Plague, sacrifice and mass executions – dark meanings behind popular nursery rhymes revealed

These traditional rhymes have been sung regularly by children for centuries – but some of them can be traced back to macabre and dark events in history

From skipping in circles singing Ring A Roses to making arches and dancing to Oranges and Lemons, nursery rhymes have long been a staple part of school playgrounds.

But while the tunes may seem the embodiment of childhood innocence, the back stories behind some of them are anything but.

Tales of plague deaths, sacrificial burials and execution have been suggested in the origins behind traditional nursery rhymes.

So strap in, because some of these will make you re-think your entire childhood.

Ring O’ Roses

Most people know the origins of the song, Ring-A-Ring O’ Roses , but for those who don’t, the tune can be dated back to the 18th century and is widely regarded to refer to plague outbreaks through history, most likely the medieval Black Death which claimed as many as 200 million lives across Europe and Asia.

Ill-fated souls to be struck down with the disease would first notice a red, ring-shaped rash – hence the rhyme’s title – while ‘a tishoo’ clearly references the symptom of sneezing and coughing.

Long before the days of surgical masks, ‘a pocket full of posies’ refers to small bunches of flowers and herbs people would carry to potentially protect themselves from the disease, as well as staving off the foul smell from patients’ rotting flesh.

You can probably guess all too well what ‘we all fall down’ refers to.

Oranges and Lemons

One of the most popular rhymes in the English language which dates back to 1744, several theories have been put forward for the meaning behind school yard classic Oranges and Lemons .

Although the song sings of well known areas of London and its churches, it likely is remembering the different trades they were associated with – for example, fruit from overseas being offloaded at old docks on the Thames at Cheapside, where St Clements’ church stands.

However, not as many people will be familiar with the final lines of the rhyme, which sing:

‘ Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!

Chip chop chip chop the last man is dead.’

Some interpret the sinister final lines as a nod to criminals condemned to death being ridden through London as they are taken to their execution. Back in the 18th century, bell-ringers would sound the bells to herald a public execution.

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush

According to historian R. S. Duncan, the origins of this nursery classic can be traced back to Wakefield Prison in Yorkshire.

Known by locals as ‘Monster Mansion’, the high security jail has housed inmates including Harold Shipman and Soham killer Ian Huntley.

The ‘mulberry bush’ in the song is actually a real tree on the site, around which female prisoners were exercised at the original jail in the 1600s. It’s thought the inmates invented the song to keep their children – who would be incarcerated with them – amused.

Sadly, the original mulberry tree the song is rumoured to be about was cut down in 2019 after dying. Cuttings have been taken though, and it’s currently being re-grown to preserve a piece of heart-breaking yet fascinating history.

London Bridge

Such is the popularity of this rhyme, even Fergie got down to it by sampling it for her 2006 hit.

In the song, children form an archway with their arms and, as it ends, your arms come down in a drop to capture someone inside. But this game has a chilling backstory.

According to MyLondon, there are a number of theories as to where the song originates, including an old Viking war song, but there is one that stands out as particularly sinister pertaining to child sacrifice.

British folklorist Alice Bertha Gomme suggests the song refers to the burying of children – sometimes alive – due to ancient superstitions that ‘a bridge would collapse unless the body of a human sacrifice was buried in its foundations’.

Grim, right? Thankfully, there is no archaeological evidence for any human remains in the foundations of London Bridge.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Those who regularly sang this as children may have assumed it was about gardening advice – as adults, the line ‘How does your garden grow?’ often solicits an immature giggle.

But ‘contrary’ is an interesting choice of word given that the tune is actually about the reign of Queen Mary I, or ‘Bloody Mary’ as she is most commonly known as today.

Ardent Catholic Mary Tudor is remembered for her mass execution of Protestants – some 283 were killed either by beheading or burning at the stake, while hundreds more fled into exile.

‘Silver bells’ and ‘cockle shells’ are actually old terms for torture devices. Lovely.