Nursery Rhymes

Where nursery rhymes really come from

Despite the proliferation of explanations for the meanings and origins of nursery rhymes, many, if not most, are unfounded.

Ring a Ring o Rosie, we all fall dead?

Since the 1960s, but not before, it has often been said that the nursery rhyme Ring a Ring o Rosie is about the bubonic plague in England.

Ring-a-ring o' roses,

A pocket full of posies,

A-tishoo! A-tishoo!

We all fall down.