Real artifitial inteligence voice. Nothing in life is real anymore not your food not the people you interact with, and definately not the voices you hear on the net.
As a child growing up in the 1960's, sixpences were my favourite coins and my first pocket money was sixpence a week. Blackbirds are my favourite bird. My Grandmother taught me to stop, listen and love their song. As I write this now, in mid March, Blackbirds have, in just the past week or so, begun singing at dawn again, though it will be a while before I hear the best of their singing which will come in the evenings as they mark their territories. . So Sing A Song Of Sixpence is, and always was, my favourite nursery rhyme and I am glad to learn of it's possible origins and meanings. Incidentally, one sunny summer Sunday afternoon last year, I strayed into a pub I visit infrequently on the fringes of my territory in South Shropshire. There I met a chap who showed me an Elizabeth I silver sixpence, dated 1561, which he had discovered that afternoon with a metal detector. I held it in my palm for a few moments and it felt magical.
This part amazed me about minstrels being paid sixpence to sing a song. I don’t know if the currency had changed but in the early 1960’s sixpence for a child was quite a reasonable sum, it would buy two packets of crisps for example. So if the coinage hadn’t changed sixpence back in the late 1500’s I would have thought would have been quite a tidy sum to pay someone.
Lagu 3 kupang Saku penuh padi (pocket full of rice, rye changed to rice as it is not a grain we plant and consume) Datang burung hitam (black bird flew in) Masuk dalam kuali (into the wok or pan) Bila sudah masak (once cooked) Burung nyanyi saja (the birds just sing) Tentu sedap dimakan (must be delicious) Beri pada Raja (serve to the King) Raja dalam rumah (The king is in the house [interesting to note it didn't say the king in the castle or palace]) Buat kira-kira (doing mathematics [not counting money]) Suri dalam dapur (PermaiSURI is the word for Queen but here it is suri, the wife is the exact meaning, she is in the kitchen) Makan roti gula... hey (eating sugared bread.... hey) Dayang tepi kolam (royal maid is beside a pond) Mahu jemur tepung (wants to dry flour) Datang burung hitam (come a black bird) Pagut batang hidung (peck her nose) This the Malay version, with slight changes in lyrics. 1stly i think this was sung and written by folks in the North of Peninsular Malaysia. Only we use kupang to depict cents or pence. Other places use the word sen. The song is also sung with different rythym than the Sic Pence song.
The song is also used in a book by Agatha Christy, that’s how I know this song. I’m Dutch and it’s not part of our nursery rimes. The nose thing always bothered me, because it was the only impossible part of the song. But the magpie stealing a false nose make sense.
I love the amount of detailed research you put into these videos. I’ve always wondered at the significance of 24 blackbirds. As a child in the US, I thought the pocket full of rye was to feed the birds when they were released. There was an animated version of this that showed the birds singing to the king when he cut it open. My innocent child’s mind never questioned that the birds were alive inside the pie.
I thought the rhyme referenced the Catholic persecutions, ie the 24 blackbirds were priests and they were burned. I have no idea about the origination of the following verses.
Somewhen in the 70's I heard that the rhyme was to do with the growth of protestantism. The blackbirds be protestants sing their beliefs. The version I knew it was a blackbid (protestant) pecking off the maids nose, in other words, she had been converted and loosing her nose (or sole) because of it. So, the rhyme could be a warning by the Roman Catholic Church that you would go to hell in you became a protestant. Interesting point about Magpies. Their latin name is Pica Pica. Love this series. Hopefully, there will be many more interpritations of rhymes in your series. Thank you.
Incredible research , detective work , analysis and insight. The last and first explanations seem the most plausible, while the first offering seems the most literal as it appears an English tale that would tend towards the home grown explanation. I studied typography at college, yes I'm that old, and we used the pica measurement curiously with pica referring to Magpies there are folk legends that Magpies could talk. Ive heard it said that this notion of talking Magpies was connected to the typographic unit, words being translated into print.
This from the online Britannica: Their brain-to-body-mass ratio is outmatched only by that of humans and equals that of aquatic mammals and great apes. Magpies have shown the ability to make and use tools, imitate human speech, grieve, play games, and work in teams. Many other online references to magpies mimicking human speech together with parrots, crows, and ravens.
If you are going to reference the printing of the bible as a theory, it's interesting to note that the original author of the English bible translated from Latin was Tyndall. He was tried and burned for heracy for his translation work- yet a few years later, that book (now called the king James bible) was the accepted text of the church of England. So pie or pyre could refer to Tyndall. Perhaps counting money is a reference to the king profiting as the author was dead.
I always knew it with the very last line, " she made such a commotion that little Jenny wren, flew down into the garden and put it on again".... does this have any significance at all? or perhaps it was only added so that small children wouldn't be upset!
Exactly that! The rhyme persisted for nearly a century before the maid's nose was replaced by the wren, likely due to its upsetting ending for children. It gave it a more light-hearted tone, and enabled the playful "got your nose" game with a child at the end of the rhyme. Thanks for watching 🖤☺️
We have several The Pye Family Memorials in our All Saint's Church and a street named after him. He was the son of Henry Pye senior who owned the manor house here. Growing up we have always been told that the rhyme was about him and our town for decades dined out on the notoriety of that event. When Henry senior died in 1766 he left his son with debts of fifty thousand pounds.....and then the manor house burned down, nowadays I would class that as having a bad day. Great story telling again.🤗🤗
This is the first time I’ve listened to “The Resurrectionist”. Her voice and unique content required me to subscribe. Beautifully executed with period art, analysis of the period’s use of language and historical social knowledge is superb. Thank you. ❤❤
@@The-Resurrectionists I’m honored with your personal comment. I’m a painter interested in the many nuances humans use to communicate with each other. I’m old enough to remember when Don McLane came out with the song “American Pie”. My friends and I could spend days trying to figure out the symbolism. As my work developed over the years I have become focused on visual symbolism, all beginning with the realization that we are informed and fashioned in subliminal ways. Thanks again
Same. This came up on my recommended videos and I ended up subscribing after watching half of this. I love stuff like this anyway but her voice makes it even better. I usually listen to creepypasta videos to fall asleep to but these will be even better
@maureenfitzpatrick440 I've always loved songs with symbolism like that too. One I love is "Hotel California" by the Eagles, I used to wonder what that all really meant! Thank you for watching my channel and for your lovely comments: do you have any work online at all? I'd love to look :)
Nursery rhymes like Fairy Tales have dark origins and even darker meanings. While I won't say which of the possible origins is true and factual (I really don't have any idea.), I liked listening to all of the possible truths.
My Darkling friend, this must be one of your best, the work you do to delve into the forgotten history is wonderful, I send many dark blessings to you 🌔🧙♀️🕷
Me too, and I used to work in mythology research. It fits perfectly and explains everything. Except perhaps the "nose out of joint" - there, I think, one of the meanings referring to a missing nose as a sign of adultery, or syphillis contracted while committing adultery, would fit better.
Forced to kiss the hem of the queen’s gown and giving birth within days of each other to children fathered by the same man is one certainly one recipe for tensions.
I once read this one was about the black death and it claiming kings, queens and maids alike. The pocket full of rye being the the different herbs people carried not just cover the smell but many claims that many warded of disease
I used to work in mythology research and I'm almost sure the rye does not symbolize herbs. Today, they both look like "plants, seeds, grain, whatever...". But in earlier centuries, it was "medicine" vs. "food". Rye was one of the basic ingredients for basic food, like wheat and meat today, or rice in Asia. One doesn't write "Aspirin", meaning "steak" 🙂
Wow - I'd always assumed it was about the times just before the French Revolution; the first three verses being about the follies of France's royalty, whilst the 'maid' represented the desperate peasants. Eg, the upper classes' follies (blackbirds) were hurting those living off the land (in the garden). Every day I'm a-learnin'! 👩🎓 Thank you for another brilliant video! 🖤🖤
Absolutely love the background music - very mystical faerie. Reminds me of a peaceful summer night watching fireflies! Never outgrew faerie tales & nursery rhymes!
I suspect the origin is more ancient. The first verse detailing Druids burning Roman prisoners in a wicker man, *Four and twenty naughty boys bak'd in a Pyre* followed by the druidic tradition of feeding those remains to Seahawks, Ravens, etc while the local cheiftan presides. The second verse is Roman troops exacting their revenge by attacking the unguarded children at their chores with the parents indoors and unaware.
I always looked upon it as the pie was a scandal of some kind, and the birds singing were people spilling the secrets. I always connected the maid as possibly the origin of the scandal, and her nose being snapped off as a punishment for spreading the secrets or rumors.
she made such a comotion that little Jenny Wren flew down into the garden and popped it on again... dad used to sing the song to me ad my sister, pretend to peck off our noses and pop his thumb up and then stick it on again.
I was always looking out for birds when hanging out the wash. But i did hear of ' cutting off your own nose to spite your face'. In Greek and Roman times an mistress had nose cut off. If you were of means a plastic surgery could be preformed.
It's a shame we don't have any unquestionable link from these rhymes to their origin. It would be so much more fascinating to know the exact origin of all these childhood nursery rhymes. I wonder though....about the ring around the rosey. I was told it came from the black plague. And each verse was more or less explained. But I bet it too has some lost history. Sing a Song of Sixpence was one of my faves as a child. So, all of this does hold intrigue.
I had a panic attack when I was grabbed by my friends to play ring around the rosey. I knew exactly what that song entailed. I refused to play along trying to tell them what they were singing about but they didn't care and I was weird. The world was cut to a third in some counts even by half count it was devastating. It's actually telling ppl how to protect yourself and in the end it doesn't matter we are all turned into ash. Up until the advent of modern antibiotics it was still killing. It has never needed to change its way of killing Ypestis is a wicked killer. It's actually killing the cougar population around the grand canyon a forest ranger died of it. His favorite female cougars collar didn't move for 18hrs which means the animal is dead. He tracked her down and found her body. Took it back to the station and he did a necepay without any protection. He died of the exact disease caused by Ypestis 😳. Now they aren't allowed to touch the animals. So it's still killing in this century. Scary stuff, any encephalitis, anthrax, ebola, nothing was as devastating as the black death.
I like the wider view of it bc we do change little by little to add to them It is a great respect to them. I'm not sure where today's folks get all up in a bunch over ppl painting their face. When imagination is the most sincere form of flattery!! A saying that should be brought up by ppl more often. Imho
@@heatherreeve9802 There are a lot of wild creatures that carry it. Armadillos carry it and so do groundhogs. But yeah, it's weird that they made a children's verse out of anything to do with it. It's not even cautionary.
All fascinating possibilities! I wonder at the use of the word rye. Given that rye mold, or ergot, produced hallucinations. Not that it fits into any theory… Just caught my attention.
Jolly interesting video. The only theory I was familiar with was the one about Henry VIII and the blackbirds being clergy. It has a coherence and triggers some thoughts about what it was that the ‘singing’ revealed. In this case it could be a Catholic rhyme in origin used unwittingly by Protestants. However, the evidence included even in this video suggests that it is later than the Reformation. The language appears quite modern, at least mostly.
As a history buff since childhood, I have truly enjoyed many of the videos describing 17th century events. I have a paternal ancestor a Mr. John Williams born 1610 and it's a treat to imagine all that he witnessed during those years.😁
Okay, I was wondering about why anyone would have rye in their pocket. Maybe, it was not originally rye but rue which medieval superstition associated with powers of protection from evil and people put it in pouches and carried it about. This again suggests an older origin to at least the first verse. I think it was the 16th century that may be the source of this first verse. Rue was also associated with grief and mourning. Shakespeare knew this as we can gather from Hamlet. However, a parlour was not a room a Queen inhabited back then it was not a term used for a room in a house until the 18th century. Prior to that monks under vows of silence went to designated rooms called 'Parlers' were they could speak. No doubt due to French being a common tongue of diplomacy and being used in many European courts the word moved into wider meaning first amongst the aristocracy. So this agsun suggests a later origin for the second verse onward.
Someone in the comments here said "pocket" meant "a small sack". Which would explain why there's "pocket" in some version and "sack" in others - they're a similar thing.
It's interesting that though this was a Rhyme started in the United Kingdom I remember my Dad, Mom and Grandparents shared this with us as we were growing up in the early 1960's.
Wow, thank you for these beautifully done videos. I recall reading that the 24 birds referred to the 24 hours of the day and that it might have astronomical or astrological significance. The pocket (or bag) of rye has always puzzled me, though referring to beer if it was a drinking song is an interesting possibility.
Not about the origin, but a subsequent reference. In the Little House series, one of the books recounts the Ingalls family having their crops depleted by blackbirds eating the grain. Pa shoots the birds and Ma makes a blackbird pie out of them. Laura recounts how they were inspired by the rhyme.
I feel that it's about Henry the VIII. Many clergy persons were gotten rid of at the time, I think. Henry was a Protestant and the religious civil wars followed. It's seems the best fit for the rhyme as the others are more of a stretch, I think. Good series...I like it!
Henry was a most steadfast Catholic. The Reformation was a power grab, allowing Henry the possibility of a male heir, and the land and wealth of the monasteries. Henry changed nothing about the church services, though he did deliver the English language Bible.
I always wonder about the similar story of "the Seven Goatlings(?) and the Wolf". The wolf tricks the kid goats to let him in. Six of the baby- goats get eaten by the wolf but one who hid in the clock gets away, and when the Mothergoat comes home. Together they save the ones inside the wolf. These two stories tend to connect.
A very well researched video. Just to tie in with the change to four and twenty naughty boys, interestingly another rhyme that appeared in Gammer Gurton's Garland also featured four and twenty. Four-and-twenty tailors went to kill a snail, The best man amongst them durst not touch her tail; She put out her horns like a little Kyloe cow; Run, tailors, run, or she’ll kill you all e’en now.
"24 naughty boys" reminds me of that number turned around in the Bible, 2 Kings 2:23-24. After a group of naughty boys who called prophet Elisha a "baldhead", he cursed them, then God sent 2 she-bears that tore 42 of the boys apart. (Notice how the verse has the numbers 2 and 24.)
In Scotland, Bean-nighe(washer women) are sometimes described as not having a nose, and they are typically seen washing laundry in a stream(sort of matches one of the descriptions). The clothes they are washing are of the person doomed to die. There’s likely no connection with the poem, but now I’m wondering if the no nose thing has a mean origin 😮
A wonderful video! Just a thought:'Who Killed Cock Robin' would be an interesting rabbit hole to dive down for a future episode!Much to ponder about that nursery rhyme!👍👍👍🇬🇧❤️❤️❤️🐊🐊🐊
I love your content. I recall nursery rhymes coming up semi frequently during my research throughout my studies in cultural anthropology. What was more interesting was they came up again during my studies in medical anthropology. Most of my fellow classmates selected specializations such as Egyptology. Whereas I chose to specialize in diseases and illnesses in Britain from 9th-17th centuries. And then I had a colleague who was a linguistic anthropologist. He would dissect language and meanings. I'm so glad I found your channel. It's very well researched.
Starlings, crows and ravens were eaten by commoners. Crows and ravens are still eaten with the breast flesh compared to duck flesh without the oil. Therefore, pies made from these avian sources weren’t uncommon. The surprise pies also make more sense.
In my youth several decades ago, we ate fat Robins and the large King Woodpeckers, both were quite good. Dad had grown up in the Great Depression, and the poor families like his ate anything they could hunt. Dad would also gather "Skunk Cabbage" as we did our Squirrel hunting.
I must begin with a note congratulating you on your diction, choice of subject matter, and illustrations. They are all a superb antidote to the #%^* on RU-vid When my mother was reading “Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye” to me I thought it rather weird that people would carry rye in their pockets. Now, some 70 years later I clicked on another meaning for pocket. My mother would buy pockets of potatoes, oranges, etc from the greengrocer. A pocket was a hessian sack that stood about knee high. It would hold enough rye to bake this kind of pie.
Wow, very interesting, thanks! Only a king's pie wouldn't have been made out of rye (that was for "black bread", less refined and more nourishing, for the lower classes).
In book "Emblemata" that was popular in 17 th century in first table picture 13 is an image of flying little birds to a cherry tree the description of symbol is that "eagles are gathering where the dead body is"
I am an old retired American. I knew the first four or so lines of the rhyme. I don’t think I ever knew more than that. Prior to this video, I had not heard it since I was a child. I doubt my own children, nieces, and nephews have ever heard it. Children’s rhymes seem to be dying out in Southern California.
I think the first French court explanation fits beautifully. Is there a version in the French language and culture anyone? If the answer is no, then I think it can be almost excluded from the list: why should it be preserved in English but not in the land where it occurred?
I like the version about the maid Henrietta "hanging out her laundry" as an older way of what we call "airing out one's dirty laundry in public". I think the depiction of her public disdain for the Queen comfortably fits that verse.
Excellent content! I always loved this nursery rhyme!mom made up a little tune and sang this to us. At the end, she would quickly pinch the ends of our noses as she said "ssssnIPPED off'er nose!" We loved it. And then the grandkids loved it. The playfulness took away any bother the morbidness might have caused us.
I do believe that I have fallen in love with this channel (and perhaps its narrator) though I am not at all sure why it has taken this long to do so. Please keep up your most excellent and fascinating work.
When I was walking to junior school each day. I used to find sixpences quite often. I mostly found them near st.peters church and further up adelaide street opposite the witches house.
Most nursery rhymes have a political origin. A blackbird , was a catholic bishop. The pie was a conspiracy. So this was was regarding Henry VIII wanting his divorce.
Thank you for fascinating info and glimpses of history behind nursery rhymes! A few of them I did know something about. In the early 80's my brother and sisters formed a small satirical theatre group. One performance was on nursery rhymes and, oh boy, the things we learned in that research! That performance was of course titled "Mother Goosed".
Fabulous as always! You research so deeply & then spin such beautiful tales! I was of the opinion that the rhyme was linked to Henry VIII and the dissolution of the monasteries, but you have compelling arguments for many other theories...perhaps the rhyme was indeed a fusion from different eras? Thanks!
Ur level of detail in history is stunning. Singing a song gets u rye. And Naughty boys/ black birds were punished for their acts , when they were presented before their father/king or local sheriff they began to sing or admit their misdeeds. Last stanza is more IMO about relinquish royal estate by English King. King don't count money in general. Magpie may be crow. Crow bites when you told lies.
My favorite nursery rhyme! This one, Hey Diddle Diddle, amd Three Little Kittens were ones that i repeated constantly as a child. Now as an adult who loves history and mystery, I love this channel!
@@lindaarnold5683 Certainly are. "Here comes the chopper to chop off your head" always cracks me up. And never mind ring-a-ring-pf roses, which is probably about the black death.. Proper laugh riot is that one.
I think the first explanation given might be the closest. I don't think people, especially children, are very interested in transmitting secret code through rhymes that much, anyway. It comes out the way it does because it's funny and good to sing whether it makes sense or not in reference to "persons living or dead".
Thank you for taking us down such a fascinating vortex of historical beliefs based on reality or pure imagination, forever reflective of the strongly weakened position of women who tended to be used as monetary pawns, carnal objects or breeding stock. It is also clear that given a little skill and determination , it is actually possible to twist historical facts into any meaning that takes your fancy !
In one of these videos the narrator invites listeners to suggest nursery rhymes to be researched. The ones I would like to know more about are: 'Bobby Shafto', 'The Lion and the Unicorn' and 'Pop Goes the Weasel'
Hello darkling, so lovely to hear you sounding so well today. And you have a great smile too. Thank you for answering the other reply. Very nice of you to do so. Thank you for today’s presentation. My goodness, so much detail went into this one. As it’s one of my childhood favs, I think I enjoyed it more. 😊 I had to share it with others. I’m more solid with the first scenario you mentioned as the most likely. Take care now. Cheers Col
I enjoy your RU-vid channel,. Your voice is hypnotic, I know not if your AI or a real person. I'm currently in hospital here in Ireland . I had a horrid accident involving my good self , and a 20 tonne digger .. my foot got trapped and in hydraulic part and it was crushed . Surgeons tried to do as much as they could , but I consented to an amputation. I wonder , I wonder could anyone make up a RHYME for me and my ... WOES , OF LOOSING MY TOES 😅😅😅😅. BE SAFE EVERYONE ❤️ JOE
Hi. I love your channel. This is the first time that I’ve left a comment on one of your videos. I love learning about the stories behind the nursery rhymes, but I was also thinking that I’d like to hear the stories behind fairytales as well.
I had a nursery rhyme book as a kid (Kate Greenway) and was fascinated by them. I get the dark origins but why in a kids rhyme? When kids don't understand what they're singing? I don't understand using children's songs for these dark ideas
This was the lullaby Momsie Durrant sang to me every night, in an effort to make me go to sleep. l used to stay awake for hours trying to figure out what the nursery rhyme meant.
