Bubonic plague "ring around the rosies"

Hasn't everyone heard of "Ring around the Rosies"? This is quite a famous nursery rhyme. As Poupard, L. Vincent has said, this is not the nice little song it sounds like. In fact this whole song was based on the fact of huge amounts of death in Europe. The nursery Rhyme, "Ring around the rosies, pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes we all fall down, has a terrifying meaning behind it. When at first caught, the Bubonic Plague would get rings of puss filled sores on the body. Soon after you would see their dead bodies full of posies as a sign of letting others to know not to go near the body (Poupard, L. Vincent). "Ashes, Ashes" describes the burning of the bodies (Poupard, L. Vincent).  They would be carried off in carts in piles, from which they would go get cremated in mass numbers and put into a big pit. "We all fall down" shows the common belief back then, that there would be an extinction of the human population. There are many contrary's to this, as people say that since the Nursery rhyme was published in the 1800's it couldn't possibly have anything to do with the Plague. But if it's a nursery rhyme, and only the kids would sing it, why would anyone publish it then? If 1/3 the population of everyone in Europe died,(The Black Death, 1348) then why would they be publishing nursery rhymes? Even with these controversial issues, there is still a lot of fact from the Black Plague. For instance, as The Black Death, 1348 states, it did start in the shores of Italy. As soon as the ship that had people with this disease landed, the Italians kicked them out, but it was too late. The disease had spread to Europe. Not soon after, it had spread all across Europe. The death rate was huge and many prayed to their gods. It seemed like god was not listening. Soon after their prayers family members died and many began questioning their belief (The Black Death: Bubonic Plague). With the amount of people dying, there were many effects, such as a huge loss in the amount of labor workers (The Black Death, 1348). The bubonic variant of this disease was the most common during this time. The Bubonic plague was given its name as the victims of the disease would get swellings on the victim's neck, armpits, or groin.  These tumors ranged in size from an egg to an apple.  So the nursery rhyme, being about the bubonic plague has made sense so far. Many are dying; the air is full of disease and the cries of sick people. The rings would be the tumors, and with the posies in their shirts they were put outside, in hope that a Becchini, would come and pick up the body. "A becchini was usually a man of low social rank usually themselves affected with the plague, that would cart the dead and performed other tasks that no one else care to do" (Gottfried 47). "All left the sick and the dead, Friars and nuns were left to care for the sick, and monasteries and convents were soon deserted, as they were stricken, too" (The Black Death: Bubonic Plague). These two quotes shows how intense the people were to not catch the disease. But anyone would be this way to if they knew they could die any second. With everyone acting this way, would it not be right for the children, being extremely sad, to go around singing these songs? If parents are scared it usually makes it worse for the children. And at the rate of the people dying, as described by Boccaccio, "They ate lunch with their friends and dinner with their ancestors in paradise." (The Black Death: Bubonic Plague) people would have been going crazy. Many of the children would want to make something happy come out of this; it's a good solid reason for believing that the nursery rhyme was made about the bubonic plague.    Work's cited: Alchin, L.K, "The Black Death Bubonic Plague during the Elizabethan Era".     William Shakespeare The Complete Works. 2005. 4/5/10. http://www.william-shakespeare.info/bubonic-black-plague-elizabethan-era.htm Gottfried, Robert Steven. The Black Death: Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe. New York: Free, 1983 Poupard, L. Vincent. "Ring Around the Rosie Is About the Bubonic Plague."Associated Content -Associatedcontent.com. Web. 13 May 2010.. "The Black Death: Bubonic Plague." Middle Ages - Medieval Resources. April 5, 2010     .  "The Black Death, 1348." EyeWitness to History. 2001. April 22, 2010.     .