[meadsjn]

Well, my mother sang it to me. I have wondered for years if there was some hidden meaning like “Ring around the Rosie”.
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I had heard it was about the plague or smallpox or some such disease.

I believe the plague was transmitted by fleas. The flea bites would cause rosy circles on the skin.

The fleas were carried by rats and mice. Lots of feral cats in the big cities of Europe had been exterminated, because they were thought to be "evil spirits".

The cities that started allowing the feral cats to survive experienced a massive reduction in plague deaths. Paris was one such city.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Yes! Macabre;

The rash. People used flowers (Poseyes) to cleanse the air. Ashes would be something like burning pits for belongings or for bodies.