8 Innocent Songs With Incredibly Disturbing Histories

There are certain songs out there that are so popular, and have seemingly been around for so long, that most people don't even question what they mean anymore. Passed down innocently from generation to generation; as children we all sang them as unknowingly as our parents and grandparents before us. Yet the world was a vastly different place not that long ago €“ you've only to travel back a few decades to see just how contrasting society's politics were. Travel back further still and you'll begin to edge closer to when some of these songs were first written. A *vastly* different place. Over time context is lost or obscured, leaving nothing but a catchy tune and innocuous lyrics. But reattach that context and things become infinitely darker, dealing with everything from racism to burying children alive. From famous nursery rhymes to classic Disney tunes, here are eight songs that we've all merrily sung in you lives blissfully unaware of their incredibly disturbing histories.