4. London Bridge Is Falling Down Is About Burying People Alive
The common belief is that London Bridge Is Falling Down is actually about the Great Fire of London, but this connection is apocryphal, passed around because it sounds like it might be real. In actuality, the song has a much more disturbing history. Though it's been put forward that it could possibly refer to a Viking attack on the bridge, there's no evidence of such an attack ever taking place. Instead, the song lists in detail all of the building materials that will ultimately crumble and break wood and clay will wash away bricks and mortar will not stay iron and steel will bend and bow. Around the time the song was written, there was a popular notion that a bridge would collapse unless the body of a human sacrifice was buried in its foundations to act as a permanent watchman. And if that's not enough, the end of the tune commands my fair lady to set a man to watch all night. The belief that London Bridge Is Falling Down refers to such a practice dates back over one-hundred years, originating with the folklorist Alice Gomme.