The Sun Has Got His Hat On

My previous entry was called Rain, Rain, Go Away and it certainly has. The sun is shining brightly, there is just a gentle breeze, a truly lovely September day with the leaves just starting to turn colour.

Incidentally, there is a hidden meaning behind that rhyme  just as there is behind Humpty Dumpty which I wrote about recently.

Rain, rain, go away,
Come back another day,
Little Johnny wants to play;
Rain, rain, go to Spain
Never show your face again.

Only the first two lines are normally used today but this rhyme goes right back to the reign of Elizabeth 1, or so it is said.  I can only tell you what I have learned from books.

Elizabeth 1 (1533-1603)

England was at war with Spain between 1585 and 1604 and it was in 1588 that the Spanish sent their Armada to attack the English coast.

It is  well known that Sir Francis Drake who was vice-admiral of the British Fleet insisted on finishing his game of bowls before he set out to try and defeat the enemy. His companions and those in authority must have thought he was mad but there was method in his madness.

Francis Drake (1540 - 1596)

Drake was a great sailor, a man from Devon  who had gone to sea at an early age and who knew it and the conditions like the back of his hand. He knew that the weather was worsening, indeed it was getting very bad. He also knew this would hinder the Spanish fleet so he waited until what he considered the appropriate time to make his strike.

The English captains were used to the very bad weather in the English channel, to the lashing gales and the pouring rain. Drake chose his moment to launch the smaller, faster English ships. The Spanish were scattered in all directions and eventually driven south and completely defeated. Drake became a national hero.

Drake playing bowls before launching his attack.

The third line “Little Johnny wants to play” apparently stems from a derogatory name for an Englishman. In many parts of the world the English were referred to and maybe still are, as Johnny English (hence the Rowan Atkinson film) or Johnny Englander. This was a fact well known to the Elizabethans.  They probably had their own, less than politically correct terms for many of their foes and rivals.

So the rhyme is actually saying that the English are tired of fighting the Spanish and want to relax and forget about war. They want to get on with their normal lives. They want to "play" and are hoping that the Spanish will never return.

It is amazing how this little rhyme has lasted down through the centuries and people still recite it without ever knowing the true meaning.  Thankfully, there is no animosity today between the English and the Spanish.  I had two delightful holidays in Spain and found the people to be warm, friendly and kind.

Have a good weekend dear friends and readers.

 

Tags: Blogplugs, Spain, Armada, Bowls, Francis-Drake, Elizabeth 1st, rain, rhyme, meaning