The Dark Side of Nursery Rhymes

Lurking beneath the seemingly playful and innocent lyrics of nursery rhymes lie dark and disturbing origins. Rhymes that are believed to be about the Plague (Ring-a-Roses), slavery (Baa-Baa Black Sheep), and in one instance, burying people alive (London Bridge). But do these unsettling backstories actually have any historical truth to them? Or are they simply urban legends meant to frighten and entertain? In this video, let’s explore the gruesome and grim origins of beloved children’s songs, and separate the fact from the folklore as we delve into dark side of nursery rhymes. This video only covers three of the most popular songs, but there are plenty of other nursery rhymes with dark origins. Fairytales too. Let me know what you'd like to see down below and I might revisit this topic. Thank you all for 222k subscribers :) H. --------- Music: Intro - Epic of Gilgamesh in Sumerian by Peter Pringle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUcTs​... Forever by CO.AG music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TblP1MS9Z5w Baa Baa Black Sheep by Stockwaves - Royalty Free https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wkUKtlVltg Elf Meditation Preview by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song​... License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b​... London Bridge by Stockwaves Royalty Free https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk-lOV8LTIc\ Ulgonsah Witches by CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj5nX​... Ring-a-Roses - Royalty Free https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRsuanAdmsg Is This the Way it Ends? by CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-88hQ5dd0Ag Ring-a-Rosey. Lomax, John Avery, Ruby T Lomax, and Unidentified Children. Ring round rosey Guess who she told me. Burkeville, Texas, 1939. Outro - Peaceful Ambient Music by CO.AG https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcav​... --------- Sources & Further Reading: The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes . Edited by Iona and Peter Opie. Oxford University Press. 1997 Edition. Nursery Rhyme - Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursery_rhyme What Is the Real Meaning Behind ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’?https://www.sporcle.com/blog/2019/05/real-meaning-behind-baa-baa-black-sheep/ “London Bridge is Falling Down”: Kids Nursery Rhyme Possibly Has a Sinister Meaning https://historydaily.org/london-bridge-is-falling-down-kids-nursery-rhyme-possibly-has-a-sinister-meaning Ring Around the Rosie: Metafolklore, Rhyme and Reason. By Stephen Winick https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/07/ring-around-the-rosie-metafolklore-rhyme-and-reason/ Subverted Innocence https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Category:Subverted_Innocence_Tropes --------- Find me on Social Media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/hochelaga_yt​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hochelaga_yt/​ Discord: https://discord.gg/29tngpT​ --------- Email me: [email protected] #nurseryrhymes #dark #creepy