Actual Dark Messages Behind Nursery Rhymes

Everyone can remember at least one nursery rhyme from their childhood, whether its Ring Around the Rosie, or Rock-a-bye Baby, we've all heard them before, but did you know they have much darker origins than you ever imagined! Check out today's new video where we ruin nursery rhymes for you!

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All videos are based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted.

[RheaRobin]

Most of what we know as nursery rhymes were never intended for children. They were part of how news was passed between towns during an age when most people were illiterate. The rhymes made the stories easier to remember.

[Ranvision_Official]

Alternate title: ruining your childhood in 10 minutes and 54 seconds

[Yeahyoucanchangeyourhandle]

"London bridge is falling down"


Even without any dark history this isn't what I would have liked to tell the children.

[jeancachuela]

Fun fact: the nursery rhyme "do you know the muffin man" is actually a warning about a kidnapper that uses muffins to lure kids in drury lane.

[justastaythatwillnotbename]

Honestly you could tell some of these had a dark history by literally just reading the lyrics

[dylanviray]

What did we learn today:
England's history is very dark

[jjaghai]

Honestly, “ring around a Rosie” was a game I played in my grandma’s front yard when I was young, never expected it to be so *dark.*

[defaultuser]

0:01 Intro
0:42 Ring Around the Rosie
1:47 London Bridge is falling down
3:23 Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
4:32 Three Blind Mice
5:34 Old Mother Hubbard
6:41 Goosey Goosey Gander. (Goosey Gander)
7:36 Georgie Porgie Pudding and Pie (Georgie Porgie)
8:28 Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill (Jack and Jill)
9:09 Rock-A-Bye Baby, in the Treetop
10:02 Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush
10:36 Outro
10:54 End

Honorable mention:
Do You Know the Muffin Man? (Frederic Thomas Linwood)

-DU

[aak]

Then: poems about the plague, monarchs and human sacrifices
Now: baby shark

[brownie]

3:23 I’ve been taught about this in History classes. I remember some of it:

The “How does your garden grow?” is a tease because Mary couldn’t give birth no matter how many attempts she made.
“And pretty maids all in a row” refers to people thinking that Mary’s husband was cheating on her with maids

[Nionyx]

Ring-a-ring-a-roses lyrics are actually:

*Ring-a-ring-a-rosies*
*A pocket full of posies*
*A tissue, a tissue*
*We all fall down*

Instead of ashes, ashes, we all fall down its tissues. As people used to cough up mucus and blood into their tissues when they were close to death.

Although I guess ashes works as well.

[SWLinPHX]

Does anyone remember playing "The Farmer In The Dell" in nursery school. Children all in a ring until one by one they are eliminated until "the cheese stands alone". It was to teach kids how it feels to be ostracized by others with everyone staring at you being the one left cast out. It was a good lesson but felt bad if you were the cheese at the end.

[alliegray]

There’s one nursery rhyme that smacks you in the face with gore

“Lizzy Borden took an axe,
Gave her mother 40 wacks
When she saw what she had done
Gave her father 41”

[carydias]

Us when a 6 year olds: funny happy and friendly nursery rhymes. Us now: where has my childhood gone

[cyphex]

The "tiptoe, through the tulips..." Nursery rhyme always sends a shiver down my spine.

[saacheepatil]

Thank goodness that 'Twinkle Twinkle little star ' has no dark message. It is my favorite nursery rhyme.

[sskura_x]

My father told me that the jack and Jill rhyme was talking about jacking breaking his head when he fell down and Jill followed and then they died-

[aesdani]

honestly, how can he say those nursery rhymes so casually, without even singing it? impressive.

[freaky]

That moment when you realise Baby Shark was a song about how one day humans will become slaves of sharks, waiting to be devoured...
Edit: please stop commenting. my inbox has too many emails :( also it’s been 5 months chill

[catgirl]

This is scary yet very educational-and makes me appreciate simple Dark Origin-free nursery rhymes more than ever!