I've had a song in my head the past few days. I knew it was French and was fairly sure it was a kids song. But I couldn't spell it well enough to Google it. Finally I asked on IRC if there was any French speaking people that might know. Turns out the song was "Alouette". So I went and looked it up on WikiPedia and was rather surprised at the words:
Alouette, gentille Alouette (Skylark, nice skylark)
Alouette, je te plumerai (Skylark, I shall pluck you)
Je te plumerai la tête (I shall pluck your head)
It goes on to threaten the poor bird with plucking all over the body. Given the history of the song, I guess it's not quite as grizley as it sounds, assuming the bird had already been killed and is being prepared for eating. But, still, this is a children's song?! 
Of course, the French aren't the only ones with questionable lyrics. Take the old classic "Rock a bye baby": "When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, And down will come baby, cradle and all." Isn't that a bit dangerous for the baby? Whenever I caught myself singing that to my babies I always had to add "And mommy will catch you" at the end. 
I'm sure there's many more examples of things that really make you go "huh?" when you think about what we are singing / reading to our children. Anyone have any "favorites"?
Michelle
Ha Ha! I love the songs my parents sang to me when I was little. Though I don't think they make you think "Huh?" like Rock-a-bye Baby. My Dad used to sing just the chorus of Bushel & Peck as heard here... http://www.ziplo.com/BushelAndAPeck.html
Then here is a song my Mom sang the chorus of to me. http://redbirdjan.freeyellow.com/gerber.html
I can't find the other song Mom sang me. But here are the words...
I had a little parasol long, long ago.
A pretty little parasol tied with a bow.
It was made of paper though, just for pretend.
I took it in the rain one day...
and that was the end.
I thoght the history of this one was interesting:
Ring around the rosie,
A pocket full of posies,
Ashes! Ashes!
We all fall down!
The words to the Ring around the rosy children's ring game have their origin in English history . The historical period dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665 (bubonic plague) or even before when the first outbreak of the Plague hit England in the 1300's. The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin (Ring around the rosy). Pockets and pouches were filled with sweet smelling herbs ( or posies) which were carried due to the belief that the disease was transmitted by bad smells. The term "Ashes Ashes" refers to the cremation of the dead bodies! The death rate was over 60% and the plague was only halted by the Great Fire of London in 1666 which killed the rats which carried the disease which was transmitting via water sources. The English version of "Ring around the rosy" replaces Ashes with (A-tishoo, A-tishoo) as violent sneezing was another symptom of the disease. We recommend the following site for comprehensive information regarding the Bubonic Plague.
Stacey - The Bushel and Peck one is nice. The parasol one is sad but at least not horribly violent.
Roadangel - Yeah, I used to tell everyone about that every time they'd be doing the song. Probably drove them nuts. LOL It is pretty crazy the things we sing about, though, isn't it?
Michelle
I think it's the one most people know about.. but yeah a lot of the old stories are just as bad as the songs. If you look at the stories they come up with nowadays though.... there's a lot of hidden messages there.
Monika
I think it's the one most people know about.. but yeah a lot of the old stories are just as bad as the songs. If you look at the stories they come up with nowadays though.... there's a lot of hidden messages there.
Monika
Oh, definitely. I still remember watching Lion King with my husband when the Nala tackles Simba and the look she gives him. We both just looked at each other like "WTF?".
A lot of the jokes in kids' movies are for the adults as well. Cars is just full of them.
Michelle
yeah, and then you get something like this:
Rainbow Kids Show
This is supposed to be a tv show that didn't make it on tv.... I wonder why...roflmao
Didn't watch the clip but I think I know what that one is. The show is actually real but that particular bit was just a gag they did for a party or something like that. I Googled it back when that clip was doing the rounds several years ago. Still hilarious, though. I should watch it again when I'm not about to head to bed.
Michelle
I hear Puff the Magic Dragon is a drugie song.
I hear Puff the Magic Dragon is a drugie song.
Really? Wow... Well, it is from that era. LOL! That song always makes me cry.
Michelle
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