The Often Gruesome Stories Behind Popular Nursery Rhymes

The Dark History Behind Several Nursery Rhymes.

We learn these simple rhyming stories from an early age but what is the story behind their origin? In today's episode we explore the interesting and often dark stories behind these nursery rhymes.

[WellINever]

Thank you for watching, and thank you to today's sponsors Match Masters.

[chancyleclown]

I could listen to you narrate just about anything and still be enthralled. You're quite the orator

[sneakypenguin]

The Pop goes the Weasle connotations rings so true to me. My grandad who was born and brought up in Mile End would often tell me stories about how his mum used to pawn his Sunday suit on a monday, use the money for the week's bills, then on Saturday would pay and get the suit back for my grandad to wear for church the next day. He lived in abject poverty until he was a young man, and always was very frugal with his money, but I learned so much about the value of money and taking what you have rather than what you wish you had as being important.

[Woodsheather]

AND he can carry a tune..it's official Paul...you are indeed the whole package❤

[katrinareitzel]

I love hearing the dark history of things we today now use as fun like songs or sayings. This was a great video, I really loved how I though Ring around the rosies was being sung strangely until you mentioned it's sung differently between the UK and the States. Thanks Pop pop Brodey!

[Ms.HarmonyJ]

Paul, you and your squad are absolute magicians, conjuring up videos that never fail to amaze me. I'm constantly left in awe, thinking "Well, I never!" Your work is simply sensational, my friends.

[QueenOfTheNorth]

I remember the first time I really thought about the words to “Rock A Bye Baby.” It’s a good thing the babies we sing it to don’t understand it.😉

[pimpozza]

I always find this subject so fascinating!
I also loved the community post photograph, Paul.. the shiny brogues of a dapper gentleman! 😀👍

[DawnOldham]

I love that you have taverns still in existence from 200+ years ago. Here in America, a shopping plaza can have an entirely different set of shops over a 20-30 year time period!

[shannonshorts-johnson]

Paul, you are indeed an eloquent speaker, and I enjoy your videos very much. Thank you for always presenting interesting and informative content! ❤

[brianoneil]

Dark and grim doesn't sound half as bad coming from Paul. Wonderful video goid sir!

[VixGB]

The happy heritage of learning poems, rhymes and songs that your great great grandparents did should always be embraced ❤ Thank you Paul for a look at the oft macabre origins of these rhymes🙏🏻❤️🇬🇧 😊

[teresayates]

I'm near 60yrs old and sang many of these as a child. I'm from upstate NY and we sang:
"Ring-around the rosie a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down". Yours is more accurate and its interesting to hear the meaning behind it. I've learned the meaning behind alot of nursery rhythms and they are grim, but they are our history. Thank you for sharing your insights they are very interesting!

[NannupTiger]

I had a book of the original Brothers Grimm 'fairy tales' and indeed, they were grim.

[Ellie-wlrw]

I live in Wakefield, home of the famed mulberry bush. It was in Wakefield Prison and, according to the nursery rhyme, mothers took their morning constitutional in the yard in which the mulberry bush grew. The original plant died not so long ago but a governor had taken cuttings and propagated other shrubs in the city. They've therefore been able to take a cutting from one of its "offspring" so we have a "grandchild" back in the grounds of Wakefield Prison.
My 2nd great grandfather lived at Normanton Golf Club where the original cuttings were propagated, so he could do his own trip around the mulberry bush without committing any crime. Other Victorian family members weren't so lucky and did time at 'His Majesty's Hotel". I wonder if they ever lived out that nursery rhyme... 🌱😉

[Reneeday]

I found myself singing along with you with every nursery rhyme we learned & sang in nursery school! I still have the nursery rhymes book from my childhood. Another brilliant video, Mr. Brodie! Cheers!🎉

[janeguarnera]

Nursery rhymes, Fairy Tales (story telling, ) Sayings, Songs past down through the ages of humanity, typically from mouth to ear, certainly many prior to access to the ability of reading the written word by the masses...a universal and generational sharing of human wisdoms.

[georgebrown]

Wow, I never thought that many of the nursery rhymes I learned as a young child had dark origins. Thank you for this eye-opening video.

[Cynchronicity]

Also, Humpty Dumpty is actually a huge-ass canon. And a rhyme about oranges and lemons actually refers to the deaths of Henry VIII’s wives.

[phaedrapage]

The version of Pop Goes the Weasel that I learned as a child was very different:
All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel. The monkey laughed to see such a sight. POP! Goes the weasel!
This would have been late 1970s-early 1980s Midwest America. And the tune was very popular in our jack-in-the-box toys, a somewhat scary looking clown would pop out when the tune got the the POP! Darn thing made me jump every time, even though I knew exactly when it was coming. Oddly enough, it did NOT make me scared of clowns though!