Strange Sight | CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND UNSOLVED CASES

Lullabies with dark meaning

[OVERVIEW]

There are many child friendly stories that have a dark meaning or caused a tragedy. Some of them many don't even know. In this chapter I'll be going over lullabies. Next chapter I'll be going over books, movies and shows.

[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 thing in your life
As three blind mice.

The "farmer's wife" refers to Queen Mary I, otherwise known as Bloody Mary. The "three blind mice" were noblemen who were convicted of plotting against Queen Mary and as a result, she had them burned alive at the stake.

[RING AROUND THE ROSIE]

Ring around the rosie
Pocket full of posies,
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall down!

When I was growing up I was always told this was about the holocaust but that isn't actually true. So if anyone ever told you that, they lied to you.

It's actually a reference to The Black Death that plagued Europe in 1347. The Black Death resulted in the deaths of nearly 50 million people, but believed to actually be 200 million.

People stuffed flowers known as posies in the dead's pockets to help mask the smell of their decaying bodies. They began to burn bodies in order to help stop the infection spreading. The Black Death wiped out at least 20% of the population at the time.

[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.

Jack and Jill are assumed to represent Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette

The couple was said to be a greedy couple, carelessly spending money, and investing their life into finer goods (referring to went up the hill to fetch a pail of water - eager gluttony). King Louis XVI was beheaded (lost his crown) in 1793 and Marie Antoinette was then beheaded (came tumbling after) around 10 months after her husbands death.

HOWEVER, this has been disputed as it's believed Jack and Jill was written before Louis and Marie's reign.

[BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP]

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full.
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.

This was originally written in 1731 and most perceived it as a reference to the high taxes on wool back in 1275. However now many believe it is about the American slave trade.

People found it odd to say the least that it's a black sheep and a few lines later uses the word master.

[GOOSEY GOOSEY GANDER]

Goosey goosey gander,
Whither shall I wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
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.

This 1784 nursery rhyme is about religious persecution during the days when Catholic priests would hide themselves in order to say their Latin-based prayers, a major no-no at the time-not even in the privacy of one's own home.

There have been many versions created afterwards to mask the dark original.

[EENY, MEENY, MINY, MOE]

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers, let it go,
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

We've almost all used this to pick something. Whether it's choosing between two things you want to do or picking the seeker for hide and seek, almost everyone has said this.

But did you know that in the original version the word tiger was not in it?

Instead of tiger, the n word was in its place.

Because of this many people find it offensive, even if you use the modern day version with tiger in it.

In 2004, 2 men sued Southwest Airlines for intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress, following an incident where a flight attendant used the rhyme in a humorous fashion during takeoff when she told passengers: "Eeny meeny miny mo, Please sit down it's time to go."

If you are wondering, the airliner won the case.

[OLD MOTHER HUBBARD]

Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard,
To give the poor dog a bone;
But when she got there
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.

She went to the baker's
To buy him some bread;
When she came back
The dog was dead!

She went to the undertaker's
To buy him a coffin;
When she came back
The dog was laughing.

She took a clean dish
to get him some tripe;
When she came back
He was smoking his pipe.

She went to the fishmonger's
to buy him some fish;
When she came back
He was licking the dish.

She went to the alehouse
To get him some beer;
When she came back
The dog sat in a chair.

She went to the tavern
For white wine and red;
When she came back
The dog stood on his head.

She went to the fruiterer's
To buy him some fruit;
When she came back
He was playing the flute.

She went to the tailor's
To buy him a coat;
When she came back
He was riding a goat.

She went to the hatter's
To buy him a hat;
When she came back
He was feeding her cat.

She went to the barber's
To buy him a wig
When she came back.
He was dancing a jig.

She went to the cobbler's
To buy him some shoes;
When she came back
He was reading the news.

She went to the sempstress
To buy him some linen;
When she came back
The dog was spinning.

She went to the hosier's
To buy him some hose;
When she came back
He was dressed in his clothes.

The Dame made a curtsy,
The dog made a bow;
The Dame said, Your servant;
The dog said, Bow-wow.

This wonderful dog
Was Dame Hubbard's delight,
He could read, he could dance,
He could sing, he could write;

She gave him rich dainties
Whenever he fed,
And erected this monument
When he was dead.

The poem is speculated to have been written as a mockery of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, whose refusal to grant an annulment to King Henry VIII, so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, led to his political downfall.

[THOUGHTS]

Are there any backstories you found interesting?