Why are nursery rhymes so cruel, when they're meant for children?

• For example, Jack and Jill. The story behind it? The roots of the story, or poem, of Jack and Jill are in France. Jack and Jill referred to are said to be King Louis XVI - Jack -who was beheaded (lost his crown) followed by his Queen Marie Antoinette - Jill - (who came tumbling after). The words and lyrics to the Jack and Jill poem were made more acceptable as a story for children by providing a happy ending! The actual beheadings occurred in during the Reign of Terror in 1793. The first publication date for the lyrics of Jack and Jill rhyme is 1795 - which ties-in with the history and origins. The Jack and Jill poem is also known as Jack and Gill - the mis-spelling of Gill is not uncommon in nursery rhymes as they are usually passed from generation to generation by word of mouth. Another example is London Bridge is Falling Down. It's a cute little song for little children to dance to joyfully, but it's really about: The 'London Bridge is falling down' Nursery Rhyme is based on the one of the most famous landmarks in London. It's history can be traced to the Roman occupation of England in the first century. The first London Bridge was made of wood and clay and was fortified or re-built with the various materials mentioned in the children's nursery rhyme. Many disasters struck the bridges - Viking invaders destroyed the bridge in the 1000's which led to a fortified design, complete with a drawbridge. Building materials changed due to the many fires that broke out on the bridge. Isn't it sort of creepy? And why is it that there are so many horrible stories behind these fun dance-along songs? Thanks.

• Answer:

  Nursery rhymes and fairy tales are often used to impart moral lessons, and/or history lessons, to children who would otherwise be too bored to listen to them. They have also been used by spies, slaves, and revolutionaries to disguise information as it's being passed from one person to another. The Jack and Jill rhyme doesn't actually have a "happy ending" - Jack "broke his crown" (cracked his skull) and Jill fell down too. In cultures where children were frequently sent to carry water back to the house from a local spring or pond, such a nursery rhyme would be a good way of reminding children to be careful while they're fetching the day's cooking or cleaning water, lest they too "fall down and break their crown." (Also, there's no real proof that Jack and Jill is about the French Revolution. It certainly fits, but it's so vague that lots of things could fit. Wikipedia has a list of them. The one about "Ring around the Rosy" relating to the plague is also probably false - see Wiki for a concise list of the reasons why. But - again - it fits, or close enough, so people assume that's The True Meaning. Not necessarily... ) In earlier cultures where clocks, watches, and other timekeeping devices were either available only to the wealthy, not available at all, or not invented yet, "nonsense songs" might simply be a way of keeping time. How long do you boil an egg if you don't have a watch or a timer or a clock? Well, how about fifteen verses of "Pop Goes the Weasel"? The words might mean nothing to the mother singing them, but the child picks them up, changes them around a bit, passes them on to his or her child, who changes them around a bit, someone else notices that "Hey, that kind of sounds like what happened with So-and-So and Prince Wossname," and boom. Most fairy tales are, in their original formats, far more bloody and gruesome than you'd imagine - because they served as moral lessons. "When I tell you to leave my spinning wheel alone, I mean it! Don't you remember the story of Sleeping Beauty?" And then the mother gets a few minutes of peace to finish up her spinning while the child sits quietly listening, enthralled by the story of Sleeping Beauty and her dreadful fate, and resolving to be ever so careful around mother's (very expensive, very important) spinning wheel lest a similar fate befall. Hansel and Gretel didn't originally get LOST in the woods, they got DUMPED there by their father, because their new stepmother didn't like them. What a horrible thing to tell a child... but, at the same time, the child absorbs that he should love and appreciate his mother because she loves him and would never send him away, he should be obedient and good to his father lest his father someday be convinced to send "that disobedient troublesome child" away, and if he ever goes walking in the woods he should make some sort of a trail - out of something the birds can't eat - so he can find his way back. Most fairy tales, nursery rhymes, etc., come from a time when children were not protected and sheltered as they are now, but were taught from an early age that there are bad things happening out there to good little boys and girls just like you, you should be grateful for what you have and wary around strangers (even if they seem like harmless old peddler women with lovely fresh red apples), you should always keep your wits about you (and here are some wits to keep), and here is how to avoid/deal with danger when it happens.