Nursery Rhymes and Songs

hildhood experts say that nursery rhymes can help stimulate your child's memory, improve their language skills and develop their appreciation for music. Parents and children have liked them for centuries without the PhD's approval because they are fun.

They may seem nonsensical but many rhymes were devised in response to difficult political,social and/or economic situations.For instance, one theory about the rhyme Old King Cole is that it is a song about King Coilus, an English king who was set up as a puppet by the Romans. His joviality and simple pleasures are also a reflection of his lack of purpose. Little Jack Horner was a messenger who stole deeds to land that were hidden inside a Christmas plum pudding. Outright criticism of the ruling elites was often dangerous so the common people had to resort to song and allegory to vent their frustrations.Whilst it might not be quite as dangerous to criticise our leaders today, it is still possible to identify with the political and social criticisms conveyed in these rhymes.

English nursery rhymes are often quite violent, reflecting the nature of many people's lives in the past. One recent study found that one hour of nursery rhymes contains more than ten times the amount of violence of an hour of kid's television (which might say a lot more about much of kid's TV programming than it does about English traditions)! Rock a bye Baby is ostensibly a lullaby but the lyrics are politically incorrect by today's standards. There are some justifications for the rhyme floating about which argue that Native American women used to hang their baby's crib in the tree whilst they worked. This isn't a very plausible explanation of the origins of the rhyme since it has been sung in England for centuries and it's not likely the commoners went about singing of primitive (as then thought of) practices in far flung lands. What better way to vent frustrations with a wailing baby than to sing it nasty lyrics whilst soothing it at the same time? Similiarly, there is a lot of hitting and smacking which would land the parent in trouble with modern authorities.

At the same time, most of the rhymes exhibit a strong sense of fair play and an only slightly masked contempt for undeserved position and status. Some of the violence serves as a caution and introduction to the world beyond the nursery. One example is the "Corporal Bull" rhyme where he, not being used to fighting, "set up a loud bellow". It doesn't take much to see that very much the same thing goes on in today's corporatised world. The subversive nature of these songs is what has led to their enduring popularity. Turning them into politically correct versions where Polly Flinders gets kissed instead of whipped, and old men get helped down the stairs instead of thrown, will only result in a bland, boring 'niceness' . Some of the rhymes are interactive, so be sure to move your mouse over them and find the "secret" sounds and actions.