The Oddity of Nursery Rhymes

Have any of you ever notice the real strangeness of the sing-song rhymes that we sing lovingly to our children.
How about this one common rhyme that we sing to our children...


'Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon.

The little dog laughed to see such fun, and the dish ran away with the spoon.'

Okay - first of all - who is Diddle Diddle? And why is he hanging out with the cat and the fiddle? And was it the cat and the fiddle that made the cow jump over the moon? Was the music that bad?? I have to admit that I have seen a dog smile - but never heard him laugh. But I have never seen a dish run away with a spoon. Okay, if they were going to run away it would be nice if they could run away to get clean together. Even as confusing as this first nursery rhyme is at least it doesn't get overly crazy like this one....

'There was an old woman who lived in a shoe, who had so many children, she didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth without any bread, then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.'

Strange. Because she had too many children she gave them broth and whipped them all. Strange is all I have to say.

Then there is Ryan's favorite... Goosey Goosey Gander

'Goosey Goosey Gander, whither shall I wander? Upstairs and downstairs and in my lady's chamber. There I met an old man who would not say his prayers, so I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs.'

What a magnificent goose that had the power to throw a grown man down the stairs by just his left leg, not his righ, but his left! And the knowledge to know that he wasn't saying his prayers.

Even though I have touched on the strangeness of these nursery rhymes I must admit that when Lyla's CD of nursery rhymes come on she gets a big smile on her face. I must also admit that I sing these phrases to her daily and even though they are odd, they amuse and make Lyla happy, and that is all that matters. Let's just hope she doesn't ask me how to explain them.. I guess I have a couple of years to figure out what to say....