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Zelda Thuong
2021-06-01 11:06
Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home British rhyme
"Ladybug" is usually called "ladybird" in the UK.
An old British rhyme for children that is used to tell the ladybug beetle to go away
Whenever my grandpa sings "Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home", I know that another harvest will come.
- Do you know ladybugs are a symbol of luck? - Really? I always shoo them away. Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home!
An old British rhyme for children that is used to tell the ladybug beetle to go away
Although nowadays the full rhyme just includes 2 sentences as mentioned above, they originated from the traditional version which was popular since 1744 appearing in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Songbook Vol. 2.
Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,
Your house is on fire and your children are gone,
All except one, and her name is Ann,
And she hid under the baking pan.
There are several speculations about the origin of this rhyme.
1. The most common one relates to harvest: The farmers would release thousands of ladybugs as a method to protect their crops in the Spring. And then this rhyme would be voiced to shoo those ladybugs away when there came the burning time for the preparation for next planting season.
2. Another belief which is related to the paganism in Europe when the Christianity reached a climax seems to be more serious. From ancient times, ladybug was seen as a symbol of goddess worship. The first line
Ladybird, ladybird fly away home,
indicates those going below the surface, underground.
Your house is on fire and your children are gone,
implies that all the lodges, gathering places or temples are ruined and the dissolution of the pagans.
And the image of those followers who don't emigrate but choosing to hide is expressed through the 2 last lines:
All except one, and her name is Ann,
And she hid under the baking pan.
Do you see anything wrong?
A problem or difficult circumstance
I'm short-sighted, so forgetting my glasses is a real hair in the butter for my sight.
