Vort Posted April 4, 2020 Report Share Posted April 4, 2020 A child's rhyme: Row, row, row your boat Gently down the stream Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily Life is but a dream. WHOA! That last line came out of NOWHERE! You're going along in a fun, simple, almost nonsensical verse, perhaps singing it as a round, when suddenly... Philosophical conundrum! EXISTENTIAL CRISIS! NIHILISM! Is this a bait-and-switch designed to draw in our precious children, then suck the life out of them? Or is it a brutal but ironically necessary inoculation of the very young against the ravages of cynicism, alerting them from the beginning of the ephemeral nature of life itself? I take comfort in knowing that at least we don't have any nursery rhymes that celebrate brutal, painful death from something like the black plague. MrShorty, mordorbund, NeuroTypical and 1 other 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carborendum Posted April 4, 2020 Report Share Posted April 4, 2020 1 minute ago, Vort said: WHOA! That last line came out of NOWHERE! You're going along in a fun, simple, almost nonsensical verse, perhaps singing it as a round, when suddenly... Philosophical conundrum! EXISTENTIAL CRISIS! NIHILISM! If we shadows have offended... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fether Posted April 4, 2020 Report Share Posted April 4, 2020 6 minutes ago, Vort said: Is this a bait-and-switch designed to draw in our precious children, then suck the life out of them? Or is it a brutal but ironically necessary inoculation of the very young against the ravages of cynicism, alerting them from the beginning of the ephemeral nature of life itself? My two year old asked this very question not three days ago askandanswer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted April 4, 2020 Report Share Posted April 4, 2020 One of the coolest things I own, is a Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes book printed in the early 1900's. I oughta break it out for this thread. If you're waiting to be astounded by Ring around the Rosy, that thing had page after page of death, disease, maiming, unjust imprisonment by tyrannical royalty, and monsters. And one of the coolest things I did as a young father was read my sweet little bebbesh every single dang one of them. Vort and Backroads 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mordorbund Posted April 5, 2020 Report Share Posted April 5, 2020 Carborendum and Vort 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askandanswer Posted April 5, 2020 Report Share Posted April 5, 2020 On 4/5/2020 at 2:07 AM, Vort said: A child's rhyme: Row, row, row your boat Gently down the stream Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily Life is but a dream. WHOA! That last line came out of NOWHERE! You're going along in a fun, simple, almost nonsensical verse, perhaps singing it as a round, when suddenly... Philosophical conundrum! EXISTENTIAL CRISIS! NIHILISM! Wordsworth would disagree - our life is more like a sleep and a forgetting than a dream. Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting.../Not in entire forgetfulness, / And not in utter nakedness, /But trailing clouds of glory do we come / From God, who is our home....”) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carborendum Posted April 6, 2020 Report Share Posted April 6, 2020 On 4/4/2020 at 11:59 PM, mordorbund said: Did you just call @Vort a green-blooded Vulcan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mordorbund Posted April 6, 2020 Report Share Posted April 6, 2020 1 hour ago, Carborendum said: Did you just call @Vort a green-blooded Vulcan? I called him a "green-blooded ..... Vulcan". It allows the mind to explore options. Vort and Carborendum 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted April 6, 2020 Report Share Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) On 4/4/2020 at 11:20 AM, NeuroTypical said: And one of the coolest things I did as a young father was read my sweet little bebbesh every single dang one of them. My kids' favorite rhyme was the Old Lady that swallowed the fly... I don't know why... I guess she'll die.... she swallowed a horse... she'll die, of course. They can go on and on and on forever with that rhyme guffawing the whole way. Edited April 6, 2020 by anatess2 NeuroTypical 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted April 6, 2020 Report Share Posted April 6, 2020 On 4/4/2020 at 9:07 AM, Vort said: A child's rhyme: Row, row, row your boat Gently down the stream Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily Life is but a dream. WHOA! That last line came out of NOWHERE! You're going along in a fun, simple, almost nonsensical verse, perhaps singing it as a round, when suddenly... Philosophical conundrum! EXISTENTIAL CRISIS! NIHILISM! Is this a bait-and-switch designed to draw in our precious children, then suck the life out of them? Or is it a brutal but ironically necessary inoculation of the very young against the ravages of cynicism, alerting them from the beginning of the ephemeral nature of life itself? I take comfort in knowing that at least we don't have any nursery rhymes that celebrate brutal, painful death from something like the black plague. It is my understanding that the nursery rhymes were created as a symbolic criticism of British royalty (even if one wants to consider Meghan and Harry). As you obvious have suggested - this includes nonsense in dealing with the black plague. But you are right - taken out of context there is no rational meaning. The Traveler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Posted April 7, 2020 Report Share Posted April 7, 2020 Am I the only one here who hates that song. I hated when I was it kid and I hate it now. The song really bugs me for some reason. I don't even know what it is that bugs me so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted April 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2020 10 minutes ago, Scott said: Am I the only one here who hates that song. I hated when I was it kid and I hate it now. The song really bugs me for some reason. I don't even know what it is that bugs me so much. ^^ uncomfortable with existential inquiry ^^ mordorbund 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Posted April 7, 2020 Report Share Posted April 7, 2020 15 minutes ago, Vort said: ^^ uncomfortable with existential inquiry ^^ Maybe. Fantasy by Aldo Nova also has an nihilistic meaing, but I like that song. It's better than any KISS song for sure. Don't tell Mr. Gator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askandanswer Posted April 11, 2020 Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 I think the use of the word "dream" in this nursery rhyme can be attributed to an error by the stenographer who transcribed the rhyme under the authors dictation. The author probably said steam but the stenographer heard dream. The nursery rhyme started as the authors refelection on the pending transition in nautical engineering from man power (rowing) to steam power and, when contemplating the likely future outcome of this transition he said, with some confidence, that life is but a steam. The stenographer wrote life is but a dream. When the author saw that, and thought how much easier the work of rowers was about to become he decided that no correction was needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted April 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 On 4/6/2020 at 10:08 PM, Scott said: Maybe. Fantasy by Aldo Nova also has an nihilistic meaing, but I like that song. It's better than any KISS song for sure. Don't tell Mr. Gator. I used to listen to Aldo Nova. I was finally put off enough that I don't really listen to him any more, not so much by his nihilism as just sort of the vacuousness of his songs. He's a rock/metal virtuoso along the lines of the '80s thrashers, but with more of a traditional rock/metal sound—and a sort of traditional sex/drugs/rock'n'roll level of lyrical depth. There's nothing wrong with having a high-school level of introspection, such as rebelling against The Man, being enamored of Ayn Rand, etc...if you're a high schooler. But adults are expected eventually to grow up. Aldo Nova's music seems to me to be perpetually stuck in adolescence or very young adulthood. Plus, none of the cool kids listen to him any more. That's an important consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
askandanswer Posted April 11, 2020 Report Share Posted April 11, 2020 I've noticed that people in control of boats who end up dreaming while on the job sometimes end up on the rocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Still_Small_Voice Posted April 15, 2020 Report Share Posted April 15, 2020 On 4/6/2020 at 10:33 PM, Scott said: Am I the only one here who hates that song. I hated when I was it kid and I hate it now. The song really bugs me for some reason. I don't even know what it is that bugs me so much. That song does not bother me, but I do not like the Happy Birthday song. I like the old Disney Alice in Wonderland A Very Merry Unbirthday song much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Br-Ahman Posted April 28, 2020 Report Share Posted April 28, 2020 On 4/6/2020 at 10:33 PM, Scott said: Am I the only one here who hates that song. I hated when I was it kid and I hate it now. The song really bugs me for some reason. I don't even know what it is that bugs me so much. Probably because, when you were a baby, a loud noise startled you while someone was singing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.