What is the origin of the song "Ring Around the Rosie" and why is it significant to the historical period in which it is written and sung, and what are the original lyrics?

sequoianoir

Ring Around The Roses, A pocket full of posies, Tisha! Tisha! We all fall down. It is probably from the 1600's and is a reference to the bubonic plague. The "ring" was the rash typical of having the plague. The "posies" were herbs and spices carried to freshen the air from the stench of death. Tisha (later Ashes) is the "tissue" that you held across your mouth to breathe through, although it could be "sneezing". "All fall down" is dying from the plague. Oct 31 03, 4:30 PM

MaggieG 5

I've always believed that too, but this site provides a different view and is quite interesting. http://www.bikwil.zip.com.au/Vintage14/Ring-a-Ring-o'-Roses.html Oct 31 03, 4:34 PM

uroborus

This is an urban legend. Ring Around the Rosie has its earliest example in print in the 1880's. For more on this, see: http://www.snopes.com/language/literary/rosie.htm Oct 31 03, 5:01 PM