Ashes, ashes, we all fall down

American Version:
Ring around the rosy
a pocket full of posies
ashes, ashes
we all fall down.

English Version:
Ring-a-ring o' rosies
a pocket full of posies
ah-tchoo, ah-tchoo
we all fall down.

Either version is morbid beyond my liking. I hate that nursery rhyme.

The American version's translation:
Ring around the rosey- refering to the rash that was one of the symptoms of the Plague
A pocket full of posies- people often carried around pouches of sweet smelling herbs because it was believed that illness was spread by bad smells.
Ashes, ashes- when someone died, they cremated them.
we all fall down- refering to the stifling amount of deaths: over 60%.

The English version's translation:
Ring-a-ring o' rosies- back to the warding off bad smells
A pocket full of posies- the same as the last translation
Ah-tchoo, ah-tchoo- refering to the violent sneezing attacks that were another symptom of the Plague
we all fall down- same as last.


I found a pattern in most nursery rhymes: they involve death or something violent. Funny, how these are the things we learn first in our lives. Seemingly pretty rhymes put to songs about people dying. This one in particular is almost grotesque.


information about the rhyme taken from: http://www.rhymes.org.uk/ring_around_the_rosy.htm