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The Secret Origins Of Ten Popular Nursery Rhymes You Learnt As A Child

By Andrew Alpin, 18 June 2017

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Did you sing Ring-a-round the roses when you were a kid? Did you know that it had a very sinister and hidden meaning? Yes!! Among many old and traditional nursery rhymes, there lurks a dark secret that not many know about. It so happens that several events in history served as the inspiration for nursery rhymes under the banner “Mother Goose’s Nursery Rhymes” as we know them today. Read on to find out the secret origins behind nursery rhymes still sung today.

1 Ring around the Roses

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“Ring a Ring o Roses, or Ring around the Rosie” dates back to 1881. Although a very controversial nursery rhyme, it was considered as a reference to the great plague of London in 1665. While some feel it isn’t possible and there are different theories, this explanation matches the lines of the poem which is rather self explanatory.. Ring of roses refers to the malodorous rash that would appear on the skin as a result of the bubonic plague infection. “Pocket full of posies” refers to the bunch of Posies people carried in their pockets believing it would protect them from disease and the last line “atishoo atishoo we all fall down”. Well!! If that doesn’t explain it what does?

Ring around the Roses

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