Chances are, most of us have at least once in our childhood sung the classic nursery rhyme "It's Raining, It's Pouring." But what many people don't know is that it has really dark and grim undertones.

There is a nursery rhyme for every occasion. To wit, “Little Boy Blue” is a delightful ditty dedicated to those lazy employees who sleep on the job. Strange? Yes. Accurate? Also yes. Let’s dive in.

“It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring,” has been sung to children for generations. And you might have thought it’s just a wholesome nursery rhyme about weather and a clumsy man, but ...