Why is it that many songs I can remember from childhood are not the sweet little music but morbid and disturbing? For example…
London bridge is falling down, falling down falling down
London bridge is falling down, my fair lady.
or…
Rock-a-bye baby in the treetop
When the wind blows the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all
And for Chinese songs (translated), such as…
Two tigers, two tigers, running fast, running fast
One has no eyes, one has no tail, so peculiar, so peculiar
or Taiwanese songs such as…
Grandpa wants to cook salty, grandma wants to cook bland,
The two fights and breaks the pot, wa ha ha
Shouldn’t songs for kids be all cheery and fun? Where did all these songs come from?
i had thought the same thing when carolyn was a newborn and was telling jun that a lot of the lullabies doesn’t seem as pleasant as they should be. I mean, how about Jack and Jill who went up the hill to fetch a pail of water? Jack fell down and broke his crown — isn’t that a part of your head? that doesn’t sound good at all… hmm
oh yeah… London Bridge isn’t so bad. It’s actually a factual song. Here’s some more verses http://www.rif.org/leadingtoreading/en/babies-toddlers/lullabies/read-lullaby.mspx?id=74
The bridge was rebuilt with many of the original stones and now stands in Lake Havasu. My family visited when I was younger 🙂