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.

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Music:

Intro - Epic of Gilgamesh in Sumerian by Peter Pringle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUcTs​...

Forever by CO.AG music
   • Background Music  - forever co.ag music  

Baa Baa Black Sheep by Stockwaves - Royalty Free
   • Baa, Baa, Black Sheep - Royalty Free ...  

Elf Meditation Preview by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song​...
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b​...

London Bridge by Stockwaves Royalty Free
   • London Bridge Is Falling Down - Royal...  \

Ulgonsah Witches by CO.AG Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj5nX​...

Ring-a-Roses - Royalty Free
   • Ring-A-Ring-O'-Roses- Activity Song w...  

Is This the Way it Ends? by CO.AG Music
   • Is This the way it Ends -  Ambient Ba...  

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​...

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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...

What Is the Real Meaning Behind ‘Baa, Baa, Black Sheep’?https://www.sporcle.com/blog/2019/05/...

“London Bridge is Falling Down”: Kids Nursery Rhyme Possibly Has a Sinister Meaning
https://historydaily.org/london-bridg...

Ring Around the Rosie: Metafolklore, Rhyme and Reason. By Stephen Winick
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/0...

Subverted Innocence
https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Categor...

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