Anyone remember this...

[EricaH 0]

Sick & twisted nursery rhyme? I could only find 1 person in my circle of acquaintances that does. Here it is:

My dear, do you know,
How a long time ago,
Two poor little babes,
Whose names I don't know,
Were stolen away on a fine summer's day,
And left in a wood, as I've heard people say.
And when it was night,
So sad was their plight!
The sun it went down,
And the moon gave no light!
They sobbed and they sighed, and they bitterly cried,
And the poor little things, they lay down and died.
And when they were dead,
The robins so red,
Brought strawberry-leaves
And over them spread';
And all the day long,
They sung them this song:
"Poor babes'in 'the wood! Poor babes in the wood'
Oh don't you remember the babes in the wood ?"

There were so many crazy things passed through generations. One on-line source quotes it from the early 1600's. Funny thing is, now there are a few newer versions saying they were strolling away & got lost in the woods.

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[WrongWay 0]

Ya know, just about every nursery rhyme has something twisted disaster behind it.

Ring around the rosy, london bridge is falling down, need I say more?

Wrong Way
D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451
The wiser wolf prevails.

[Nightingale 0]

I've heard that one...

The thing is, if you really think about nursery rhymes, they're mostly all kinda sick...

Humpty dumpty...
Ring around the rosey...
Rock a bye baby...

[EricaH 0]

Yes, they were, but I don't know the story behind this one. However...

"Ring around the roses" is talking about protection from the black death while everyone else is dying & "London bridges falling down" is talking about the burning of london in the middle of the plague

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[lawrocket 3]

Exactly. Ring Around the Rosy was about the bubonic plague.

Faairy Tales had similar dark histories. Turns out that the original Goldilocks was a grizzled old crone tortured by the Three Bears. Cinderella tortured the step-mother (torture was a common story).

It wasn't until the Brothers Grimm cleaned them up that they became more suited for the kiddies of today.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Nightingale 0]

here's the story behind the rhyme:

The babes in the wood:

The master of Wayland Hall, Norfolk, on his deathbed left a little son, three years old, and a still younger daughter, named Jane, to the care of his wife's brother. The boy was to have 300 pounds a year when he came of age, and the girl 500 as a wedding portion; but, if the children died previously, the uncle was to inherit. After twelve months had elapsed, the uncle hired two ruffians to murder the two babes. As they went along one of the ruffians relented, and killed his fellow; then, putting down the children in a wood, left them. The poor babes gathered blackberries to allay their hunger, but died during the night, and “Robin Redbreast” covered them over with strawberry leaves. All things went ill with the cruel uncle; his sons died, his barns were fired, his cattle died, and he himself perished in gaol. After the lapse of seven years, the ruffian was taken up for highway robbery, and confessed the whole affair. (Percy: Reliques, iii. ii. 18.)

“Then sad he sung `The Children in the Wood.'
(Ah! barbarous uncle, stained with infant blood!)
How blackberries they plucked in deserts wild,
And fearless at the glittering falchion smiled;
Their little corpse the robin-redbreast found,
And strewed with pious bill the leaves around.”
Gay: Pastoral VI.

[EricaH 0]

Wow - that's cool (well, crazy anyway). Where is your source? I love to look up things like that?

Does it have a date around when this story happened?

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[Nightingale 0]

bah...

I usually remember to link the source. I'll have to look it up again. I'll look for it tomorrow.

• Quote

[Unstable 9]

That's going to give some poor kid a nightmare!!

=========Shaun ==========

[VanillaSkyGirl 6]

THIS is your source, sweetie. Look under the letter "B", specifically for "babes in the wood", which sends you to "children" (the children in the wood). You will find the exact paragraphs quoted by yourself, Kris.
Ooops...typo...it's late.

[Nightingale 0]

Thanks, Rosa!!!!

It was almost midnight when I wrote my other post... I was thinking "I kinda know where I got it from, but I'm too tired to look for it now..."

[EricaH 0]

Thank you both - that is a very cool web-site!

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)