuart in the British monarchy.
When the Catholic James II came to the throne he caused alarm by producing an heir to secure the Stuart succession. In the nursery rhyme, the baby on the tree-top is the heir, when the wind blows it is the Protestant wind that will blow the fleet of William over to Britain, and when the bough breaks and 'down will come baby, cradle and all' down too will come the Stuart monarchy.

Though this could be a convenient coincidence....

Answer 3

This hearkens back to the days of rocking chairs, when you would literaly "rock" a baby to sleep. Many cradles also had an option of rocking the baby to sleep as well.

Answer 4

Right up there with "Ring Around the Rosie, pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down."

Which is a description of the progression of the Black Plague in the human body.

Answer 5

Probably the same reason we tell them stories about a little girl getting eaten by a wolf dressed up like her grandmother- because the old-fashioned people who made this stuff up were ****ed up, but we feel guilty and like bad parents if we don't continue the tradition.

Answer 6

I know right! Kinda morbid if you ask me. There's all kinds of messed up songs if you think about it, but very good point!! ;)

Answer 7

sorry i would have answered sooner but i had to sing the song in my head and well....I fell asleep. So to answer your question........ because the song works.