Having a baby brings back memories of your own childhood. Back in the early 90s, my childhood was filled with many games and songs. We enjoyed our street-long patintero (that's how many kids we were back then) or hide and seek during the many bouts of brownouts, and endlessly sang the many children's songs - the Pinoy versions of course.
One day, these songs just came to me and I began singing them to Caitlin. Imagine my surprise at these lyrics: "Saksak puso tulo ang dugo, patay, buhay, umalis ka na dito!"
Or this one: "And a rickety-kity and a blue black sheep, is it true, yes or no?"
Ano daw? What?!
And we used to sing these songs to our hearts' content unmindful of what they really mean. What were our parents thinking of when they heard us back then?
Singing them now makes me wonder if I should teach them to Caitlin. They either don't make sense or they are just plain brutal.
But there are a lot of English songs and nursery rhymes with gruesome themes, too.
Check this out:
"It's raining, it's pouring
The old man is snoring
He went to bed and he bumped his head
And he couldn't get up in the morning"
They say the gloomy weather suggested the genocide committed against Irish priests while the last three lines are a swipe at Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England.
Here's another explanation.
Still, why it became a popular children's song is a puzzle to me.
Even Rock-a-bye baby is brutal. How did the baby in the cradle get on top of the tree anyway?
Again, some marvelous explanation here.
Then there are Jack, Jill, and Humpty Dumpty who all fell down or had a great fall.
And how about The Three Blind Mice?
"Three blind mice, three blind mice
See how they run, see how they run
They all run after the farmer's wife
Who cut their tails off with a carving knife
Have you seen a sight in your life
As the three blind mice."
You wonder who makes these brutal nursery rhymes for children, and exposing them to early violence in the process. But they're already here and ever so popular. Since I do have a choice, I'll opt not to sing those to her. Besides, there are many great lullabies out there.
See, for example, Hush, little Baby.
"Hush, little baby, don't say a word
Mommy's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird don't sing
Mommy's gonna buy you a diamond ring..."
Or maybe I'll pick another one that wouldn't potentially cost me a thing. =)
- Mommy Smiley
One day, these songs just came to me and I began singing them to Caitlin. Imagine my surprise at these lyrics: "Saksak puso tulo ang dugo, patay, buhay, umalis ka na dito!"
Or this one: "And a rickety-kity and a blue black sheep, is it true, yes or no?"
Ano daw? What?!
And we used to sing these songs to our hearts' content unmindful of what they really mean. What were our parents thinking of when they heard us back then?
Singing them now makes me wonder if I should teach them to Caitlin. They either don't make sense or they are just plain brutal.
But there are a lot of English songs and nursery rhymes with gruesome themes, too.
Check this out:
"It's raining, it's pouring
The old man is snoring
He went to bed and he bumped his head
And he couldn't get up in the morning"
They say the gloomy weather suggested the genocide committed against Irish priests while the last three lines are a swipe at Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England.
Here's another explanation.
Still, why it became a popular children's song is a puzzle to me.
Even Rock-a-bye baby is brutal. How did the baby in the cradle get on top of the tree anyway?
Again, some marvelous explanation here.
Then there are Jack, Jill, and Humpty Dumpty who all fell down or had a great fall.
And how about The Three Blind Mice?
"Three blind mice, three blind mice
See how they run, see how they run
They all run after the farmer's wife
Who cut their tails off with a carving knife
Have you seen a sight in your life
As the three blind mice."
You wonder who makes these brutal nursery rhymes for children, and exposing them to early violence in the process. But they're already here and ever so popular. Since I do have a choice, I'll opt not to sing those to her. Besides, there are many great lullabies out there.
See, for example, Hush, little Baby.
"Hush, little baby, don't say a word
Mommy's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mockingbird don't sing
Mommy's gonna buy you a diamond ring..."
Or maybe I'll pick another one that wouldn't potentially cost me a thing. =)
- Mommy Smiley
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