Ring Around the Rosie
Ring around the rosie,
Pocket full of posies,
Ashes, ashes,
We all fall down!
Ringel, ringel, Rosen
Schöne Aprikosen
Weiß und blau
Vergiß mein nicht,
Alle Kinder setzen sich.
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A ring, a ring, of roses
Pretty apricots
White and blue
Forget me not,
All children sit down.
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Midi:
Ring Around the Rosie The usually accepted story behind the rhyme
is that this was about the black plague, where symptoms included circles
around the eyes (ring around the rosies). The sores accompanying the
plague also were circled by a red, raised scab. Ashes, ashes could refer
to the dried blood that was coughed up or perhaps the fact that the
bodies of he dead were burned in an effort to stop the spread of the
disease. In Ireland, the usual third line is "atisshoo,' as in
a sneeze, as sneezing was one symptom of the plague. The pocket full
of posies could point to the old belief that the scent of flowers protected
against the disease, or simply that flowers were carried to mask the
bad smells of the dead and dying. It was believed that the bad odors
odors coming from the victims helped to spread the plague. The last
line about falling down simply recognizes that those who contracted
the plague almost always did fall down dead. Or... maybe none of this
is true. See http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/rosie.htm Who
knows?
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