Rock a kingdom, make it fall

Rock-a-bye baby

in the tree top.

When the wind blows

the cradle will rock.

When the bough breaks,

the cradle will fall.

And down will come Baby,

Cradle and all.

One theory about the meaning/origin of this poem is that it is about the heir to the throne being lost (specifically James II). Symbolically, I thought this makes perfect sense: the tree as a symbol of hierarchy, the baby at the top, and the cradle is something like the royal house. Further elaborations link the wind to a revolution (the timing suggests it could be the Protestant Reformation), a change in the spirit of the times that decapitates the hierarchy. In symbolic terms, this is also an incorrect and destructive meeting of heaven and earth.

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