Almost ALL nursery rhymes were political statements. It was during a time that, if you spoke your mind about the government or against ‘normal’ society, you could be imprisoned for it. So they came up with Nursery rhymes to cover their political statements as children’s songs/stories.
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Yep–I am aware…lived in Germany from 1982-1983… But our entire economic system is artificial–prices are decided by greed instead of supply and demand…THOSE days are long gone!
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Then there are the ones that make fun of others’ sufferings, “Ring Around the Rosie” comes to mind.
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That wasn’t making fun of it-- it was bitching about the Plague and how the government did not help the impoverished- only the rich.
‘‘Pocket full of posies’’ and "Ashes Ashes’ was actually because they were told that carrying certain flowers or putting ashes on your face would keep you from getting sick… The rich were more immune due to their better nutrition, cleanliness, etc… as that plague was caused by the fleas from infected Rats-- and the poor were often ‘rat-bitten’’ because they slept on filthy infested bags of straw as beds.
I was an elementary teacher, and took a LOT of Children’s Lit classes!!!
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I had always interpreted it as the wealthy making fun of, and dancing around the dead of the poorer population because of the discrepancy between classes.
All kids sang it as a way to cope and toward it off…very superstitious people back then!
Some people were deemed witches if no one in their family died of it!
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The humor’s not lost on me, but, still…
