ring around the rosies= bites they had on their skin were rings

a pocket full of posies= they put flowers in their pockets so they wouldnt smell bad

ashes ahses= they burned the dead people

we all fall down= they all die

Red rashes that ppl sick with the bubonic plague. they were actually bites from fleas that were infected with the disease

a pocket full of posies:

Flowers were put into the pockets of the ppl who were sick to smother the smell of death. also, there were certain plants put into their pockets that were believed to “clean the air”

ashes ashes:

it’s supposed to be sneezing that was caused by the disease(?????)

we all fall down:

Everyone sick with the plauge dies…..= [

From the 1881 edition of Mother Goose: Ring a ring o’ roses,

A pocketful of posies.

Tisha! Tisha!

We all fall down.

Mostly in the UK, it is usually sung: Ring a ring o’roses,

A pocketful of posies.

ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.

We all fall down.

Mostly in the US it is usually sung: Ring around the rosie,

Pocketful of posies.

Ashes, ashes.

We all fall down.

Mostly in Canada, it is usually sung: Ring around the rosey,

A pocket full of posies.

Husha, husha.

We all fall down.

Mostly in Ireland, it is usually sung: Ring a ring o’rosies,

A pocketful of posies.

ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.

We all fall down.

Mostly in Australia, it is usually sung: Ring a ring a rosey

A pocketful of posies

ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.

We all fall down.

Mostly in Indonesia, it is usually sung: Ring a ring a rosey,

A pocketful of posies.

ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.

We all fall down.

Followed by: When our mother calls us,

We all jump up!

Mostly in Louisiana, it is usually sung: Ring around the rosey,

Pocket full of posies.

Upstairs, downstairs.

We all fall down.

Other verses in the UK: The King has sent his daughter,

To fetch a pail of water.

ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.

We all fall down.

The bird up on the steeple,

Sits high above the people.

ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.

We all fall down.

The cows are in the meadow,

Lying fast asleep,

ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.

We all jump up again.

Fishes in the water,

Fishes in the sea,

We all jump up,

With a one, two, three!

Other verses elsewhere: Cows are in the meadow,

Eating buttercups,

ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.

We all jump up!

Cows are in the meadow,

Eating all the grass,

ah-tishoo, ah-tishoo.

Who’s up last?

Bringing up the posies,

We all pop up!

The cows are in the pasture,

Sleeping, Sleeping,

Lightning, Lightning.

We all jump up!

Mammy in the teapot,

Daddy in the cup.

One, two, three

And we all jump up!

Plague interpretation

A popular misinterpretation connects the poem with the Great Plague of London in 1665, or perhaps earlier outbreaks of bubonic plague in England; however, there is no evidence that Ring a Ring O’Roses and the plague were connected, until it was proposed in the 20th century.Regardless, this interpretation has entered into popular culture and is often used to reference the plague obliquely. This plague link seems to originate with the movement for finding origins of folk-songs, which was popular in the early 20th century. For example, according to the common forms of the plague interpretation, the ‘falling down’ has always involved dropping to the ground as the rhyme is recited, evoking the death from the plague. This conjecture has evolved into a complex explanation suggesting possible plague interpretations for every line. For other attempts to attribute ‘hidden meaning’ to other such rhymes see Sing a Song of Sixpence and Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary,

According to this interpretation, the first line evokes the round red rash that would break out on the skin of plague victims. The second line’s “pocket full of posies” would have been a pocket in the garment of a victim filled with something fragrant, such as flowers that aimed to conceal the smell from the sores and the dying people. Alternatively it referred to the common belief that fresh-smelling flowers, nosegays, and pomanders would purify the air around them thus warding off disease as was believed from the miasma theory of disease. A third possibility includes the idea that “posies” are derived from an Old English word for pus, in which case the pocket would be referring to the swelling sore. Finally: “atishoo, atishoo,” the sneezing before “we all fall down”, the eventual succumbing to death.

European and 19th century versions of the rhyme suggest that this ‘fall’ was not a literal falling down, but a curtsy or other form of bending movement that was common in other dramatic singing games. Moreover, due to the wide variety of versions sharing the same dance and the same tune, the Opies and many scholars since conclude that the tune and the dance-game form the core of ‘Ring a Ring O’Roses’, rather than the words which are popular today. Before 1898 there appeared to be no English-language standardisation of the words, and Lady Gomme collected 12 versions of the game, only one of which is similar to the ones that are conjecturally linked to the plague.

The plague interpretation is generally considered by scholars to be completely baseless. It is first cited in 1951 by Peter Opie and Iona Opie. It thus forms an important reference for 20th and 21st century culture, but has never been authentically linked to any early version of the rhyme, and the evidence points strongly against it.