Remember being in the playground, dancing around in a circle and singing until you all fell in a giggling heap? How innocent and nonsensical it seemed at the time. However, a lot of traditional nursery rhymes are far from fun and have origins set within torture, sexual behaviour and even death. And so, here I am, to ruin your childhood…
3 Blind Mice – First Published 1609
There appears to be religious connotations to this rhyme; Queen Mary I of England and Ireland ruled between 1553 and 1558. Bloody Mary, as she came to be known, was a strict Catholic and demanded that the people she ruled over share her faith. Bloody Mary is strongly suggested to be the farmer’s wife in the rhyme. The mice may represent 3 Protestant bishops, the Oxford Martyrs: Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer. They defied Mary’s instruction to convert to Catholicism and were burnt alive at the stake; there were rumours that Mary had them blinded before executing them, but this could be an embellishment of the original story.
Ladybird, Ladybird – First Published 1744
Another religious one! It’s suggested that ‘ladybird’ is a play on the Catholic term ‘Our Lady’, and that the rhyme was used to warn Catholics. The Act of Uniformity (1559 & 1662) insisted that all residents attended the Protestant Church services. If they were caught not following the services or performing Catholic traditions such as mass, they would be punished, often by being burnt alive at the stake.
London Bridge – First Published 1744
There are a few different theories behind this old nursery rhyme. One is that the Viking leader, Olaf Haraldsson, pulled the bridge down in 1014 during an invasion. There is little proof that this happened, although a collection of Norse poems written in 1230 could provide some evidence. One of the verses translates to ‘London bridge is broken down. Gold is won, and bright renown.’ My favourite theory is that the bridge was built on human corpses. Alice Bertha Gomme wrote the book ‘The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland’, in which she refers to immurement. Immurement was a medieval punishment, which was burying someone alive; the unfortunate person would be bricked up in a room with no windows, doors or exit of any kind. They would then be left to die, either from starvation or asphyxiation. In one version of the rhyme, the lyrics say, ‘Take the key and lock her up,’ which could prove a little truth in the theory. People at the time believed that if there wasn’t a sacrifice made within the foundations, the bridge would collapse; there are suggestions that the sacrifices were children. Luckily there is no archaeological evidence that the bridge is a rather posh tomb. As of yet…
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary – First Published 1744
This one is dark, even by my standards. There are a couple of theories, both relating to ‘Bloody Queen Mary’. The first one is rather sad; Mary was known to struggle to carry a pregnancy to full term, and the ‘how does your garden grow’ could be mocking the lack of heirs. ‘Pretty maids all in a row’ may reference her lost children. However, it is more than likely that the rhyme referred to her sadistic nature. Silver bells were an instrument of torture; it was placed over the thumb, and the screw was turned until the thumb was crushed beyond all use and recognition. Cockleshells were similar, but they were attached to the (and sorry about this!) genitalia. Ouch. Another vile invention that Mary owned was ‘The Maiden’, an early version of the guillotine. Sadly, for the victims, it wasn’t very efficient and could take up to 11 blows to sever the head from the body. Often, they would try and run away after the first botched attempt (can’t say I blame them), ending with them being physically restrained until the execution was complete. The Maiden was nicknamed ‘the Maid’. Mary would execute numerous Protestants, leaving them all ‘in a row’.
Orange and Lemons – First Published 1744
I’m sure we all remember playing this in our childhood; forming the arch for people to walk under before bringing it down to ‘chop off their head’. In the 18th century, bells would ring in London to signal there was going to be a public execution. I read that a condemned criminal would be led publicly around all the old bells, before reaching their place of execution. A lesser-known theory I read about was that the song referred to a woman losing her virginity; apparently in one version of the rhyme it refers to ‘old Father Baldpate’, which was an innuendo for a man’s penis, and the chopping of the head was the cherry popping, so to speak. However, I would take this theory with a pinch of salt. The rhyme was also used in George Orwell’s famous dystopian novel ‘1984’, to demonstrate the separation of people from the past and to foreshadow Winston’s fate.
Goosey Goosey Gander – First Published 1784
This appears to be another rhyme with its roots in religion. During the reign of King Henry VIII and, later, his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, Catholicism was banned as both royals were strict Protestants. Catholic priests would hide away in small areas of buildings called priest holes. If a poor priest was discovered, he would be forcibly removed from his hiding place. Some accounts I read said that they would be dragged down the stairs by one leg, and the procedure was brutally repeated until the priest was either dead or suffering terrible agonies. A different idea was that the rhyme was of a sexual nature. ‘In my lady’s chambers’ seems an obvious reference but in medieval times sex workers were referred to as geese. Being bitten by the goose may refer to catching a sexually transmitted disease and the wandering may be the spread of said sexually transmitted disease. I’m not sure which theory is stranger.
Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater – First Published 1825
Well, this one has been well and truly ruined for me. It was written during the 1800s in America as a warning to women to stay loyal to their husbands. One version is that Peter’s wife couldn’t stay faithful to him. Thanks to these ‘extra-curricular’ activities, giant Peter ‘couldn’t keep her’ and, as divorce was frowned upon, he decided to kill her and bury her body in a huge, hollowed-out pumpkin. As you do. Others believe the pumpkin represents a brothel, where Peter forced his wife to work. Another theory that caught my attention is that it was about the 13th-century English king John; the story goes that one of his nobles was rebelling against King John’s rule so, as revenge, John took the noble’s wife and bricked her up in a wall, leaving her to her fate. Immurement seems to be a bit of a common theme!
Lucy Locket – First Published 1842
In 18th century London, Catherine Maria ‘Kitty’ Fisher was a famous courtesan; this wasn’t too unusual as sex work was rife at the time. Kitty was known for being witty and intelligent, as well as her more private talents (ahem). Lucy Locket was a barmaid at Ye Olde Cock Tavern (behave, you lot) in Fleet Street, London. She had an admirer who would spend all his money on her; apparently, a man like this was known as a ‘pocket’. Once all the money ran out, Lucy got rid of him and he soon turned his attention to Kitty. However, because he had no money, there was no penny in the pocket. The ribbons refer to the practice at the time of sex workers tying their money to their thighs with ribbons. Another slightly more boring theory is that Kitty loved her wealth and would show off, once even eating a £20 note (around £4,500 in today’s money). The rhyme may have mocked how little Lucy earnt compared to Kitty.
Ring a Ring O’ Roses – First Published 1881
Most people believe this to be related to the Bubonic Plague, better known as The Black Death, which raged through Europe between 1346 and 1353. The rosy rash would heavily imply this; it was a well-known symptom of the Bubonic Plague. Posies were carried as a protection against the disease, as people believed the smell of the herbs would ward it away. One of the final, fatal symptoms was sneezing and coughing before ‘we all fall down.’ I’m sure we ‘all fall down’ needs no explanation. However, the nursery rhyme wasn’t printed until Kate Greenaway’s book ‘Mother Goose or The Old Nursery Rhymes’ was published in 1881, meaning it’s a hell of a long time for people to be reciting it before someone finally thought to write it down. Another theory is that the rhyme relates to a ban on dancing amongst Protestants in Britain during the 19th century. Teenagers would get around this ban by walking around in circles, called play parties, with no music playing. Young children soon thought this looked fun and developed this idea for themselves, although, in the end, they would all literally ‘fall down’ into the middle of the circle. Although this is the most likely explanation, I prefer the Plague theory.
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush – First Published mid-19th Century
According to Historian, R. S. Duncan, this rhyme originated at Wakefield Prison in England. The female prisoners would exercise by walking around the Mulberry tree on the prison grounds. There is another opinion that prisoners would be walked around the Mulberry tree before being executed. The original tree was still standing until recently; it died in 2017 and was cut down in 2019. There is a beautiful story that there were 3 words originally carved into the tree, ‘maximum massage gene’. Historians have suggested that this is a reference to oral sex between the female prisoners, hence ‘here we go round the Mulberry bush.’ I really hope that is the real origin; it sounds much more fun than just walking around.
So, what do you think? Do you know any other nursery rhymes with dark origins? Finding out where the rhymes may have come from has made me eager to revisit more childhood stories and rhymes, which is an article for another day! As always, please let me know what you think in the comments, take care of yourselves and I will see you next time.
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