Giro Giro Tondo and Ring a Ring o’ Roses Reveal Centuries of Childhood Mystery
The girotondo is a children’s game where kids hold hands and move in a circle while reciting a nursery rhyme. At the final verse, they stop and squat down. There are many versions, variants, and corruptions of the rhyme in different languages, with regional and local additions. Its historical presence is well-established in various countries, but its origins are unknown.
It is often associated with the period of the Black Death, although some folklorists trace it back to pre-Christian pagan rituals. In the Anglophone world, the rhyme is known as Ring a Ring o’ Roses. The first printed English version appeared in 1881, but other versions were in use in England from the late 18th century. In the New World, a version was documented in Connecticut in the 1840s.
The most common English version reads:
“Ring-a-ring o’ roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.”
Lyrics
Giro girotondo,
casca il mondo,
casca la terra,
tutti giù per terra!
Giro girotondo
Il mare è fondo,
tonda è la terra,
tutti giù per terra!
Giro girotondo
L’angelo è biondo,
biondo è il grano,
tutti ci sediamo!
Giro girotondo
Il pane è cotto in forno,
buona è la ciambella,
tutti giù per terra!
Lyrics
Round and round we go,
the world falls down,
the earth falls down,
everyone down to the ground!
Round and round we go,
the sea is deep,
the earth is round,
everyone down to the ground!
Round and round we go,
the angel is blonde,
the wheat is golden,
we all sit down!
Round and round we go,
the bread is baked in the oven,
the cake is good,
everyone down to the ground!
Source: Wiki
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