What child doesn’t love nursery rhymes? You know the ones “Humpty Dumpty”, “Rock A Bye Baby”, “Mary Had A Little Lamb”, etc.. One thing that is certain is that these tales have survived hundreds of years.
The recording industry tells us that we need more Copyright for music to thrive. But nursery rhymes survived all this time without the recording industry and copyright.
Nursery rhymes survived because they were passed on by word of mouth and taught to children before the rhymes got committed to print.
That word of mouth promotion is the pure essence of culture. That is how culture thrives. That is how bands become superstars and have careers.
Even those beautiful sounding nursery rhymes had their origins as protest songs or political songs. “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep” is about the Great Custom, a tax on wool that was introduced in 1275. “Three Blind Mice” was about the burning of three Protestants at the stake for heresy, in their attempt to overthrow Queen Bloody Mary.
Say bye-bye to the old and say hello to the new. Here is a list of the nursery rhymes that my two-year old loves.
“We’re Not Gonna Take It”
The ultimate song about standing up against authoritative figures that want to mold you and stifle your creativity. The video clip will be forever remembered. It’s part of pop culture history. The song tapped into the psyche of a whole generation of kids who felt pressured by parents and teachers to conform.
Back in the Eighties, the PMRC listed “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as number 7 on their filthy fifteen list. And the reason why it was on the list. Violence. Yep, Tipper Gore and her housewives found the song to be violent while millions upon millions of adolescent teens found it empowering.
“Cum On Feel The Noize”, “Rock and Roll”, “Rock N Roll All Nite” and “I Wanna Rock”
Four songs about letting your hair down. That is what rock and roll is all about.
We just want to rock.
“Livin On A Prayer” and “Dont Stop Believin”
Two songs about believing in yourself. And 25 plus years, people are still believing. Combined they have over 100 million streams.
“Eye Of The Tiger” and “Burning Heart”
Finding that inner animal when your back is against the wall. The “Rocky III” producers wanted to use “Another One Bites The Dust” however they could not get permission to use the song, so Sylvester Stallone hired Survivor to write an original song instead, which turned out to be “Eye Of The Tiger.”
“We Will Rock You”
The boom boom cha. It’s undeniable.
And the way these songs are getting passed on is via word of mouth, from father to sons. That is how culture rolls. So the recording industry better deal with it.