Ring Around the Rosy | Mother Goose Club Rhymes for Children

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Historical Background:
One of the darker rhymes in the Mother Goose canon, "Ring Around the Rosy" refers to the bubonic plague, which ravaged Europe several times between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries. Symptoms of the plague included a "rosy" red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin, hence the lyrics "ring around the rosy." Because of the popular belief that the disease was transmitted by foul odors, people carried pockets full of sweet herbs ("pocketful of posies") to repel the infection. "Ashes, Ashes" is refers to the cremation of the dead who had fallen to the disease. The British version of the rhyme substitutes "Ashes, Ashes" with "A-tishoo! A-tishoo!," representing the violent sneezing that was a common symptom.

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Traditional. Arranged and adapted with additional lyrics and music by Sockeye Media LLC © 2014. All rights reserved.

"Ring Around the Rosy" lyrics:
Ring around the rosy,
A pocket full of posy.
Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down.

Additional versions:
Version 1

Ring around the rosy,
A pocket full of posy.
Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down.

(Mother Goose Club Version)

Version 2

Ring-a-ring o' roses,
A pocket full of posies,
Hush! hush! hush! hush!
We're all tumbled down.

Source: Greenway, Mother Goose (1881)

Version 3

Ring around the rosy,
Sit upon a posy,
All the girls in our town
Vote for Uncle Josy.

Source: Wier, Songs the Children Love to Sing (1916)

Version 4

Ring a ring o' roses,
A pocket-full o' posies;
One for me, and one for you,
And one for little Moses—
Hasher, Hasher, Hasher, all fall down

Source: Gomme, The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1898)

Version 5

A ring, a ring o'roses,
A pocket full of posies,
Ash-a! Ash-a!
All stand still.
The King has sent his daughter
To fetch a pail of water,
Ash-a! Ash-a! All bow down.
The bird above the steeple
Sits high above the people,
Ash-a! Ash-a! All kneel down.
The wedding bells are ringing,
And boys and girls are singing,
Ash-a! Ash-a! All fall down

Source: Rackham, Mother Goose (1913)