HAVE YOU EVER stopped to really think about just how twisted nursery rhymes are? They’re the things from which nightmares are made.
BABIES FALLING out of trees. Birds pecking out women’s eyes. And my personal favorite, a sweet and simple little rhyme about the plague disguised as a children’s game.
NOT SURE which rhyme I’m referring to? Why, it’s ring around the rosie, a charming little poem and playground favorite about the black plague of 1665. But how is it about the plague? What does it really mean? Let’s break it down, shall we?
Ring-a-round the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down
IN 1951 Peter and Iona Opie, the leading authorities on nursery rhymes at the time (yes, there are nursery rhyme experts. Who knew?), gave the following explanation for the origin of the rhyme:
“The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions have given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the Great Plague. A rosy rash, they allege, was a symptom of the plague, and posies…were carried as protection and to ward off the smell of the disease. Sneezing or coughing was a final fatal symptom, and “all fall down” was exactly what happened.”
ASHES, ashes, we all fall down – this is pretty self explanatory. “Ashes” is believed to refer to the burning of the corpses of the infected and “we all fall down is”…well…everyone dying.
ISN’T THAT uplifting. Remember that the next time you see kids holding hands, skipping in a circle, chanting this rhyme and then watching them crumple into little piles on the ground when they reach the end of the song. And we wonder why so many kids grow up to need therapy.
AND THAT is part of the inspiration behind this week’s Project 52 offering, which I now present to you with morbid glee (my favorite sort of glee, to be sure). You’re welcome. *wink*
17/52
THEME: PASTEL
TITLE: ASHES ASHES WE ALL FALL DOWN
Kisses & Chaos,
Alli Woods Frederick
PS – Thank you, Sarah, for including “ashes ashes we all fall down” in My Four Hens’ weekly Project 52 roundup, Eye Candy.
images :: ashes, ashes, we all fall down © 2014 alli woods frederick. all rights reserved. what does that mean? it means using, sharing, posting, displaying, transmitting, creating derivative works, etc. of this image in any way shape or form is completely and totally illegal unless you have written permission from me first. want to use it? contact me and ask. I’m a nice person. I just might say it’s okay. *wink*::
