"Ba ba black sheep have you any wool?
Yes sir yes sir three bags full
One for my master
One for my dame
And one for the little boy who lives down the lane"
Have been talking to my mom recently and suddenly was reminded of this children's rhyme. Sounds innocent enough like every other children rhyme. However many believe that there's a more sinister meaning behind it. Some sources claim that the wool in the rhyme symbolises cotton which was a major agricultural produce many years ago, and the black sheep actually refers to African slaves that were used to harvest cotton from the cotton fields. Hence, they believe that this rhyme is a depiction of the oppresion of African slaves by the 'whites' and is considered racist.
There are some variations to the rhyme as well. E.g. " ..and none for the little boy who lives down the lane" which probably signifies the different social standards of bygone era.. Only the master and the dame are given wool by the black sheep but none for the little boy as only the master and dame can afford 'black sheep'..
Rhymes like this and so much more have been accused of bearing another meaning behind their innocent facade. E.g. Jack & Jill - the loss of virginity by young boys and girls, Ring Around The Roses - description of the scene of the Black Plague where thousands died.. Are people just being too sensitive to all these children rhymes? No matter what most of these children rhymes have very old origins and they're probably made up by kids of that age just for fun, or maybe for remembering warnings and advices by adults. So I don't think it comes of a surprise if they do have hidden meanings.. Nonetheless that doesn't mean that children nowadays should be banned from learning these. It's not like they know what they mean, but it's more of a way for them to learn the language in a fun way.
Anyway this is just a thought diversion from what I was thinking at that time about the Black Sheep.
The Black Sheep. I think most of us have them or we could be one of them (I'm probably one too).. If it's neither for you, then congratz. The Black Sheep come in different forms. Some are burdens, others are a pain. Some cause embarrasments, others are just like the plague..The Black Sheep. They're always there, they'll never disappear. You can't get rid of them, because that's not an option. You can't ignore them, because they're part of the flock..The Black Sheep. They'll never change, because they don't see the error of their ways or they don't want to see the error of their ways.
So what can we do? Just suck it up! >.< (or blog about it..)
Yes sir yes sir three bags full
One for my master
One for my dame
And one for the little boy who lives down the lane"
Have been talking to my mom recently and suddenly was reminded of this children's rhyme. Sounds innocent enough like every other children rhyme. However many believe that there's a more sinister meaning behind it. Some sources claim that the wool in the rhyme symbolises cotton which was a major agricultural produce many years ago, and the black sheep actually refers to African slaves that were used to harvest cotton from the cotton fields. Hence, they believe that this rhyme is a depiction of the oppresion of African slaves by the 'whites' and is considered racist.
There are some variations to the rhyme as well. E.g. " ..and none for the little boy who lives down the lane" which probably signifies the different social standards of bygone era.. Only the master and the dame are given wool by the black sheep but none for the little boy as only the master and dame can afford 'black sheep'..
Rhymes like this and so much more have been accused of bearing another meaning behind their innocent facade. E.g. Jack & Jill - the loss of virginity by young boys and girls, Ring Around The Roses - description of the scene of the Black Plague where thousands died.. Are people just being too sensitive to all these children rhymes? No matter what most of these children rhymes have very old origins and they're probably made up by kids of that age just for fun, or maybe for remembering warnings and advices by adults. So I don't think it comes of a surprise if they do have hidden meanings.. Nonetheless that doesn't mean that children nowadays should be banned from learning these. It's not like they know what they mean, but it's more of a way for them to learn the language in a fun way.
Anyway this is just a thought diversion from what I was thinking at that time about the Black Sheep.
The Black Sheep. I think most of us have them or we could be one of them (I'm probably one too).. If it's neither for you, then congratz. The Black Sheep come in different forms. Some are burdens, others are a pain. Some cause embarrasments, others are just like the plague..The Black Sheep. They're always there, they'll never disappear. You can't get rid of them, because that's not an option. You can't ignore them, because they're part of the flock..The Black Sheep. They'll never change, because they don't see the error of their ways or they don't want to see the error of their ways.
So what can we do? Just suck it up! >.< (or blog about it..)
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