Saturday, August 1, 2009
Rock-a-bye, baby
In the treetop
When the wind blows
The cradle will rock
When the bough breaks
The cradle will fall
And down will come baby
Cradle and all
I don’t know if you noticed but this lullaby is entirely deceptive. There is a general preconceived notion of this lullaby being adorable and a remedy for children who have troubles sleeping. However, if you were to inspect it closely, you will come to find that this song is about parental negligence and to some extent, child abuse. Do not fret and think of yourself as horrible parents for not realizing this. The founding fathers of this lullaby have successfully planted in everyone’s heads that this song is a sweet and child-friendly one, so much so that it’s been passed down each generation, without much thought being given to its more sinister elements.
You may wonder why I say this. Okay, ladies and gents. The lullaby opens immediately to give the location of the baby: in the treetop. This begs the questions of “how the hell did that baby end up in the treetop?!” and “how can the parents let the child end up there, oh dear God?!”
In the next few lines, we are introduced to phrases whose very meanings indicate danger, especially in this context. An example would be “the wind blows”, which is in reference to the child that is somehow stuck in the treetop. The child is obviously placed in such a perilous position, what with the blowing of a wind that threatens to break the bough that supports him/her in the cradle, seen in lines four and five of “the cradle will rock” and “when the boughs break.”
The danger being subjected to the child, however, peaks in the last three lines, in which the cradle succumbs to the force of nature and finally falls, baby in tow. If memory serves me correctly, these three lines are sung in an almost cooing tone, as if to assure the child of its safety (or to put it to sleep), which is pretty ironic since the child is basically being plunged to its death. It does make sense, though, because death is nothing more than a permanent state of slumber.
Not to forget, the first line of this lullaby is “rock-a-bye, baby” as if to say that the very rocking of the baby will result in its death. The writers wasted no time to disclose their intention!
I really need to get a life, instead of butchering children’s lullabies.
Next, Ba-Ba Blacksheep! And how it relates to discrimination and racism.
K
In the treetop
When the wind blows
The cradle will rock
When the bough breaks
The cradle will fall
And down will come baby
Cradle and all
I don’t know if you noticed but this lullaby is entirely deceptive. There is a general preconceived notion of this lullaby being adorable and a remedy for children who have troubles sleeping. However, if you were to inspect it closely, you will come to find that this song is about parental negligence and to some extent, child abuse. Do not fret and think of yourself as horrible parents for not realizing this. The founding fathers of this lullaby have successfully planted in everyone’s heads that this song is a sweet and child-friendly one, so much so that it’s been passed down each generation, without much thought being given to its more sinister elements.
You may wonder why I say this. Okay, ladies and gents. The lullaby opens immediately to give the location of the baby: in the treetop. This begs the questions of “how the hell did that baby end up in the treetop?!” and “how can the parents let the child end up there, oh dear God?!”
In the next few lines, we are introduced to phrases whose very meanings indicate danger, especially in this context. An example would be “the wind blows”, which is in reference to the child that is somehow stuck in the treetop. The child is obviously placed in such a perilous position, what with the blowing of a wind that threatens to break the bough that supports him/her in the cradle, seen in lines four and five of “the cradle will rock” and “when the boughs break.”
The danger being subjected to the child, however, peaks in the last three lines, in which the cradle succumbs to the force of nature and finally falls, baby in tow. If memory serves me correctly, these three lines are sung in an almost cooing tone, as if to assure the child of its safety (or to put it to sleep), which is pretty ironic since the child is basically being plunged to its death. It does make sense, though, because death is nothing more than a permanent state of slumber.
Not to forget, the first line of this lullaby is “rock-a-bye, baby” as if to say that the very rocking of the baby will result in its death. The writers wasted no time to disclose their intention!
I really need to get a life, instead of butchering children’s lullabies.
Next, Ba-Ba Blacksheep! And how it relates to discrimination and racism.
K
what we could have been, 4:47 AM.