The Creepiest Nursery Rhymes from History
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- čas přidán 21. 11. 2023
- The sound of children singing alone can be quite scary (see the Poltergeist main theme, or the "1-2 Freddy's coming for you" song from A Nightmare on Elm Street), but when coupled with certain weird and creepy nursery rhymes, the shudder factor rises exponentially. Let's take a closer look at some of these disturbing nursery rhymes, and perhaps you'll think twice before teaching them to your kids.
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#nurseryrhymes #childrensongs #weirdhistory dHistory - Zábava
Tom, I don't know if you personally read these but you should do a weird history video about the time someone else narrated a weird history video and the comments went crazy.
I hope those dark times are behind us 🙏
OK. Relax. He's back..
@KarlJayce. I, like many others, held my breath when I clicked on the newest video post the guest narrator. Nothing against the other guy, I just really enjoy Tom's narration.
When did that happen? Did I miss a video?
@@kayliaanntwoynet4867 It was Popular Beliefs about hell that aren't in the Bible?
Ring around the rosy is pretty dark too
There was also a nursery rhyme of sorts created during the flu pandemic of 1918-1920.
I had a little bird, it's name was Enza.
I opened up the window and in flew Enza.
The darkest. Ring around the rosies( open sores) pocket full of posies( pus) ashes, ashes we all fall down. ( die) But you knew that already. Hopefully some more naive people now know.
@@geraldfriend256 Pocket full of posies refers to flower pedals they would stuff in their pockets, a supposed prevention method against the plague, or perhaps to keep the smell of death away.
I think the plague reference has been debunked.
@@roberthofmann8403 I heard that too.Different interpretation but makes sense
My father was such a beautiful, wonderful man. He was a Union Carpenter, a Sicilian, a Catholic, and a sucker for his wife, kids, and grandkids. He made his own version to Rock-A-Bye Baby:
"Rock-a-bye baby on the tree top.
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.
But that bough won't break. It's been reinforced.
And who did the fixing? Grandpa, of course!"
He was my hero. And my very best friend. We lost him to cancer around Christmastime in 2009. It still hurts. So very much.
so sorry for your loss, loved your father's version, he sounds very funny and loving
Sounds like a fantastic man.
What about Ring around the Rosie? Pretty dark one there.
Came here to say this!
Dammit. You were faster.
The Black Death!!!
Eleanor of Provence was the wife of Henry the Third, not the Eighth. Off by about 400 years.
Well spotted! Not too many of us are knowledgeable about, or even interested in,the European Middle Ages (despite the channel!).
I had to rewind it three times because I couldn’t believe he said “the VIII”. I know Henry VIII had 3 Catherines, 2 Annes and 1 Jane but no Eleanor. I thought there might have been a seventh wife that no one had heard about.
Yes! Was about to mention this as well, Henry VIII's wife are either named Anne or Katherine, with the exception of one Jane.
Jon Solo does a great job of explaining nursery rhymes.
Glad to hear it here too.
I’d love to see a video about what it would be like to be a lady-in-waiting. (Especially in Tudor era).
The Rock-a-Bye baby one was especially interesting because the writer did explain “this may serve as a warning to the proud and ambitious who climb to high…”. Clearly indicating that at least this one was sociopolitical. I would guess it relates to a watershed moment during that year (Entick v Carrington 1765) that limited the power of state and establish civil liberties for all, including the common man, and eventually lead to the 4th amendment of the US constitution.
Excellent post!
I liked "The Simpsons" where Marge was singing this song to Maggie, and Maggie imagined it literally.
And they say we are the twisted generation😂
IIRC, even Disney did a segment where they did a historical breakdown of three nursery rhymes which were, indeed, very dark. I think it was Little Jack Horner, Mary Mary Quote Contrary, and London Bridge is Falling Down. They did not hold back.
Ahh, I miss the olden days of of Disney specials...
I believe the current generation, Gen Z / millennials is the most twisted generation in the history of mankind. Sorry I didn't want to miss gender or identity anyone!
Well, we are.
History repeats...
@@yourrealtor957 Exactly 💯!!
Best. Narrator. Ever. After a traumatic (early)Thanksgiving dinner [which I cooked] with horrid family members, MUCH appreciated. Thank you, I needed the entertainment tonight!
I hope you’re doing okay. I know how bad it feels to have thanksgiving with shitty family, but then how good it feels to hear something nice afterwards :).
I’ve actually heard “Mary Mary Quite Contrary” was inspired by Mary, Queen of Scotts. Or more specifically, her execution and the events leading up to it.
"Catch a tiger by the toe"... Thank you for destroying innocence, Grandma.
I seem to recall London Bridge also had buildings on it once upon a time, but the sheer weight, along with the great fire, essentially rendered it condemned. At least, that's what I remember from Disney's special on three nursery rhymes with dark origins.
I watched a few Canadian TV 📺 Shows as a child and they sing “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” to the melody of “London Bridge”
@SwampNymph522 as a Canadian I never noticed we did and so here I am sing both now. You gave me a ear worm!
I always get so excited when I see a new weird history!
When I was 5 (1990) I could tell the entire book of shock-headed Peter's stories. They are written in rhymes, which I kinda was humming and singing to myself - and ended up being the creepy kid in Kindergarten because I really liked them but it scared other kids with the moral sense that bad behavioral has consequences till death. I wasn't allow to bring the book anymore. - Also it is considered dark psychology today as well and banned from Kindergartens. :"D
😂😂😂 yea sure
No wonder why so many of us are twisted and messed up.
"Nursery rhymes are said, verses in my head
Into my childhood, they're spoon-fed
Hidden violence revealed, darkness that seems real
Look at the pages that cause all this evil"
-Shoots and Ladders, Korn
You could have at least put
" -Korn"
Great song
@@justblack333 It was more just for people who got it, but fair enough.
@@nathancrossen2224 lol my bad bro
KNICK KNACK PADDY WHACK!!! GIVE A DOG A BONE!!!! THIS OLD MAN CAME ROLLING HOME!!! KNICK KNACK PADDY WHACK!!! GIVE A DOG A BONE!!!! THIS OLD MAN CAME ROLLING HOME!!!!!!
My kids love this channel and have an idea for a video: The history behind common Christmas decorations.
I loved Hansel and Gretel because I wanted to eat their house. But the part about the witch grabbing them and putting them in the oven was unbelievably dark.
My daughter was given a nursery rhyme book when she was about one. And as a reader I have been reading it to her regularly but then I come across a couple of them were part way through I'm stopping, it finally occurs to me what these nursery rhymes are saying and it was definitely not something I wanted to read to my kids.
When I was little, I had an old second-hand book of nursery rhymes, and it had a lot of these older, longer versions of the rhymes. My favorite was the one about cock robin. I think one of the reasons why I liked it so much was because it was so dark and macabre compared to the other ones. (I was a weird kid.) That book was the only place I had ever seen that rhyme. And, unfortunately, the book was so old and well-read that I didn't get to keep it long before it fell apart and had to be thrown away. That rhyme always stuck with me, though. Thankfully, I was able to find it again a few years back with the help of the internet. Took me awhile though because I had remembered it incorrectly as "who killed the sparrow." Still, not bad considering it had been over 30 years since I'd last read it.
I see that you were talking about ones that were probably based on history, but Long Lankin is hands-down the scariest nursery rhyme of all time. And honestly, it tells a story of something that could have happened - home invasion, a baby being harmed to lure his mother out so she can be murdered. There are some sick people in the world.
How is this for a Dark Rhyme?
“I have a deadly nightshade
So twisted does it grow-
with berries black as midnight
And a skull as white as snow
The vicar’s cocky young son
Came to drink my tea
He touched me without asking
now he’s buried ‘neath a tree”
“Girls Skipping Rhyme” from Chokely in Wynterset
Wednesday Addams would approve 😂😂
Happy Turkey Day Weird History Channel!
Thanks for ALWAYS making QUALITY NON-BIAS content that's always fun AND entertaining to watch! We love ya Weird History!
NEVER CHANGE!🎉
Considering the backlash in the comments any time Weird History uses a new narrator, they should really take heed to your advice to never change. 😂
i love this narrator! He makes these stories great.
Weird History do you think you can do the History of original fairytales from the Brothers Grimm. I’d liked to hear your take on the dark fairytales from Snow White to Hansel and Gretel even Cinderella
Check out Grimms Grimmest. A collection of Grimm stories as originally told (not intended necessarily for children)Yikes
The series of “Fractured Fairy Tales “ on the Rocky and Bullwinkle Shows had Edward Everette Horton narrating the stories with some weird animation. Anyone remember those? They were hilarious. 😂
They’ve done one on the Grimm brothers I’m pretty sure
@@glennso47 Aw yeah. Sherman and Peabody tribe HOLLA. Happy Thanksgiving y’all
Exeter Cathedral is beautiful! I live nearby and it's definitely worth a visit :)
Glad youre back!
Who Killed Cock Robin - I'm so excited you did this one. I'm born & raised in the US but I have loved that one and The Courtship of Jenny Wren since I was a couple of years old. Somehow I memorized it as just a wee girl and my parents would put me to bed at night and then sit at the bottom of the stairs and listen to me reciting them to myself till I fell asleep.
I'm always looking for them in a book of children nursery rhymes I come across...
And due to your inclusion of these beloved verses here tonight I just found out that there was a book of them printed in 1965 "The Courtship, Merry Marriage, and Feast of Cock Robin and Jenny Wren to Which is Added the Doleful Death of Cock Robin"
I absolutely love that you referenced Ford Fairlane. Punk rock yo!!!
Please keep doing content this stuff is amazing 😊😊
I remember seeing Walt Disney on TV explaining the dark nature behind Cock Robin when I was a kid, but I didn't understand much of it and just wanted to watch the Disney cartoon they showed afterwards, which naturally was a lot more humorous, and Cock Robin turns out to not actually be dead. He had been struck by Cupid's arrow while serenading Jennie Wren.
Sleep well, kiddos... try not to scream too much!
A+ video!
LOVE IT! Such an unique and fun video!
Thank you for the nursery rhymes, I had a great nap
Actually Mary,Mary, quite contrary refers to Mary of Scotland and France who went from being queen of France 🇫🇷 to being sole ruler of Scotland,her maids all in a row are the four Mary’s that went with her to 🇫🇷 upon her marriage to the Dauphin of France and the 🪴 as the merry court she held in Chenanceaux.
11:06 That is a good-looking owl!
If the owl said "Who?" I would say "You!"
4:19 Awesome voice acting, Oscar worthy!
7:20 I used to go indoor rock climbing all the time at what is now Phoenix Rock Gym in Tempe, Arizona.
It became popular enough where it is an Olympic sport, along with my other hobby there skateboarding.
Some alumni from my college Doane University started an indoor rock gym in Lincoln, Nebraska too.
0:02 Reminds me of the book The History of the Alphabet: From Egyptian to Modern-Day Cursive by Teresa Wald (2016)
Such a fasinating book!
I was taught that Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary was about Mary Queen of Scots, not her cousin. The rhyme was about her taste in food, the ornaments on her clothes (the silver bells) and her ladies in waiting.
Thank u for sharing…
My English Edwardian grandmother taught many of these to my sisters and me. The lines i remember as puzzling were:
"London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.
First comes the candle to light you to bed, light you to bed, light you to bed.
Next comes the axe man to chop off your head,
My fair lady."
--Only a few years ago did I learn that it was a reference to Henry VIII and either Anne Boleyn or Catherine Howard. Of course, with Anne Boleyn, it should have been "swordsman", not "axe man".
'Ring Around The Rosie' was fun to hear and sing as a child until I learned of its origin. 🥺
0:14 Supercool video clip, LOVE IT!
I went to an estate sale with my mother and found the illustrated book Mother Goose: Keepsake collection in perfect condition!
It was only $3!
I've read something similar about Mary Mary Quite Contrary. In it, the shells likely represent a badge worn by religious pilgrims while the silver bells likely represented alter bells used at that time in Catholic ceremonies. Several literary theories suggest that the garden is the cemetery which grew as Mary continued to have people executed in the name of Catholicism. The pretty maids all in a row referred to ladies corpses buried an a row. Of course, there's no proof supporting that theory, but it makes the rhyme extra creepy.
Good thing that kids who are forced to memorize these never realized how dark the true meanings behind each poems
The bridge was closely connected with the Church on the south end, St Mary Overie (now Southwark Cathedral), which in turn served the edge-of-town entertainment complex which included the Winchester Geese, ladies of loose morals under the protection of the Bishop of Winchester. The church had a rather fractious relationship with that of St Magnus at the other end, both claiming authority over the Bridge Fellowship, who actually maintained it from the rebuild in the 12th century.
Heck ya best Birthday gift from the universe!
Nice. Great!
5:40 I remember seeing Adele take a blindfold challenge where she had to touch food with her hands to identify it.
She identified the Full English Breakfast immediately and was excited it was there!
11:07 The Wise Old Owl
A wise old owl sat in an oak.
The more he heard, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke, the more he heard.
Why aren't we all like that wise old bird?
2:57 That reminds me of the music video "Personal Jesus (Live at 20th Rock)" by Broken Peach
It is a cover of the Depeche Mode song.
7:48 I think some called them "cautionary tales."
Stories like Hansel and Gretel illustrate how scary everything is when it is dark and you are lost in the forest!
8:42 The first time I ever heard anyone say "Boys are made of snips and snails and puppy dog tales" is from Calvin in Calvin and Hobbes.
There's so many nursery rhymes that are dark as hell, same with fairy tales.
"Pretty Maids All in a Row" ... Phenomenal EAGLES song!
In re: Bloody Mary Tudor: She also executed the Archbishop of Canterbury. Keep in mind that Mary's Mom was Catherine of Aragon, Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella (the "Catholic Kings") of Spain, and subject of certain rather noteworthy actions of her Father: Henry VIII. He threw off the Catholic Church in conspicuously grand style.
“London Bridge” was written because it was true. The original London Bridge (which only a small bit of it is left to this day) had Buildings on it, Markets, etc., and was *heavily* used. Leading to it falling into constant disrepair until it was torn down and replace by the current London Bridge.
Ring around the Rosie is about Bubonic Plague. Found this out & was horrified
Run around the rosy was about the Black Death
8:32 The year's first full moon is called The Wolf Moon.
Wow what a subject!
Hickory dickory dock,
three mice ran up the clock,
the clock struck one but,
the other two escaped with minor injuries. 😂😂
Hickory Dickory Dock the mouse ran up the clock. Coach Swinney’s got that drip and now he’s on TikTok.
you forgot this one
Ring around the rosie,
A pocket full of posies.
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down!
That refers to the plague lol The roses are a nosegay which people kept hoping it would keep the plague away
Thanks for this! 🍼
My God am in love with this narrator ❤❤ you're very good 💯
Nursery rhymes are criminally underused.
Jack and Jill went up the hill, they each had a buck and a quarter.
Jill came down with two and a half, think they went up for water?
----------
Little miss Muffet sat on her tuffet eating her curds and way.
Along came a spider and sat down beside her and said
“Watcha got in the bowl, bitch?”
The best one is ring around the rosy, which describes the symptoms caused by the black death
Since I have watched both thumbnail recommendations at the end of the video (Characters from Ancient Mythology...), I am going to watch:
x The Real Alice In Wonderland Lewis Carroll Had an Unusual Relationship With (for the second time)
x 11 Myths About the Salem Witch Trials
x What It Was Like Working in a Civil War Field Hospital
x What It Was Like to Be a Mental Patient In the 1900s
Please Give Us An Update On Season 4 Of The Timeline Series!
Henry VIII had six wives but Eleanor of Provence wasn't one of them.
Eleanor of Provence was the wife of Henry III, NOT Henry VIII whose six wives were Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jayne Seymore, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, and Catherine Parr. Also, don't confuse Eleanor of Provence, wife of Henry III, with Elinor of Aquitaine, wife of, first, Louis VII of France, and then Henry II of England.
I thought London Bridge was due to the old bridge being flimsy. People lived on it and it wasn’t very sturdy
8:32 That reminds me of the films The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (2010- Nickelodeon film starring the highly likeable Victoria Justice) and Wallace and Gromit's The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (2005).
The band Korn does a good song on this called Shoots and Ladders.
Hooray for being here for the first hour!
The nursery rhyme Rock A Bye Baby is a horrible song to sing to a child. That’s child abuse with a capital “C”: putting a child in a basket and then putting the baby in the top of a tree and waiting for a strong wind to blow the baby out of the tree. 😢
No mention of Ring Around The Rosy? A cute song about the freakin Black Death!
I thought that "pretty maids" referred to the flowers in the garden.
Don't forget Ring Around The Rosey.
Most fairy tales, fables, nursery rhymes and classic children's stories are frightening, lol. They're mostly supposed to be lessons to teach children...
I always took Mary mary quite contrary as Mary admitting that the secret for the plants in her garden growing so well was that she fertilized it with the bodies of her victims
5:12 Eleanor of Provence wasn’t Henry VIII’s consort. Try 5 Henry’s before that (Henry III).
These are lightweight in comparison to the kiddies bedtime prayer : " Now i lay me down to sleep, i pray the lord my soul to keep, if I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE, i pray the lord my soul to take " Yikes....Aloha
Got to be honest here. If you want the best nursery rhymes ever created, just listen to some vintage Andrew Dice clay. Hickory dickery dock...
The idea that childhood = sweetness and innocence is pretty recent. I blame Disney
Ring around the rosie, pockets full of posies, achu! Achu! We ALL fall down 😉 As a kid you never really think about the words of these rhymes, and if you did, you could change the words to make your own rhyme with the same tune. Maybe Andrew Dice Clay was expressing his frustration with cultural mediums? Why do we hang on to relics? Life is too fun, and too short, as children know, to wallow in morbidity and sorrow.
Eating ANOTHER Weird History meal!
Eating KRAFT MAC & CHEESE* Unicorn Shapes and drinking Twinings Pure Peppermint Tea...while watching this Weird History video!
*From the Weird History video "How Mac And Cheese Became an All-American Dish"
NOTE: This is the exact same meal I ate for my birthday lunch.
Forest homicide detective 😂
European nursery rhymes and fairy tales is European history.
Thank you captain obvious.
@@xmorte
Yes, it is obvious! Explains quite a bit how the minds of pagans work!
Eleanor of Provence couldn't have been a consort of Henry VIII in the 13th century....
And I thought rap started in the Bronx, they were sneak dissin’ via metaphorical rhymes well before Kool Herc.
……so the world has been in hells hand basket for centuries then…
The film Puss in Boots (2011) effectively uses nursery rhymes for its story, fantastic film!
Not so much dark, but Humpty Dumpty was actually the nickname of a cannon on a fort which was destroyed during the hundred year war
Can you do a part 2 to this? 🤩🥰
I second that.
I just wanna know more.😇
@@racheljordan4718 Ever hear this nursey rhyme? (I have the book right here):
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.
4:03 Is it just me? Or does that look like the Norway Pavilion at Disney World? 🤔