32 Comments
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Martine 🦋's avatar

This is very disturbing Rea.... I can't think about a children's rhyme like this ( mind me, just waking up...) but it gets you wondering what this man was thinking 🤔

Rea de Miranda's avatar

...and we sang along with it! Good morning sunshine!

Martine 🦋's avatar

😊 Good afternoon!

Rosetta McKinnon's avatar

Alot of children's nursery rhymes are jacked up. Like "london bridge is falling down, falling down, london bridges falling down my fair lady. Take the key and lock her up, take the key and lock her up. My fair lady..." that taking the key and lock her up, suspect and not kool.

Rea de Miranda's avatar

We grew up with violent songs. Goodness gracious! What does that teach a child?

Parker McCoy's avatar

It's a nice summation of life's brutality.

At the same time, good Lord. Haha.

Rea de Miranda's avatar

I agree, Parker!

Virginia Curtis's avatar

We have ring around the rosie in English... Pocketful of Poseys. Left over and prompted by the era of Plague when the dead were in the streets and the flowers were carried to ward off the stench. So many children's stories are disturbing. I don't think it's only the translation, but harsh messages to teach lessons? I don't know! Grimm's fairy tales were also quite Grim! Love, Virg

Rea de Miranda's avatar

Now that I’m an adult I enjoy the Grimm tales. It could be to teach a lesson, but goodness!

Carole Roseland's avatar

That’s a really awful rhyme, Rea. A lot of nursery rhymes are mean, I think. How about the old woman who lived in a shoe—sounds like child abuse. “she whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.”

Rea de Miranda's avatar

It’s disturbing that they seem to promote violence.

Mark Farley’s wandering’s's avatar

That’s really disturbing, although as I’m led so are those historically learned by British children.

Very fortunately I lived elsewhere!!

Rea de Miranda's avatar

I wonder why it became so popular?

Mike's avatar

"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.

Up Jack got, and home did trot,

As fast as he could caper,

He went to bed to mend his head

With vinegar and brown paper."

Or, the Baltimore version:

"Jack and Jill went up the hill,

Each with a buck and a quarter.

Jill came down with two and a half.

I don't think they went up for water"

Rea de Miranda's avatar

Patch up your pain with vinegar and paper. Can you imagine?

Mike's avatar

"Georgie Porgie, Puddin' and Pie,

Kissed the girls and made them cry,

When the boys came out to play,

Georgie Porgie ran away."

Rea de Miranda's avatar

What did it teach us? That it’s a game. Disturbing when you look at it from our view.

Mike's avatar

Yes, absolutely! And given hundreds of repetitions, I wonder how many grooves got etched in our minds

Rea de Miranda's avatar

Etched is the right word.

Stephen Drew's avatar

A not-so-subtle conditioning to the "ways of the world." How morally nihilistic.

Rea de Miranda's avatar

Exactly my thoughts, Stephen!

The Dope Doula's avatar

I've been saying this for years! I've also translated it for all my friends! 😂

Rea de Miranda's avatar

No wonder we are crazy! 😆

Esther Stanway-Williams's avatar

Oh my goodness! 🫣

Rea de Miranda's avatar

My sentiments precisely!

Jane Stephenson's avatar

A lot of the rhymes we know today as childrens songs started as political comment.

Its thought the fair lady in london bridge refered to one of the unfortunate queens who were imprisoned.

Humpty dumpty could have referred to a seige in the english civil war.

Rea de Miranda's avatar

I don’t think this Afrikaans rhyme had anything to do with politics. Interesting, Jane.

Jane Stephenson's avatar

Probably not. There are a lot of violent nursery songs, too. I never understood punch and judy either.

Beth L. Gainer's avatar

Rea, disturbing lyrics indeed!

Unfortunately, many children in the U.S. like me used to recite so many lyrics that were disturbing. We used to sing Ring Around the Rosie, "a pocket full of posey, ashes, ashes, we all fall down." This is about a plague, where the rosie part was a rash, I believe, and posey was supposed to cover it up. Not sure, but it is ominous.

Rea de Miranda's avatar

We recited the same here in South Africa. We didn’t even know what it meant.

Beth L. Gainer's avatar

We didn't know what it meant either. Ugh.