Is Ring Around the Rosie Really About the Plague?

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[RaithGyaron]

I remember playing Ring Around the Roses as a kid. Whenever we got to the "we all fall down" part that's exactly what we did.

[garethjudd]

My grandmother taught me a song from when she was a child in 1919 during the Spanish Flu that killed over 50 million people. " I had a little bird 🐦 his name was Enza, I opened up the window and In-flu-enza".

[WizardClipAudio]

I always pat myself on the back when I perfectly slide over sponsor-spots and hit the real beginning of the video perfectly. It’s probably the same sort of feeling the Fonz gets from hitting the juke box.

[JoeBob]

_"Let the fuckers work that one out"_ is absolutely class!

[fredEVOIX]

I find the fact that so many versions of the same song exist more creepy than the plague explanation, makes me think it's some kind of cultish chant created by a lovecraftian god, children unknowingly nourishing it with their songs

[skybluskyblueify]

"We seek out logic and meaning where none exists." Sounds like a coping mechanism in our somewhat random world.

[shewolfsiren]

Ok, this nursery rhyme origin may be erroneous—-but “I Once Had A Bug” CANNOT be disputed as a pandemic origin: “I once had a bug.
It’s name was Enza.
I opened a window
And In-flu-enza.”
It’s from the 1918 Flu that killed more people than World War I did

[alphaxneo]

As someone who only knew the song in Swiss German, having the song seemingly connected to the plague was already outlandish to begin with xD I do find it interesting though how games and songs like these have survived in so many languages and variations!

[PyrusLex]

Quick correction. You are speaking of Mary I of ENGLAND, not to be confused with Mary, Queen of Scots (who reigned 1542 to 1567). In fact Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, didn’t even have any power in Scotland until 1558 (she was a minor until then and Scotland was ruled by a regent). Mary Stuart never actually reigned over England, though did claim Elizabeth Tudor’s throne as her own.

[AnyoneCanSee]

At school, in northern England in the 1970s we sang..
A ring, a ring of rosies
A pocket full of posies.
A-tishoo A-tishoo (as in literally sneezing)
We all fall down. (and we threw ourselves on the floor, dead)

[SquiddyHiggenbottom]

I can't get over the fact that the rhyme was actually just a silly song involved in skirting a Footloose-esque dancing ban 😂

[alexxans]

Similarly to this in Greece (and in France aparently) we have a children song called "Ήταν ένα μικρό καράβι" which translates to "There was a small ship". While the song it self sounds very much like a song for children the lyrics describe a ship full of people traveling in the medeterannian sea. After five or six weeks they run out of food and have to pick straws to see who they will canibalize, which ends up being the youngest of the crew. After some digging a found out that the song is in fact french in origin, having originated from there (with some slight variations) and is in fact based on the disaster that struck the french firgate Medusa in 1810. Esentialy what happended is after the ship got stuck near present-day Mauritania the crew had to abandon ship. Unfortunately there wasn't enough room in the lifeboats which led the crew to construct a raft that would be tied to the other life boats. The rope broke (or was cut) and the raft was left stranded with 150 people on board for 12 days during which most perished from dehydration, were killed, thrown over board and, of course, eaten by the fellow pasengers. During the eighth day the 15 most able of the remaining survivors threw the rest that were sick and weak overboard in an effort to save suplies and survived for another 4 days until rescue.

[KristinaSummersportfolio]

As a kid in the 1980's In Marietta, North Georgia, USA (a suburb of Atlanta) We always sang, "Ring around the Rosie, pocket full of posies, upstairs, downstairs, we all fall down" with all of us falling down giggling...
Fascinating to see all the different versions.great video Simon!

[Bubbaist]

I’ve heard some interesting theories about “Rock abye Baby.” One is that it was originally a political song about James II’s son (on the top of the Stuart family tree) and the Glorious Revolution, called the “Protestant Wind” at the time. That would make an interesting episode.

[MountainManMike]

Pretty sure L Frank Baum's OZ series did contain MANY political/economical allegories given Baum's outspokenness on such issues. Though he never directly confirmed it, he never outright denied them either.😂😂😂

[cleverusername]

Message to Simon: I think I can speak for many of my fellow Factboi fans when I say that we started out watching you because of the interesting content, but we fell ass over tits for you when you let your BB persona leak into other channels. And we are here for it. Blaze on, Factboi. We're into that shit. Allegedly.

[tncorgi]

I'd always heard that the "pocketful of posies" was not supposed to ward off "bad air" but to cover up the stench of the victim's putrid sores.

[Lngbrdninjamasta]

I had an in-depth conversation about this just the other day LOL apparently I was wrong completely thank you Simon for educating me😁

[macsnafu]

Well, that's ONE nursery rhyme that's been reclaimed for the children.
Ironically, a song like I Am the Walrus probably created *more* mystique and made the Beatles seem deeper than they really were.

[arcturionblade]

So, the song is less about the plague and more about the movie Footloose where it's used an excuse to get around anti-dancing rules.