Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Nursery Rhymes Have The Darkest Meanings

People Break Down Which Nursery Rhymes Have The Darkest Meanings
man in white and red long sleeve shirt holding brown horse painting

If you really think about it, most nursery rhymes are super dark. Almost like they're warning children of what will happen if they misbehave, or to show them the horrors of the word. Especially the German ones, for some reason. Here are some of the most disturbing nursery rhymes.

u/DomMedbery11 asked: Most nursery rhymes have a dark meaning behind them, which one blows your mind the most?



Sounds culty to me.

One from my childhood that not many people seem to remember (maybe I just grew up in a cult without realising) was this:

"Oranges and lemons," say the bells of St. Clement's

"I owe you five farthings," say the bells of St. Martin's

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey

"When I grow rich," say the bells of Shoreditch

"When will that be?" say the bells of Stepney


"How should I know?" says the great bell of Bow

Here comes the candle to light you to bed

And here comes the axe-man to cut off your head

Chip, chop, chip, chop

The last man's dead

We would sing this in a large group. Two people would form an archway with their hands and everyone else would process through it. At the words "chip, chop," the people in the arch would start moving their arms up and down as people passed through. Whoever was caught between their arms on the word "dead" was out and would become part of another archway.

_cosmicomics_

I didn't know the story behind this.

Giphy

"Three blind mice, three blind mice,

See how they run, see how they run,

They all ran after the farmer's wife,

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,

Did you ever see such a thing in your life,

As three blind mice?"


This is a rhyme dedicated to Mary I's reign, also known as Bloody Mary.

The three mice are believed to be a trio of Protestant bishops, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Radley, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, who conspired to overthrow Mary.

They were obviously unsuccessful and were found out, and then burned at the stake for treason and heresy. It was mistakenly believed that she also blinded and dismembered them, as the rhyme goes, as if being burnt alive wasn't enough.

Back2Bach

Definitely doesn't help.

I know a German lullaby which was used to explain to children why their parents weren't coming home during/after the war: "Schlaf Kindlein schlaf" (sleep child sleep)

The disturbing part: "Papa ist in Pommerland Pommerland ist abgebrand Schlaf Kindlein schlaf"

It translates to: "Papa is in Pomerania (region between Poland and Germany) Pomerania burned down Sleep child sleep"

I doubt it actually helped any child understand the situation.

S-E-M

Creepy.

The Hearse song was a nursery rhyme from the early 20th century:

Don't you laugh when the hearse goes by 'Cause you might be the next to die

They'll wrap you up in a clean white sheet And put you down about six feet deep

They put you into a wooden box, And cover you over with earth and rocks.

It's not so bad for the first few weeks Until your coffin begins to leak.


The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out The worms play pinochle on your snout

They eat your eyes, they eat your nose They eat the jelly between your toes

They eat your clothes, they eat your hat They crawl in skinny, and crawl out fat

Your teeth fall in and your eyes pop out, Your brains come trickling down your snout.

Then you turn disgustingly green Your skin as slimy as whipping cream.

So next time you see the hearse go by Watch out! You may be the next to die!

Greeve3

That is messed up.

Giphy

Rock-a-bye Baby. What's a baby doing in a tree? And the baby falls which is horrible.

reduke

The damn cradle is in the tree as well.

blarch

Woah, never thought of it that way.

Growing up (early 80s), we'd all put our dukes (fists) in and sing little rhymes to determine who would be IT for our form of tag (Bloody Murder).

I swear on my life, we sang:

Eenie, meenie, minie, moe, catch a TIGER by the toe. If he hollers, let him go. Out goes you.

I remember my mom yelling at us saying we were not allow to sing it because it was racist. I've never seen her so angry. We never sang it again. Flash forward to my 20s when I learned that tiger used to be the N-word and then my mom's banning of the song made so much sense. I don't know the history of the rhyme but I am sure it does not have the most pleasant history.

dinosarahsaurus

Cockle shells?

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells, And pretty maids all in a row"

Found out a few years ago it was about Queen Mary of England and Silver bells, cockle shells are torture devices.

incoming-idiot

Classic nursery rhyme.

Giphy

Lizzie Borden took an ax

Gave her Mother forty whacks

When she saw what she had done

she gave her father forty one.

onelarkbite

Based on the real life Lizzie Borden who killed her parents.

sweetcorn_samosas

Never wake up.

I remember one from my childhood. It goes: "Guten Abend, gut' Nacht, mit Rosen bedacht, mit Näglein besteckt, schlupf unter die Deck. Morgen früh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt, morgen früh, wenn Gott will, wirst du wieder geweckt."

Which translates to: "Good evening, and good night, With roses adorned, With carnations covered, Slip under the covers. Early tomorrow, so God willing, you will wake once again."

The part with the roses and carnations always reminded me of throwing flowers into the grave during funerals. And the last part implies that you might as well not wake up the next morning.

Stormsprat

That's one way to teach them.

I can't back this up and this definitely isn't the most disturbing one on here but I've always thought that "it's raining, it's pouring. The old man is snoring. He went to bed, and he bumped his head, and he didn't get up in the morning." Was trying to teach kids about concussions.

Di3lsAld3r

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Donald Trump
Newsmax

Trump Slammed After Touting Plan To Financially Compensate Pardoned Jan. 6 Rioters

President Donald Trump is facing criticism after suggesting the creation of a "compensation fund" for individuals who were pardoned after participating in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

In one of his first official actions upon returning to office, Trump granted sweeping clemency to nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the riot. He issued pardons to most defendants and commuted the sentences of 14 members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers militia, many of whom had been convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Keep ReadingShow less
cherry blossoms in Washington D.C.
Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

Foreigners Explain What Shocked Them Most When Visting America

I've traveled pretty extensively within the contiguous United States. I've spent time in all 48 of those states—and Washington D.C.—and I've lived for extended periods in 13 of them.

I've yet to make it to Alaska or Hawai'i.

Keep ReadingShow less

Disturbing Backstories Behind Seemingly Wholesome Things

Does the truth really set us free?

I believe one would like to think so.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man and a woman laying together
Claudia Love/Unsplash

People Share The Real Reason They Knowingly Slept With A Married Person

There are many boundaries that shouldn't be crossed when it comes to having sex, and that includes getting under the sheets with a person who is spoken for.

That doesn't stop everyone from acting on lustful impulses in the heat of the moment with a consenting partner.

Keep ReadingShow less
Empty shop shelves
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

Things That Have Slowly Disappeared Over The Last Decade And No One Noticed

No matter which decade we predominately grew up in, we've all experienced a product disappearing that we loved while growing up.

The more surreal thing is when it feels like we're the only people who noticed. This amazing product disappeared off the shelves, and no one else even noticed!

Keep ReadingShow less