Who Really Killed Cock Robin?: Nursery Rhymes and Carols Restored
by Norman Iles
Category: Carols, English

"Nursery rhymes and carols are part of folk art, and are a vital link with a past era. They are sometimes charming, but more often nonsensical; pious but too simple. Why are the "traditional" and familiar versions of our best loved rhymes and carols frequently meaningless? In this thoughtful and provocative book Norman Iles shows that when adult rhymes were too outspoken they were censored into childishness. Traditional carols which betrayed their pagan origins were converted into useful vehicles for the Christian messages of the medieval Church. From the author's careful work of reconstruction the original messages can be discovered that Baa, Baa Black Sheep is a promiscuous girl, an adult black sheep ; Holly and Ivy are the trees of man and woman -- their carol describes an impassioned rivalry and recalls the importance of fertility symbols in pagan thought. "Who really killed Cock Robin?" offers a fascinating new light on our social, sexual and religious history and provides truly original material for the practical celebration of our pagan past." -- Inside front cover.