8 Nursery Rhymes With Bizarre Hidden Meanings, Because Peter Pumpkin Eater Is A Murderer 8 Nursery Rhymes With Bizarre Hidden Meanings, Because Peter Pumpkin Eater Is A Murderer By JR Thorpe Apr 3 2015 Nursery rhymes help us learn the basics of language during our early childhood years — but now that you've outgrown your diapers, you may have noticed that a lot of nursery rhymes don't make sense to our modern ears. Pop goes the weasel? Since when do weasels pop?! This disconnect can be partially explained by history: many nursery rhymes are hundreds of years old , and so involve outdated turns of phrase. Popping the weasel, for example, was actually 18th century slang for pawning your coat, making that whole weaselly rhyme an irreverent song about selling your jacket in order to afford a night out on the town. Which still isn't exactly a traditional story to tell children . And the weirdness of traditional nursery rhymes doesn't end there: a few seemingly innocent rhymes actually contain sly references to political events of the day.

"Georgie Porgie" (who kissed the girls and made them cry), for instance, isn't about an over-affectionate toddler, but rather George Villiers, a courtier of England's King James I who seduced a lot of women and ran away from their irate husbands. And "Mary, Mary, quite contrary" is actually Mary Queen Of Scots — and her silver bells, cockle shells and "pretty maids" were not implements of gardening, but rather torture devices she used while persecuting the Protestants during her reign. Whoops. For stories that are a key part of most of our childhoods, nursery rhymes are often blatantly weird once you start thinking about them. Here are 8 of the strangest ones, with their bizarre meanings revealed. Some are just silly, some are violent and inappropriate for kids; but you might want to think twice before reciting any of them the next time you babysit. 8. If You Sneeze On A Monday If you sneeze on Monday, you sneeze for danger; Sneeze on a Tuesday, kiss a stranger; Sneeze on a Wednesday, sneeze for a letter; Sneeze on a Thursday, something better.

Sneeze on a Friday, sneeze for sorrow; Sneeze on a Saturday, joy tomorrow. What It's Really About: Luck. Sneezing is an act with a superstitious undercurrent in many cultures. Traditional Flemish belief dictates that a person who sneezes in a conversation will prove that he's telling the truth, while in northern India, it's bad luck to sneeze before undertaking a new task. Nursery rhymes that aim to "teach" us about superstition aren't all that uncommon, but this one is so out-there that it takes the cake (or the handkerchief.) 7. Little Jack Jelf Was put on a shelf Because he could not spell "pie"; When his aunt, Mrs. Grace, Saw his sorrowful face, She could not help saying, "Oh, fie!" What It's Really About: Corporal punishment at school. Jack Jelf actually got off pretty lightly — in the 17th and 18th centuries, British schoolchildren were often subjected to intense corporal punishment when they couldn't master their lessons.

Aside from the famous dunce's cap (named after the Scottish intellectual John Duns Scotus , whose teachings were seen as such nonsense that his name became synonymous with stupidity), boys at schools could be "birched" (hit with birch twigs), hit with a hickory stick, or made to stand outside with placards around their necks . The "shelf", in this case, was the shelf behind the teacher's desk , where poor students could be exiled so that everybody would stare at them for the rest of the day. 6. A Carrion Crow Sat On An Oak [Embed] Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home Your house is on fire and your children are gone, All except one called Anne For she has crept under the frying pan. What It's Really About: People being burned at the stake (maybe). This one dates from at least 1744, and we still don't know what exactly it's about. Some theories hold that it might be about Catholics being burned at the stake if they were caught saying Mass in anti-Protestant England. It also might just be about how killing a ladybug (a.k.a. a ladybird) was considered to be bad luck .

But either way, it's a singularly strange thing to recite when a hapless insect just happens to land on your cardigan. 4. Tell Tale Tit Had a wife and couldn't keep her; He put her in a pumpkin shell, And there he kept her very well. What It's Really About: Murder. The wife that "couldn't be kept" in this rhyme didn't keep running away or anything — rather, she was supposedly a prostitute. Historians believe that Peter the pumpkin-eater tired of his wife's extra-curricular activities, then murdered her and hid her body in a pumpkin. An even more outrageous interpretation is that it's about the 13th century English King John, who famously bricked a rebellious noble's wife into a wall to starve to death . Either way, this is a rhyme that everybody at the time would have understood was ripped from the headlines. 1. Who Killed Cock Robin? [Embed] I saw him die." What It's Really About: Pagan gods or Robin Hood. This one is so strange that nobody knows quite what to make of it.

Some believe it was created in reference to an old pagan god of England, the Holly King , who was symbolically "killed" every winter. Or could it be about the death of the Norse god Balder , god of light and purity, who was shot with an arrow made of mistletoe? Could it be written in honor of the British Prime Minister Robert Walpole , who was also known as Robin? Or Robin Hood? Historians aren't certain — but the image of every bird around (plus, for no apparent reason, a bull) having an elaborate funeral for a murdered bird is a perfect combination of the weird, grotesque and violent imagery that is commonplace in nursery rhymes. Sleep tight, little ones! 24 Terrifying, Thoughtful and Absurd Nursery Rhymes for Children 24 Terrifying, Thoughtful and Absurd Nursery Rhymes for Children Comments In more repressed times, people were not always allowed to express themselves freely, for fear of persecution. Gossiping, criticizing the government or even talking about current events were often punishable by death. In order to communicate at will, clever rhymes were constructed and passed around to parody public figures and events.

The first nursery rhymes can be traced back to the fourteenth century. While the Bubonic Plaque ravaged England, peasants used a rhyme to spread the word about equality. The "Adam and Eve" rhyme made peasants realize that they were important to the economy and contributed to the Peasants Revolt of 1381. Under the guise of children's entertainment, many rhymes that were encoded with secret messages throughout history have endured the test of time and are still with us today. Other nursery rhymes don't seem to carry a particular message at all, but convey a macabre sense of humor. They have been so ingrained in us since childhood that we hardly notice that babies are falling from trees, women are held captive or live animals are being cooked. It's only when you stop and absorb the actual words of these catchy, sing-song rhymes that the darkness and absurdity is realized. A handful do not reference historical events at all, but instead seem to convey warnings or common sense wisdom. Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, All the King's Horses and all the King's men Couldn't put Humpty together again.

In children's books, Humpty Dumpty is portrayed as a large egg, usually dressed like a little boy. It's a sad story, as he gets busted up and nobody can fix him. However, the real story behind the rhyme dates back to the English Civil War. Humpty was a huge cannon mounted atop a high wall-like church tower. During the Siege of Colchester, The tower was hit by enemy cannon fire and Humpty suffered a great fall. There was no fixing the cannon or the tower, and the Humpty Dumpty rhyme was born. Ring Around The Rosie "Ashes, Ashes" We all fall down! This rhyme dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665. The symptoms of bubonic plague included a rosy red ring-shaped rash, which inspired the first line. It was believed that the disease was carried by bad smells, so people frequently carried pockets full of fresh herbs, or "posies." The "ashes, ashes" line is believed to refer to the cremation of the bodies of those who died from the plague. Baa Baa Blacksheep Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!

One for the master, one for the dame And one for the little boy who lives down the lane Baa Baa Black Sheep references the importance of the wool industry to the economy from the Middle Ages until the nineteenth century. The rhyme is also thought to be a political satire of the export tax imposed in Britain in 1275 under the rule of King Edward I. For Want of a Nail For want of a nail the shoe was lost For want of a shoe the horse was lost For want of a horse the rider was lost For want of a rider the battle was lost For want of a battle the kingdom was lost And all for the want of a horseshoe nail This simple rhyme is a reminder for children to think of the possible consequences of their actions. It has often been used to illustrate the chain of events that can stem from a single thoughtless action. Mary, Mary Quite Contrary How does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells And pretty maids all in a row This rhyme is a reference to Bloody Mary. The garden refers to growing cemeteries, as she filled them with Protestants. Silver bells and cockle shells were instruments of torture and the maiden was a device used to behead people.

Goosey, Goosey Gander And in my lady's chamber. There I met an old man Who wouldn't say his prayers; I took him by the left leg, And threw him down the stairs While Mother Goose seems like a kind, grandmotherly sort, the gander in this rhyme appears to be quite a bastard. This sixteenth century rhyme is a reminder to children to always say their prayers. It's Raining, It's Pouring The old man is snoring He went to bed and he bumped his head And couldn't get up in the morning In this strange nursery rhyme, the man apparently was careless in going to bed and didn't wake up. We can only assume it's a message to be cautious when you're on your way to bed. Rock-a-Bye, Baby And down will come baby, Cradle and al The American roots of this odd rhyme come from a young pilgrim who saw Native American mothers hanging cradles in trees. When the wind blew, the cradles would rock and the babies in them would sleep.

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater Had a wife and couldn't keep her; He put her in a pumpkin shell, And there he kept her very well This nursery rhyme also has it's roots in America, unlike most that started in England. It was a different time back then for women, and for views on divorce, too, which is why this rhyme served to warn young girls about infidelity. Peter's wife was supposedly a harlot, and Peter's remedy for the situation was to kill her and hide her body in a giant pumpkin shell. Sing a Song of Sixpence Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye, Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened the birds began to sing, Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king? This rhyme most certainly originated long ago, before PETA existed. It was likely based on a spoof by a court jester who thought it would be hilarious to trick the king by putting live birds into a pie shell. At the time, cooked blackbirds were considered a delicacy and would have been served to the king.

The King Was in his Counting House The king was in his counting house counting out his money, The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes, When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose! This is actually a continuation of "Sing a Song of Sixpence" and refers to what common folk imagined that royalty did all day. The live birds that were put in the pie are back for revenge in this verse. Jack and Jill Jack and Jill went up the hill, To fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down, And broke his crown; And Jill came tumbling after. This poem originated in France. The characters refer to King Louis XVI, Jack, and his Queen Marie Antoinette, Jill. Jack was beheaded (lost his crown) first, then Jill came tumbling after during the Reign of Terror in 1793. London Bridge London Bridge bridge is falling down, down Falling down down, falling down, down London Bridge bridge is falling down, down My fair lady.

Take a key key and lock padlock her up, Lock padlock her up, lock padlock her up, Take a key key and lock padlock her up, My fair lady. This nursery rhyme refers to the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England. Boleyn was accused of adultery and incest and was ultimately executed for treason. There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly There was an old lady who swallowed a fly I don't know why she swallowed a fly - perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a spider, That wriggled and wiggled and tiggled inside her; She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a bird; How absurd to swallow a bird. She swallowed the bird to catch the spider, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a cat; Fancy that to swallow a cat!

She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady that swallowed a dog; What a hog, to swallow a dog; She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a cow, I don't know how she swallowed a cow; She swallowed the cow to catch the dog, She swallowed the dog to catch the cat, She swallowed the cat to catch the bird, She swallowed the bird to catch the spider, She swallowed the spider to catch the fly; I don't know why she swallowed a fly - Perhaps she'll die! There was an old lady who swallowed a horse... She's dead, of course! These absurd lyrics were written by Rose Bonne and made popular in 1953 by Burl Ives. A woman who has a relatively small problem makes it progressively worse, which ultimately leads to her death.

Old Mother Hubbard To get her poor daughter a dress. But when she got there The cupboard was bare And so was her daughter, I guess! This rhyme is reputedly about Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. Wolsey refused to facilitate a divorce from Queen Katherine of Aragon for King Henry VIII. The King wanted a divorce so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. The doggie and the bone in the rhyme refer to the divorce, the cupboard is a reference to the Catholic Church and Wolsey is Old Mother Hubbard. The divorce was later arranged by Thomas Cramner and resulted in the break with Rome and the formation of the English Protestant church. Little Miss Muffet Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey; Along came a spider, Who sat down beside her And frightened Miss Muffet away Little Miss Muffet was written in the sixteenth century by Dr. Muffet, the stepfather of a small girl named Patience Muffet. Dr. Muffet was an entomologist famous for writing the first scientific catalog of British insects. Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home Ladybug, ladybug fly away home, Your house is on fire, Your children will burn.

Except for the little one whose name is Ann, Who hid away in a frying pan Farmers have long known the beneficial qualities of ladybugs as a natural predator of destructive insects. After harvests and before the fields were burned, this rhyme would be chanted in hopes of the ladybugs surviving and coming back the following year. There is also speculation that this rhyme originated from the Great Fire of London in 1666. Solomon Grundy Buried on Sunday That is the end of Solomon Grundy. This rhyme was originally collected by James Orchard Halliwell and published in 1842. Solomon Grundy is more widely known now as a D.C. Comics character. A Wise Old Owl A wise old owl lived in an oak The more he saw the less he spoke The less he spoke the more he heard Why can't we all be like that wise old bird? This rhyme does not appear to have any hidden historical references, but carries a valuable message that holds true today. Three Blind Mice Three blind mice. Three blind mice. See how they run. See how they run.

They all ran after the farmer's wife, Who cut off their tails with a carving knife, Did you ever see such a sight in your life, As three blind mice The vicious farmer's wife in this rhyme is believed to refer to Queen Mary I, the daughter of King Henry VIII. Mary, a staunch Catholic, was so well known for her persecution of Protestants that she was given the nickname "Bloody Mary." When three Protestant bishops were convicted of plotting against Mary, she had them burnt at the stake. However, it was mistakenly believed that she had them blinded and dismembered, as is inferred in the rhyme. Little Bo Peep Little Bo peep has lost her sheep And doesn't know where to find them. Leave them alone and they'll come home, Bringing their tails behind them. Little Bo peep fell fast asleep And dreamt she heard them bleating, But when she awoke, she found it a joke, For they were all still fleeting. Then up she took her little crook Determined for to find them. She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed, For they left their tails behind them.

It happened one day, as Bo peep did stray Into a meadow hard by, There she espied their tails side by side All hung on a tree to dry. She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye, And over the hillocks went rambling, And tried what she could, As a shepherdess should, To tack again each to its lambkin. Little Bo Peep doesn't seem to refer to anyone or event in history, but is a warning about the consequences of irresponsibility. Little Boy Blue Little Boy Blue come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow the cow's in the corn. But where's the boy who looks after the sheep? He's under a haystack fast asleep. Will you wake him? No, not I - for if I do, he's sure to cry Little Boy Blue may refer to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (1475-1530). Wolsey was an arrogant and wealthy self-made man and had many enemies in England. After obtaining his degree from Oxford at the age of fifteen, he was dubbed the "Boy Bachelor." The words "come blow your horn" likely refer to his incessant bragging.

The Big Ship Sails The big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh On the last day of September. The captain said it will never, never do Never, never do, never, never do The captain said it will never, never do On the last day of September. The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea The bottom of the sea, the bottom of the sea The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea On the last day of September. We all dip our heads in the deep blue sea The deep blue sea, the deep blue sea We all dip our heads in the deep blue sea On the last day of September. The origins of this depressing dirge are unknown. However, there is speculation that it refers to the Manchester Ship canal, which was built for ocean-going ships and opened in 1894. It is the eighth-longest ship canal in the world, and is only slightly shorter than the Panama Canal. Who killed Cock Robin?

"Who killed Cock Robin?" "I," said the Sparrow, "With my bow and arrow, I killed Cock Robin." "Who saw him die?" "I," said the Fly, "With my little eye, I saw him die." "Who caught his blood?" "I," said the Fish, "With my little dish, I caught his blood." "Who'll make the shroud?" "I," said the Beetle, "With my thread and needle, I'll make the shroud." "Who'll dig his grave?" "I," said the Owl, "With my pick and shovel, I'll dig his grave." "Who'll be the parson?" "I," said the Rook, "With my little book, I'll be the parson." "Who'll be the clerk?" "I," said the Lark, "If it's not in the dark, I'll be the clerk." "Who'll carry the link?" "I," said the Linnet, "I'll fetch it in a minute, I'll carry the link." "Who'll be chief mourner?" "I," said the Dove, "I mourn for my love, I'll be chief mourner." "Who'll carry the coffin?" "

I," said the Kite, "If it's not through the night, I'll carry the coffin." "Who'll bear the pall?

"We," said the Wren, "Both the cock and the hen, we'll bear the pall." "Who'll sing a psalm?" "I," said the Thrush, "As she sat on a bush, I'll sing a psalm." "Who'll toll the bell?" "I," said the bull, "Because I can pull, I'll toll the bell." All the birds of the air fell a-sighing and a-sobbing, When they heard the bell toll for poor Cock Robin. This English folksong is believed to reference the death of Robin Hood and reflects the respect that common folk has for him. Pop Goes the Weasel Half a pound of tuppenny rice, Half a pound of treacle. That’s the way the money goes, Pop! goes the weasel. Up and down the City road, In and out the Eagle, That’s the way the money goes, Pop! goes the weasel. This Cockney rhyme dates back to the 1700s. The Cockney community developed a slang all their own because they mistrusted strangers and police.

"Pop goes the weasel" was actually slang for "pawn your coat" and the Eagle refers to a pub, said to have been frequented by Charles Dickens. The pub was bought by the Salvation Army in 1883 and all drinking and music stopped. Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's Songs Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's Songs Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's Songs As if we need experts to tell us nursery rhymes are downright creepy, folklorists Iona and Peter Opie confirm it in their Oxford English Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. They call the tunes, most of which made their way into print by the eighteenth century, "fragments of ballads or of folk songs, remnants of ancient custom and ritual and may hold the last echoes of long-forgotten evil." The rhymes were never actually meant for children; many were political statements, couched in enough nonsense to protect the singer from being prosecuted for treason, and set to a fun melody that was easy to remember and pass along. If children overheard, there was no real concern.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries kids were not treated like kids, but more like "adults in miniature," according to the Opies. But as the rhymes were published for children in popular tomes like Mother Goose and Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, some adults began to fear that happy songs about murder and fatal illnesses might have a negative effect on the playground crowd. As early as the nineteenth century, authors like Samuel Taylor and Sarah Trimmer tried to alter nursery rhymes to make them more suitable to young ears, worried the macabre nature of some songs might inspire sadistic tendencies and create a race of children akin to The Omen. But these authors didn't anticipate the internet, or public libraries for that matter. These are some of the lyrics from nursery rhymes and other children's songs you may have forgotten, you may have never heard, or may have haunted you for years... "Ring 'o Roses"/"Ring Around the Rosie" Ring-a-ring-a-roses, A pocket full of posies Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down.

Familiarly known as "Ring Around the Rosie" this nursery rhyme conjures images of laughing children dancing in a circle among scattered flower petals, not people collapsing into death after suffering a plague. But there it is. People (like us) who can't leave well enough alone have long been linking the lyrics to this otherwise sweet rhyme to symptoms of England's Great Plague or the earlier Black Death. In 1665, the bubonic plague struck London hard, killing 20 percent of the population within a year. "Ring o' Roses" is said to indicate a rosy rash that spread across the victims' bodies, while "a pocket full of posies" was used to ward off the smell of disease. Obviously, the "ashes, ashes" that come falling down are the remnants of cremated dead bodies. Other versions replace "ashes, ashes" with sneezing ("A-tishoo! A-tishoo!), another symptom of the plague. While it sounds like a horrifying prospect, many folklorists dismiss the idea.

After all, the song was published in Kate Greenaway's 1881 edition of Mother Goose over two hundred years after the plague's reign of terror (and even longer since the Black Death of the 1300s). Also, the so-called rosy rash was only present in extreme cases of the illness. Even Snopes calls the idea preposterous . But you can't unthink it now, can you? "Rock-a-bye Baby" Nothing says sweet dreams like the image of a baby tumbling out of a treetop to his death among the shattered remnants of his cradle, yet the soothing lullaby has become so ingrained in our consciousness we rarely question the shocking nature of the lyrics to "Rock-a-bye Baby," originally titled "Hush-a-bye Baby." Hush-a-bye baby And down will fall baby Cradle and all. But are things really as they seem? Unfortunately, all of the theories are just that — theories. One claims that pilgrims were inspired by the Native American practice of letting their babies be gently rocked to sleep while their cradles rested on tree branches. Another points to an English family who lived in a gigantic yew tree.

Then, there was also the political turmoil that surrounded the overthrow of King James II in 1688. But an even stranger answer lies in an ominous warning alongside the first publication of the nursery rhyme in Mother Goose's Melody (1765): "This may serve as a Warning to the Proud and Ambitious, who climb so high that they may generally fall at last." That poor baby's a goner. "Who Killed Cock Robin?" "Who Killed Cock Robin?" details the murder of the title character and the preparation of his funeral by his friends in the animal kingdom. The original version was printed in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book (1744) and only contained the first four verses: Who killed Cock Robin? with my bow and arrow, I killed Cock Robin. Thirty years later, an extended version was published to satisfy the warped little minds of children who craved the grisly details of poor Cock Robin's demise—and they were grisly: Who saw him die? with my little dish, I caught his blood. The victim was well-mourned by his friends who carefully prepared his burial; the beetle made a shroud, the owl dug a grave, the thrush sang a psalm and so on.

As for the murderous Sparrow, despite his confession, he was free to kill again until a later addition condemned him to death by hanging. While the cruel Cock Sparrow The cause of their grief Was hung on a gibbet Next day, like a thief Still another century later, H.L. Stephens had to up the ante from disturbing to terrifying. In his Death and Burial of Poor Cock Robin (1865), he illustrates the tale with a cast of characters dressed in Victorian fashions. The creepy part is they have animal heads and human bodies. The result is like some twisted collaboration between Stephen King and Charles Dickens. Our murderer has the face of a sparrow and the upper body of Rocky II era Stallone. A dapper fly with massive wings accompanies a portly spider whose legs stretch up to his web dotted with the corpses of insects. The murder victim is the only one who actually looks like an animal—Cock Robin is the last image shown...on his back with a gaping beak and an arrow through his heart.

"It's Raining, It's Pouring" Long before they could channel their boredom into violent video games, children of the mid-twentieth century used to amuse themselves on rainy days by imagining the deaths of the elderly and putting their fantasy to a jaunty tune. It's raining, it's pouring, And bumped his head And couldn't get up in the morning. He couldn't get up because he was dead, not extra tired from bumping his head in the night. Dead. "Oranges and Lemons" The eighteenth century nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons" starts out pleasantly enough as church bells are ringing around London. Oranges and lemons, Say the bells of St. Clement's. You owe me five farthings, Say the bells of St. Martin's. But like many of these other rhymes prove, you're lulled into a false sense of security until things take a nasty turn at the end. Here comes a candle to light you to bed, Here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chip chop chip chop The last man's dead!

Folklorists Peter and Iona Opie pointed out that in the days of public executions, the condemned were led along the street to the accompaniment of the tolling of bells. Far from traumatized, children gleefully reveled in the last verses and even made a game of it. They threatened to capture whoever ran beneath their arched arms as they shouted "chip chop chip chop!" What followed wasn't an execution, but a game of tug of war between the "oranges" and "lemons." ("London Bridge is Falling Down" has a similar game sans the tug of war ending.) "Goosey Goosey Gander" If nursery rhymes sought to teach any morals, respecting elders wasn't one of them. Just like the poor old man who fatally bumped his head on a rainy day, the one who refuses to say his prayers has a similar fate in "Goosey Goosey Gander." Goosey goosey gander, And in my lady's chamber. There I met an old man Who wouldn't say his prayers, So I took him by his left leg And threw him down the stairs.

Some earlier versions of the rhyme actually command the listener to "take him by the left leg and throw him down the stairs" rather than simply recount the story. Thankfully, the earliest recording from 1784 makes no mention of the cruel punishment but instead offers a gift of a "cup of sack and a race of ginger." "There was an Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe" Apparently none of these naughty children who go around murdering the elderly live with the "Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe" (first published in Infant Institutes, 1797). At first glance, this rhyme seems to depict a poverty-stricken woman trying to provide food and discipline for her children. There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do; She gave them some broth without any bread; Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. A politically-correct version might have her doling out time-outs instead of whippings, but we get the point.

According to another version from James Orchard Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes of England, things take a creepy turn after the lights go out: When she came back She went to the wright To get them a coffin When she came back She gaed up the stair To ring the bell And down she fell "Three Blind Mice" "Three Blind Mice" is one of the primary examples of a nursery rhyme that wasn't intended for the nursery at all. It made its debut in Thomas Ravenscroft's Deuteromelia or The Seconde part of Musicks Melodie in 1609 in a different form: Three blind mice, three blind mice Dame Iulian, Dame Iulian The Miller and his Merry Olde Wife Shee scrapte her tripe lick thou the knife James Orchard Halliwell introduced the tune to children in 1842 with Nursery Rhymes of England, and made it more kid-friendly. Or not. Instead of a miller's wife, we have a farmer's wife—who should be used to seeing mice, living on a farm and all—wielding a carving knife. Not only have the poor mice lost their sight, but they're about to lose their tails, too.

Nursery rhymes have long been prejudiced against mice, though. An even more disturbing scenario was described in "Three Mice Went into a Hole to Spin." Little rodent tailors have to contend with a cat trying to smooth talk her way into their home. It used to end with the mice singing a wise refusal "oh no, Miss Pussy, you'd bite off our heads!", but a chilling alternate ending was included in Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes (1924): Says Puss: "You look so wondrous wise, I like your whiskers and bright black eyes; your house is the nicest house I see I think there is room for you and me." The mice were so pleased and they opened the door And pussy soon laid them all dead on the floor.

"Sing a Song of Sixpence" In what appears to be a centuries-old prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, a royal maid gets her nose pecked off by a blackbird after his brothers are baked into a pie for the king in "Sing a Song of Sixpence." Even though they emerge from the pastry unscathed—and tweet a happy tune, in fact—their protector is still determined to take his wrath out on someone from the royal household. The maid was in the garden, Hanging out the clothes; When down came a blackbird And pecked off her nose. It seems unfair that the maid and not the baker is his target, but she's given some relief in later versions as a skilled doctor sews her nose back on. In the earliest known version of the rhyme, however, it's not birds that are baked into the pies, but "four and twenty naughty boys" ala Hansel and Gretel. So while the image of a woman getting her nose ripped off by a vicious blackbird may inspire a lifetime of Ornithophobia, it's a less terrifying fate than ending up in the king's stomach (or outhouse).

"Alouette" Speaking of birds, little kids unfamiliar with the French language may sing along with the lyrics to this tune in ignorant bliss until they realize it's about slowly tearing the feathers off of their chirping friends. The "Three Blind Mice" have nothing on the torture this poor bird endured. Little skylark, lovely little skylark Little lark, I'll pluck your feathers off The lengthy process is as followed (with enthusiastic repetitions in between): I'll pluck the feathers off your head. I'll pluck the feathers off your head. I'll pluck the feathers off your beak. I'll pluck the feathers off your beak. I'll pluck the feathers off your eyes. I'll pluck the feathers off your eyes. I'll pluck the feathers off your neck. I'll pluck the feathers off your neck. I'll pluck the feathers off your wings. I'll pluck the feathers off your wings. I'll pluck the feathers off your feet. I'll pluck the feathers off your feet. I'll pluck the feathers off your tail. I'll pluck the feathers off your tail. I'll pluck the feathers off your back.

I'll pluck the feathers off your back. Off your back! Be really afraid of the kids who do understand French and keep on singing. "Eeper Weeper" Mother Goose again proves that yesterday's crime can become today's nursery rhyme. While modern children's songs teach kids how to count and learn their ABCs, children of bygone eras had different needs...like how to efficiently hide a dead body. "Eeper Weeper" offers the bonus of using your existing career skills to do it. Eeper Weeper, chimney sweeper, Had a wife but couldn't keep her. Had another, didn't love her, Up the chimney he did shove her. An earlier version from Scotland includes the delightful detail of mice feasting on the woman's corpse. "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater" found a similar solution when he stashed his cheating wife's body in a pumpkin shell "and there he kept her very well." "Oh My Darling, Clementine" In "Oh My Darling, Clementine," the narrator recalls his lost love—a big-footed miner's daughter who gets a splinter in her toe and stumbles into a river. Because he couldn't swim, he stood nearby and watched her drown.

The song is meant to be light-hearted, but it still paints a vivid picture of Clementine's demise: Ruby lips above the water, Blowing bubbles, soft and fine, But, alas, I was no swimmer, So I lost my Clementine. Percy Montrose is credited with the earliest version of the classic folk ballad, which debuted in 1884, but the song was actually inspired by H.S. Thompson's earlier song "Down by the River Liv'd a Maiden." The 1863 ode to Clementine describes her womanly features like "her lips were like two luscious beefsteaks, dipp'd in tomato sauce and brine." In this version, her lover plies her with wine before she takes her fatal dip into the water. In the 1960s, Bobby Darin added insult to injury when he ended his cover with a fat joke: Hey you sailor Way out in your whaler A-with your harpoon and your trusty line If she shows now, yell... A-there she blows now! It just may be chunky Clementine "London Bridge is Falling Down" London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down.

London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady. "London Bridge is Falling Down" references the famous stone bridge that was commissioned by Henry II in the late-1100s. It's a simple song that lists different materials to try to keep the bridge from collapsing (earlier versions claim London Bridge is broken down, rather than falling down). Folklorists have tried in vain to link the famous "my fair lady" to historic women like Anne Boleyn, Matilda of Scotland and Eleanor of Provence. But for horror purposes, we're not concerned with the lady of the song; we're concerned with the man. The watchman to be exact. Set a man to watch all night, Watch all night, watch all night, Set a man to watch all night, My fair lady. The watchman seems to be appointed to make sure thieves don't make away with the precious building materials like silver and gold, but there's also a more sinister explanation for his role, according to the Opies.

Legend has it, living people were built into the foundations of walls and gates "to serve as guardian spirits." In the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes, they cite tales of other famous bridges, like Aryte in Greece, which is said to have kept from falling down after the wife of the master-mason was walled in and the bridge of Rosporden in Brittany that was failing until a four-year-old boy was sacrificed. Indeed, children's bodies have been found embedded into the foundations of bridges like the Bridge Gate at Bremen. As far as we know, however, no humans were harmed in the making of London Bridge. ~Amanda Flinner, February 28, 2013 About the Author: Amanda FlinnerAmanda is a freelance writer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a degree in English/Writing from Geneva College (Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania). When she's not listening to jazz and pop standards from the '40s and '50s, she's obsessing over classic movies. She has no musical ability whatsoever except for a short stint as a saxophone player in the sixth grade.

More from Amanda Flinner send your comment 11 Inappropriate Lyrics From Nursery Rhymes That Will Ruin Your Childhood | Gurl.com 11 Inappropriate Lyrics From Nursery Rhymes That Will Ruin Your Childhood Thursday, January 7, 2016 by Nakeisha Campbell When I was a little girl, I used to enjoy signing along to popular nursery rhymes. I can remember sitting in a circle with my fellow classmates in preschool, singing the words to songs like “Ring Around The Rosie,” “Two Little Dickie Birds,” and “Humpty Dumpty.” We’d all smile and giggle as we sang along, but little did we all know that we were belting out some of the most disturbing lyrics ever. *cringes* If you really think about it, some of the most popular nursery rhymes are based on dark stories and they include a lot of violence. So for example there’s “Three Blind Mice,” which involves getting their tails carved off with a knife and “Humpty Dumpty,” which actually talks about Humpty falling and breaking into pieces. Sounds disturbing, right? I mean, these probably aren’t the most appropriate songs for kids.

Check out this list of 11 inappropriate lyrics from nursery rhymes that will probably ruin your childhood. 1. Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater Lyrics: Peter Peter pumpkin eater, had a wife and couldn’t keep her, He put her in a pumpkin shell, and there he kept her very well! So basically, a guy holds his wife hostage inside a pumpkin shell like she’s his pet. That is NOT okay. Lyrics: Needles and pins, needles and pins, When a Man marries, his Trouble begins. Really though? Is marriage so awful that it will completely ruin every man’s life? Come on. 3. Rock-a-Bye-Baby Lyrics: Rock-a-bye baby, on the treetop. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, and down will come baby, cradle and all. Why in the world would anyone want to imagine a cradle falling apart with a baby inside? That’s no lullaby, it’s a freaking horror story. 4. Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe Lyrics: There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do.

She gave them some broth without any bread. Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed. This story is actually depressing. I mean, you’ve got a poor family and an abusive mother who has no clue how to take care of her many children. I just can’t. 5. Sing a Song of Sixpence Lyrics: The king was in his counting house, counting out his money. The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes, when down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose! The woman became noseless! Literally! And what kid wants to sing about a bloody, pecked-off nose? *shudders* 6. Three Blind Mice Lyrics: Three blind mice, three blind mice, See how they run, see how they run, They all ran after the farmer’s wife, Who cut off their tails with a carving knife, Did you ever see such a thing in your life as three blind mice? There is so much violence in this! The poor mice are blind and helpless, why should their tails be chopped off?! 7.

Little Bo Peep Lyrics: Then up she took her little crook, determined for to find them; she found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed, for they’d left their tails behind them. I feel like this is the saddest drama story ever, written in the form of a nursery rhyme. NOT FAIR. 8. Ring-a-Round a Rosie Lyrics: Ring-a-round a rosie, a pocket full of posies. Ashes! Ashes! We all fall down. According to legend, this song is actually talking about a plague. Absolutely nothing to be jolly about here. 9. Who Killed Cock Robin? Lyrics: Who saw him die? I, said the Fly, with my little eye, I saw him die. Who caught his blood? I, said the Fish, with my little dish, I caught his blood. Wait. What? I still can’t believe that there is an entire nursery rhyme dedicated to a character’s death. Talk about depressing! 10. What Are Little Boys Made Of? Lyrics: What are little boys made of? What are little boys made of? Snips & snails & puppy dogs tails and such are little boys made of.

Well of course, we should teach our young boys that they’re made of slimy snails and dog tails because that’ll boost their confidence. Right? 11. Humpty Dumpty Lyrics: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again. Ouch! Humpty Dumpty has a great fall and then ends up broken beyond repair. Not only does that sound painful, but it’s the absolute worst ending for a nursery rhyme. Which of these lyrics do you think is the worst? Do you have any others to add? Tell us in the comments below! You can follow the author, Nakeisha Campbell, on Twitter and Instagram .

Question: According to the nursery rhyme, where did Peter Peter pumpkin eater keep his wife?
Answer: Pumpkin shell