Hmmm...I thought this song referred to the plague...or the Black Death...or some other horrible epidemic where they burned the bodies...ashes, ashes... Cousin Marilyn ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robyn Leeds" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, October 08, 2006 4:11 PM Subject: Re: [ARMSTRONG] Oriigin of song > "We hated "Frere Jacque."" > > On the subject of songs, I get mightily miffed when you Americans "mess > up" the song, which originated in England, called "Ring-a-ring o' Rosies" > which does NOT go "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down"!!! For the record, > here's the ORIGINAL lyrics ... > > Ring-a-Ring o'Rosies > A Pocket full of Posies > "A-tishoo! A-tishoo!" > We all fall Down! > > Darn Americans always want to do things YOUR way don't you?!? Says me, > running for the hills before I cop a heap of hate mail for giving "my > fellow Americans" a hard time!! ROTFLMBO > > Take care, > > Rob. > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

"I thought this song referred to the plague...or the Black Death...or some other horrible epidemic where they burned the bodies...ashes, ashes..." But it's of ENGLISH origin Marilynn, and the original words were "Atishoo" because sneezing was also a symptom!! ;D "The words to the Ring around the rosy children's ring game have their origin in English history . The historical period dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665 (bubonic plague) or even before when the first outbreak of the Plague hit England in the 1300's. The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin (Ring around the rosy). Pockets and pouches were filled with sweet smelling herbs ( or posies) which were carried due to the belief that the disease was transmitted by bad smells. The term "Ashes Ashes" refers to the cremation of the dead bodies! The death rate was over 60% and the plague was only halted by the Great Fire of London in 1666 which killed the rats which carried the disease which was transmitting via water sources. The English version of "Ring around the rosy" replaces Ashes with (A-tishoo, A-tishoo) as violent sneezing was another symptom of the disease. We recommend the following site for comprehensive information regarding the Bubonic Plague. http://www.william-shakespeare.info/bubonic-black-plague-elizabethan-era.htm Views of the Sceptics The connection between this Rhyme was made by James Leasor in 1961 in his non-fiction book ' The Plague and the Fire'. Some people are sceptical of the plague interpretations of this rhyme, many stating that words in the rhyme cannot be found in Middle English. The sceptics must be referring to the later version of the rhyme, possibly with American origins, the English version is "Ring a ring o' rosies" using the Middle English "o" as a shortening of the word "of". The written word " posies" is first mentioned in a poem called 'Prothalamion or A Spousal Verse' by Edmund Spenser (1552-1599). We believe that this addresses the views of the sceptics." Take care, Rob.