Nursery Rhymes:There's More Behind Them Than Just Song!
Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man. Bake me a cake as fast as you can! Sometimes the endless chants of children singing nursery rhymes can get a little bit irksome. Ever wonder where all these songs come from and what kind of nonesense are they singing about?!
Well, this is your lucky day! This quiz should enlighten parents everywhere on the meanings and origins of these playful, rhyming songs! Some of the lyrics have very ellaborate reasons for what was behind the madness, and some... not so much (some believe "London Bridge" is actually about a bridge being built and possibly collapsing in London). Although these rhymes come across as meaningless fun for children (and sometimes pain for your eardrums!), you will be surprised how well some of these songs parallel historic moments that have happened in the past for various countries.
Below are the lyrics to three such popular rhymes (some words are blanked out to omit the title of the songs or obvious key words).
Try and identify the (1) the name of the song, (2) the song's country of origin, (3) what period in history the song was created to personify and (4) why do these lyrics signify this moment? Maybe this will shed some insight to the meaning of these popular rhymes that children will undoubtedly be singing for centuries to come!
1)
_____ _____ _____ _____
Come again another day
We want to go outside and play
Come again some other day
2)
_____ and _____ got lost in the forest.
It was so dark and so bitterly cold.
They came to a little _____ _____.
Who may be the lord of this little house?
Hoo! Hoo! There shows up an old witch!
She lures the children into the _____ _____.
She appears quite friendly, but o _____, what misery!
She wants to bake him as brown as bread in the oven.
Though, as the witch looks into the oven,
She will be pushed by _____ and little _____.
The witch had to bake, the children go back home.
Now, the tale of _____ and _____ is over.
3)
_____ _____ _____,
_____ be quick,
_____ jump over the candlestick.
_____ jumped high,
_____ jumped low,
_____ jumped over and burned his toe.
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Send your answers, along with some biographical information about yourself (Are you an immigrant? If so, where are you from? Where do you live? What is your occupation? Special interests?), include how you solved the quiz, how long you've been a subscriber to our newsletter and what you use our newsletter/website for, to:
jhernandez@shusterman.com
The first person to e-mail the correct responses will receive a free consultation before the end of April 2009.
Law Offices of Carl Shusterman
600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1550, Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 623-4592 x0
Representing Clients in All 50 States
30 Years of Immigration Law Experience
http://www.shusterman.com/kidssongsSR.html
Well, this is your lucky day! This quiz should enlighten parents everywhere on the meanings and origins of these playful, rhyming songs! Some of the lyrics have very ellaborate reasons for what was behind the madness, and some... not so much (some believe "London Bridge" is actually about a bridge being built and possibly collapsing in London). Although these rhymes come across as meaningless fun for children (and sometimes pain for your eardrums!), you will be surprised how well some of these songs parallel historic moments that have happened in the past for various countries.
Below are the lyrics to three such popular rhymes (some words are blanked out to omit the title of the songs or obvious key words).
Try and identify the (1) the name of the song, (2) the song's country of origin, (3) what period in history the song was created to personify and (4) why do these lyrics signify this moment? Maybe this will shed some insight to the meaning of these popular rhymes that children will undoubtedly be singing for centuries to come!
1)
_____ _____ _____ _____
Come again another day
We want to go outside and play
Come again some other day
2)
_____ and _____ got lost in the forest.
It was so dark and so bitterly cold.
They came to a little _____ _____.
Who may be the lord of this little house?
Hoo! Hoo! There shows up an old witch!
She lures the children into the _____ _____.
She appears quite friendly, but o _____, what misery!
She wants to bake him as brown as bread in the oven.
Though, as the witch looks into the oven,
She will be pushed by _____ and little _____.
The witch had to bake, the children go back home.
Now, the tale of _____ and _____ is over.
3)
_____ _____ _____,
_____ be quick,
_____ jump over the candlestick.
_____ jumped high,
_____ jumped low,
_____ jumped over and burned his toe.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Send your answers, along with some biographical information about yourself (Are you an immigrant? If so, where are you from? Where do you live? What is your occupation? Special interests?), include how you solved the quiz, how long you've been a subscriber to our newsletter and what you use our newsletter/website for, to:
jhernandez@shusterman.com
The first person to e-mail the correct responses will receive a free consultation before the end of April 2009.
Law Offices of Carl Shusterman
600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1550, Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 623-4592 x0
Representing Clients in All 50 States
30 Years of Immigration Law Experience
http://www.shusterman.com/kidssongsSR.html
It's funny. I had a collection of reference books as a child with every nursery rhyme you could ever think of...and I still have many of them memorized. I know these, but I don't need a consultation.
I won't post them here because I don't want to give away any answers, but this is cool. It brings back memories.
BTW, I'm tickled because I have created alternate rhymes for the violent ones. Rock a bye baby is one that has perplexed me since I became a parent. I don't think many people realize it's about a baby either dying or being seriously injured! LOL.
Blessings...