“It’s raining, it’s pouring” is a famous children’s nursery rhyme – but have you ever wondered what it actually means?
Jane, from the UK, has spilled disturbing details about the “real” meaning behind the words: “It’s raining, it’s pouring. The old man is snoring. He went to bed and bumped his head. And he couldn’t get up in the morning.”
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: ‘Real’ meaning behind iconic nursery rhyme.
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“Everyone knows this one but do you know what it means?” she said in her TikTok video.
“Although it doesn’t describe any specific person, it does tell us a cautionary tale. Surprisingly this rhyme has nothing to do with the weather at all.
“In actual fact, the old man liked a good drink and it’s ‘raining and pouring’ refers to the alcoholic drinks being poured very liberally like it’s raining cocktails and shots.
“That’s right, the old man was drunk, very drunk.”
She explained how the man couldn’t stay awake so he started to nod off and snore.
“So he decided it’s time to sleep it off,” Jane said.
“But by this point, he was so inebriated, he probably couldn’t even walk in a straight line so when he went to bed, he stumbled, fell or otherwise drunkenly bumped his head.
“And that must have been some bump because he couldn’t get up in the morning because well… he was dead.”
According to Jane, the old man never woke up again because he suffered a fatal head trauma after cracking his head.
“That’s right,” she said.
“So there you have it, a cautionary tale to remind us that when it’s raining and pouring, don’t drink so much that you bump your head or you could end up dead.”
It’s unclear from where the dark interpretation of the short song stems – but the ‘true’ meaning behind the old man’s death has been doing the rounds online for many years.
‘Childhood ruined’
Her video has been viewed more than 295,000 times – with many confessing Jane’s explanation meant: “Childhood ruined”.
“I’m traumatised by this,” one woman said.
Another suggested: “That’s it – ruin my childhood memories.”
One added: “Why can’t anything be pure…?”
While another shared: “Killed my childhood.”
However, some revealed they had an inkling the man suffered a concussion or “died” after processing the lyrics.
“When I was a kid and questioned this, I was told it’s to tell you to never sleep with a concussion or soon after banging your head,” one said.
Another shared: “I thought he slipped on wet floor (from the rain) and bumped his head and died.”
While one added: “I always thought it was a cautionary tale of when you’re concussed don’t fall asleep as you could slip into a coma or die. Thought that since I was six. I often got concussions as a child due to horse riding and was always told to stay awake.”