Ring Around the Rosie is About the Bubonic Plague
If the song is broken down into comments and lines, it is easier to see how dark and depressing the song actually is.
Ring Around the Rosie
When a person contracted the Bubonic Plague, they would gain rose-colored, puss-filled sores on their body called rosies. As the infection spread, rings would wind around the rosies. "Ring around the rosie," refers to these rings.
Pocket Full of Posies
During the time of the Bubonic Plague, people realized that it was harmful to go around the body of someone who had died from the plague. The common practice in some areas of Europe was to fill the shirt or jacket pocket of the deceased with posies so that others would know to leave the body alone.
"Pocket full of posies," was what would soon happen after the person started getting the rings around the rosie. Once the rings started to form, the undertaker would be called to prepare the posies.
Ashes Ashes
Once the body of the person who had died from the plague had been taken away, it would be burned. This is essentially when cremation started as a form of burial.
There was a lot of worry that extra handling of the body could cause people to get sick. There was also worry by some that the body would come back in the form of a vampire or some other type of the walking dead. Burning the body was the only true option they had.
We All Fall Down
It was believed by many that eventually that Bubonic Plague would wipe out all of civilization. It is understandable why they had this belief because of the number of people that were dying everyday from the Plague.
The Black Death killed off an estimated 20-35% of the population of Eurasia during its historic run. It was nearly impossible for anyone to not know at least one person who died from the Plague at the time.
This nursery rime has been with us for centuries, and will probably be sung for centuries more. It is interesting about how many people have sung this song without knowing what it meant.
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67 Comments
Post a CommentIt's much easier to not believe everything you read when you find articles like this. Those who believe this story is true, please don't vote in any elections. You'll apparently only base your choice on rhetoric and hear-say.
The connection between this rhyme and the bubonic plague didn't appear until centuries after the plague. There is no contemporary evidence to link the rhyme with the plague.
To Robert there are different versions of this song. such as ring'a ring of roses thats sounds like it may go with the second verse you wrote about with the sneezing
I bleve that is where the song came from because it is true people got the plage and that is what rilly happend
Also -- cremation was NOT a common form of burial. They were buried in mass graves because there was a fear that the smoke created would spread the plague and poison the air further.
You need to do some more research. This is most likely just a myth.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/amroth/RATR/ring.html
http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/rosie.asp
It's interesting to think that is where it came from, but it isn't.
Well i think why would you have little kids singing this if its about a plague and as science says everything we do already happened so will the plague happen again?
@Robert to inform you the second verse was created because the thought across Europe was the myth of smelling the bodies would contract the plague. Roses are used to keep fresh air instead of the stench of burning bodies. "We all jump in" references the eventual death of the civilazation by which the population could find no cures or answers on stopping the pandemic.
This article has an immense amount of trusth to the origins of the fabled nursery rhyme. My PhD in history is from Cambridge and the early stages of this fable are linked to the bubonic plague. The words were revised over centuries, but the basis is correct.
Even though the second verse is differnt, it does not mean that the original first verse is not about the plague. There are many songs that have verses added on later. Heck, look at, "House at Pooh Corner," by Kenny Loggins. He has added on two verses since the original release.