|
It's raining, it's pouring
Nursery Rhyme lyrics, origins and history
It's
raining, it's pouring
The old man is snoring
He went to bed and he bumped his head
And couldn't get up in the morning
Another song starting with the same words is as
follows:
It's
raining, it's raining,
There's pepper in the box,
And all the little ladies
Are holding up their frocks.
A reminder
that of the fashions from bygone days and
perhaps the value placed on pepper. Pepper and
salt are the cornerstone of European seasoning.
And pepper was popularly known as the king of
all spices. The quest for spices encouraged the
Renaissance Explorers on there voyages of
discovery. Chilli peppers including red peppers,
cayenne, paprika and chilli were all discovered
in the New World which contributed to the
colonization of the Americas. This broke the
monopoly held by Venice (via their trade route
to India) in providing Europe with this spice.
The exorbitant price of pepper fell - eventually
ordinary people could afford to fill their
pepper box!
Did you
know...
Did you know that the
Tower of London castle complex in fact
consists of 21 different towers. One is called
the Salt Tower and it is possible that this
expensive commodity was traditionally stored in
this building. In medieval England salt was only
afforded by the higher Nobility. The Lords sat
on the dais at the 'high table' and the lower
classes at lower trestle tables. The salt was
placed in the centre of the high table and only
those of the appropriate rank had access to it.
Those less favoured on the lower tables were
"beneath the salt".
Our
grateful thanks go to Jerry Jacobson for
reminding us about this song & rhyme. Thanks
Jerry!
It's raining, it's pouring
Nursery Rhyme lyrics, origins and history |
