People have been left disturbed after uncovering the dark meaning behind the nursery rhyme ‘It’s Raining, It’s Pouring.’
With their lively tunes and whimsical lyrics, nursery rhymes have long been a beloved childhood staple.
Yet behind their seemingly innocent facades, many harbor deeper and sometimes unsettling meanings.
Like classics such as ‘Incy Wincy Spider‘ and ‘Little Bo Beep,’ ‘It’s Raining, It’s Pouring’ tells the story of something much more haunting.
For those who treasure collections of illustrated nursery rhymes, take this as a caution – you’re about to uncover another mystery.
A woman who goes by the username @stupidlittlegenius has gone viral on TikTok after unpacking the lyrics.
After finding out the true meaning behind the nursery rhyme, viewers took to the comments and reacted.
One person wrote: “My childhood is officially ruined.”
“Why did my two-year-old self have to sing these nursery rhymes?” another questioned.
Someone else said: “I’m going to pretend this is about the weather.”
In the viral video, @stupidlittlegenius begins: “Everyone knows this one, but do you know what it means?”
She then sings the familiar tune: “It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring, he went to bed and bumped his head and couldn’t get up in the morning.”
The TikToker says although the nursery rhyme doesn’t describe anyone in particular, it acts as a ‘cautionary tale.’
Although it appears to be describing a downpour, the woman reveals that surprisingly, it has nothing to do with rain.
She continues: “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.”
The TikToker confirms that it actually is about a man who has had far too many to drink, adding: “After drinking so much that he couldn’t stay awake, he started nodding off and snoring.
“So he decided ‘It’s time to sleep it off.’ 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’ve been some bump because he couldn’t get up in the morning.”
While you’d suspect the man couldn’t get up due to a rough hangover, there’s actually a much more depressing reason.
The TikToker concludes: “Well, he was dead. That’s right, most experts agree that the man never got up again because he suffered from a major head trauma.”
And things get even darker if you delve further into the origins of this nursery rhyme.
‘It’s Raining, It’s Pouring’ is listed as an example in Andrew Kaye’s ‘Essential Neurosurgery’ medical book, per American Songwriter.
A section discusses a ‘deteriorating conscious state,’ adding: “This is the most important neurological sign, particularly when it develops after a ‘lucid’ interval.
“It is essential that the drowsiness that occurs in a patient following head injury is not misinterpreted just as the patient wishing to sleep.
“In the book, Kaye notes the seemingly innocent rhyme is actually a ‘classic description of an extradural hematoma [acute hemorrhage] leading to drowsiness and death.’”
Patient.info explains that an extradural hematoma is ’caused by a severe head injury – for example, in a road traffic accident.’
These strange connections have led some to theorize that the song serves as a PSA to encourage those with head injuries to seek medical help.
It puts a whole new (and sinister) meaning on the seemingly sweet nursery rhyme!
@stupidlittlegenius Do you know the real meaning of this one? #kidsrhyme #nursaryrhyme #kids #baby #child #poetry #song #folksong #history #historylesson #old #shocking #didyouknow #traditional #folklore #origin #meaning #etymology #tradition #historylover #historynerd #worldhistory #historygram #instahistory #historylovers #history #historytime #historytok #historybuff #historytiktok #historyfacts #historylesson #historytimes #historyteacher #rain #raining #itsraining #itsrainingitspouring #weather #oldman #drunk #headinjury ♬ original sound – Stupid Little Genius
