It’s a very old nursery rhyme dating from 1744. There are variations, but it’s basically this:
Ladybug! Ladybug! Fly away home. Your house is on fire. And your children all gone.
All except one, And that’s little Ann, For she crept under The frying pan.
That’s dark
All nursery rhymes are dark.
Ashes, ashes, we all fall down.
Huh, apparently Americans say ashes. We say atishoo in Commonwealth countries, which is a sneeze sound.
Funnily enough that’s probably one of the few nursery rhymes that isn’t negative, the German version is just about children dancing and sitting down with flowers. Probably more a pagan related thing. Pop culture incorrectly says its about the plague but it predates it.
That’s what I heard, that the pocket full of posies was because of the awful smell of the plague, and the ashes part is because they burned the bodies of the dead. This is the first I’ve heard that it pre-dates that.
Wait, so in your part of the world, when people sneeze, they manage to ask for a tissue while sneezing? Here we just sneeze and then ask for a tissue afterwards.
No it’s the sound of a sneeze. Think kinda like aaaah-tschoo, but it’s spelt atishoo and also said that way, so it’s actually a terrible representation of a sneeze sound because it doesn’t sound it like.
I’m American and I said atchoo. It’s probably regional.
I thought it was a Tom Waits reference smdh
I don’t get it.
Look at the comment by @dragonfly@lemmy.world for an explanation. Basically, it’s a nursery rhyme (one I’ve never heard).
Is this a “Maikäfer flieg” reference?
Maykäfer, flieg! - Nursery Song (German)
Maykäfer, flieg,
Dein Vater ist im Krieg,
Dein Mutter ist in Pommerland,
Pommerland ist abgebrannt!
Maykäfer, flieg!
Maybug, Fly! - Nursery Song (English)
Maybug, fly,
Your father is at war,
Your mother is in Pomerania,
Pomerania is burnt down!
Maybug, fly.
