From Fun to Fatal: The Shocking Backstory of “Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses"
- Liliana Kotval
- Mar 2
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 14
By. Liliana Kotval
Don’t be fooled by their seemingly wholesome nature- popular nursery rhymes have century-old histories with a dark and morbid past. As a child, you probably remember singing the classic tune “Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses" (also known as “Ring Around the Rosie”) at primary school, however, did you know that this seemingly innocent tune is actually about a deadly and gruesome plague that swept across Europe centuries ago?
Though its true origins remain unknown, many have connected "Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses" to the Great Plague in London of 1665[1] that killed 20% of its population[2], while others site its origins to be as old as the era of the Black Death of 1347. Whichever plague it may refer to, the nursery rhyme’s lyrics allude to rashes, bouquets of flowers, sneezing, and death. The first published English version of the nursery rhyme was printed in 1881 in London in Kate Greenaway’s Mother Goose[3], as seen here:
Ring-a-ring-a-roses,
A pocket full of posies;
Hush! hush! hush! hush!
We’re all tumbled down.
Another common British version[4] is as so:
Ring-a-ring o’ roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.
Interpreting the lyrics, those with the plague had ring-like, rosy skin rashes from the disease (“Ring-a-ring-a-roses”) and sneezed (“A-tishoo” or “hush”), plague doctors used small bouquets of herbs and flowers (“posies”) to diminish and ward off the stench of decay and death, and finally, the action of (“we all fall down) or (“we’re all tumbled down”) signified dying[5].
"Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses" has made its way across the pond, and since the 19th century, children in America have been singing a similar version titled “Ring Around the Rosie", where the children would play a courtship game in which they danced around in a circle (a “ring”) and then squatted, curtsied, and fell to the ground[6]. The last to fall down had to pay a price of professing their love to another child. Even in 18th century Germany and 19th century Italy, Switzerland, and Netherlands, children used various versions of this song as a game for children to dance and court each other[7]. Here are the lyrics from the widely used version in America today[8]:
Ring-a-round a rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down.
Throughout the several interpretations across history and even across continents, the lyrics have gradually changed, whether it be due to differences in oral tradition or modern translations, or even in an attempt to mask its deadly past. Some will argue that this tune has in fact nothing to do with the plague and is merely a child's game. Whether this may or may not be true, it is hard to hide the ominous lyrics that allude to a tale of decay, death, and hardship, making its way into modern children’s stories and songs, disguised as a playful tune.
References:
[1] Winick, Stephen. “Ring Around the Rosie: Metafolklore, Rhyme and Reason.” Library of Congress Blogs. 24 July, 2014. https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/07/ring-around-the-rosie-metafolklore-rhyme-and-reason/
[2] Royal Museums Greenwich. ”The Great Plague”. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/great-plague#:~:text=Bubonic%20plague%20terrorised%20Europe%20for,fifth%20of%20the%20city's%20population
[3] Greenaway, Kate (illustr.) (n.d.) [1881]. Mother Goose, or the Old Nursery Rhymes. London: Frederick Warne and Co. p. 52
[4] Delamar, Gloria T. (2001) [1987]. Mother Goose, from Nursery to Literature. Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse. pp. 38. ISBN 978-0595185771.
[5] Stephen Winick. “Ring Around the Rosie: Metafolklore, Rhyme and Reason.” Library of Congress Blogs.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Opie, Iona; Opie, Peter (1997) [1951]. The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press (Nabu Press). pp. 364–365. ISBN 978-0198600886.
[8] Gloria T. Delamar (2001) [1987]. Mother Goose, from Nursery to Literature. P. 38.
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