The Story Behind Baa Baa Black Sheep So many nursery rhymes appear to be quite innocent and carry moral meanings with messages of good citizenship, behind them we often hear of Kings and Queens of England, bloodshed and tears. Baa Baa Black Sheep is no exception.
The real story behind Baa Baa Black Sheep is based on the British wool industry and involve King Edward I with a later addition when King Edward II became ruler of England.
King Edward I was the Plantagenet King (17 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward The Longshanks and The Hammer of the Scots.
Like many of his forefathers he spent a lot of his time defending and developing his kingdom, being involved in battles, sieges and even hostage situations. Edward didn't fight wars from a desk and it certainly wasn't a quiet life by any means.
During a long battle torn return journey to England, from the crusades in 1272 he was informed of the news that his father had died, as a consequence he was crowned King at Westminster Abbey on the 19th August of that year.
The crusades had accomplished very little in reality but cost vast amounts of money and Edward was now King of England with a very big bill and needed to pay for his part in the crusades.
Kings had a way of raising quick money in those days
They taxed the poor!
The Egyptian Pharaohs taxed the use of cooking oil Emperor Vespasian of Rome levied a Urine Tax Tsar of Russia, Peter the Great, put a tax on 'souls' and another on beards among many others.
King William III created window tax
Prime Minister of Britain William Pitt the Younger taxed hats
Not to mention the Boston Tea Party
What can the King of England tax?
At the time of King Edward's reign when he surveyed his kingdom he saw more than more sheep than people. Even a poor farmer might have a flock of 8000 spread over tenanted land and would need over a dozen shepherds to to heard the flock.
There's the answer, tax sheep – actually, there is a better method of collecting even more money, simply tax their wool, then the king will pull in revenue every time the sheep are shorn.
So what's all this got to do with Baa Baa Black Sheep?
Contrary to modern popular belief Baa Baa Black Sheep is not a racist poem, it has nothing to do with slavery but is a genuine nursery rhyme intended to teach babies the sound that sheep make.Onomatopoeia are words that sound exactly like their meaning and baa baa in "Baa, baa black sheep" is a perfect example.
So, the nursery rhyme itself is fairly innocent until we look at the original line at the end.
The original Baa Baa Black Sheep reads like this:
Baa Baa Black Sheep Have You Any Wool?
Yes Sir, Yes Sir, Three Bags Full
One For The Master One For The Dame
And One For The Little Boy
Who Cries Down The Lane
The last line was changed to make it more appealing; it now reads “Who Lives Down The Lane”.
Who was the little boy and why did he cry down the lane?
The little boy represents the poor farmer who wasn't happy at paying the king's 66% tax on his wool.
The three bags of wool represented the three lots of one third.
One for the master – King Edward I
One for the Dame – The Church
And one for the little boy who cries down the lane.
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Logged
