what is the origin of the song ten little indians?

Question

no, im not asking the authors name. im asking what do you think it means,as many childrens storys and fables actually had a grim meaning .

Answer 1

Apparently it began with a parody From Shakespeare's Mother Goose for Julius Caesar :

X Roman soldiers in a battle line
One tripped on his spear, and then there were nine.
IX Roman soldiers staying up late
One drifted off to sleep, and then there were eight.
VIII Roman soldiers wished they were in heaven;
The augurs damned one, then there were seven.
VII Roman soldiers playing strategic tricks;
A catapult shot one, and then there were six.
VI Roman soldiers, well fed and alive
Till one ate poisoned food, and then there were five.
V Roman soldiers battering on a door;
One was crushed beneath the ram, and then there were four.
IV Roman soldiers stepping out so free,
One was slung up in a net, and then there were three.
III Roman soldiers to their Legion true,
One absconded with the Flag, and then there were two.
II Roman soldiers crossed the Rubicon,
One drowned in the stream, and then there was one.
I Roman soldier living all alone:
He broke his heart when Caesar died, and then there were none

In 1860 it was rewritten by Septimus Winner for a minstrel show. He substituted Injuns in the place of Roman Soldiers.

The modern children's rhyme (sometimes "teddy bears" is used instead of Indians to avoid offense):

Answer 2

Ten Little Injuns

Answer 3

I think it's mainly a device to practice counting backwards, so that the little indians have to be eliminated one at a time. Maybe gruesome bits would be slipped in as cautionary tales almost, but ten green bottles is similar and that just repeats the bottles falling.

Answer 4

Don't know, but it made a good plot for an Agatha Christie book. Loved the story. Didn't really think of it as a song.

Answer 5

In "The Tempest" there is a line.

"When they will not give a doit to see a lame begger, they will lay out ten to see a dead indian."