Actually scary nursery rhymes. Children's songs that give you the chills once you understand their meaning

Seven-year-old childSakushi: Noguchi Ujo / Sakkyoku: Motoori Nagayo

♪ Seven Little Children – Nanatsu no Ko | ♪ Why does the crow cry? The crow is in the mountains ♪ [Japanese song / shoka]

It’s a beloved song everyone knows, layering a parent’s deep love for their child onto the cawing of crows echoing in the evening sky.

Yet behind its gentle melody lie many mysteries that powerfully stir the listener’s imagination.

Some say the lyrics reflect the personal sorrow of their author, Ujō Noguchi, while others believe it tells of a father working in a coal mine, thinking of the children he left in his hometown.

The more you learn, the more a melancholy story seems to emerge.

Listening while contemplating the profound tale behind the words may reveal something far more moving than a simple children’s song.

rainfallsakushi: kitahara hakushū / sakkyoku: nakayama shinpei

Rainfall ♪ [Children’s song] Rain, rain, fall, fall—Mother will

A children’s song created with lyrics by the poet Hakushu Kitahara and music by composer Shinpei Nakayama, who produced numerous popular songs.

It was selected as one of Japan’s 100 Famous Songs, and many people likely remember its lively melody that evokes the innocence described in the lyrics.

In fact, there is an urban legend that it depicts a child waiting for a sick mother, and it is said that uttering the lyrics from the third verse onward—there are five in total—will bring a curse.

There is even an anecdote that singing all the verses is prohibited at schools.

Despite its bright image, this nursery rhyme carries rumors that are hard to imagine.

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Hoshino Takashi

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I Stepped on the CatSakkyokusha fushō

I Stepped on the Cat (with gestures)

With lyrics penned by lyricist Hiroo Sakata for this lively piano piece beloved around the world, the story unfolds a bit mysteriously: the protagonist steps on a cat, scolds it, and in the end flies off beyond the sky.

The conclusion hints at black humor, yet one charm of the song is how enjoyably memorable the tale is.

Still, had it been created in today’s world, where animal abuse is a major issue, no matter how cute the melody, society might not have accepted it.

School of MedakaSakushi: Chaki Shigeru / Sakkyoku: Nakata Yoshinao

[Song] Medaka no Gakkō (The Medaka School) <Medaka no gakkō wa~♪> with Lyrics | Elementary School | Japanese Songs | Nursery Rhyme | Children’s Song | Songs Babies Love | Kids | Japanese Children’s Song | Gakken Kids TV

This children’s song, with lyrics by Shigeru Chaki, peeks into a disciplined society beneath a tranquil water’s surface—its depiction feels peaceful yet somehow eerily unreal.

While its bucolic content likens the playful medaka fish to a school, thinking of its postwar context—the song first aired on NHK Radio’s “Infants’ Hour” on April 9, 1951—one feels the poignant yearning to find an ideal everyday life at the bottom of the water.

Katsuhisa Nakata’s light, graceful melody was recorded with vocals by Aiko Anzai, and the work was recognized in connection with the Art Festival Awards.

More than a mere song of observation, it even conveys a certain danger, as if one might forget harsh realities and immerse oneself in an undersea utopia; perhaps when heard in adulthood, it makes one sit up straighter.

Dona DonaIdisshu min’yō

Children’s Song [Dona Dona] with Lyrics

A foreign folk song that conjures a melancholy scene of a calf being carried away on a horse-drawn cart.

Set to a plaintive melody, the powerless calf bound by fate contrasts with the swallow freely soaring through the sky—an opposition that resonates deeply with listeners.

In fact, it’s said that behind the song lies a history of persecution, expressing a yearning for freedom.

Although first presented in a stage play in 1940, it became widely known in Japan after it was broadcast on NHK’s program Minna no Uta in 1966.

By reflecting on its sorrowful history, we may come to grasp the work’s true meaning.

The monk of the mountain templesakushi: kubota shouji / sakkyoku: hattori ryouichi

The Monk of the Mountain Temple — Vocal: AI Kiritan (with lyrics)

Many listeners were likely startled by the lyrics that, unbelievably, talk about putting a cat in a bag instead of a ball.

The gap between the light, comical melody and the slightly eerie content lurking beneath it creates the song’s peculiar charm.

Written by lyricist Yoji Kubota and composed by Ryoichi Hattori, the piece was created in 1937 (Showa 12) as a comic song for adults.

It originally stems from an Edo-period popular ditty, said to contain satire and humor that reflected the times.

It’s not merely scary; learning about the song’s background may let you sense the playful spirit of people in the past.

It can also be fun to listen while imagining with friends why the lyrics turned out this way.

The railroad tracks go on forever.amerika min’yō

The Railroad Tracks Go On Forever (with Movements) / I’ve Been Working on the Railroad [Japanese Song / Shoka]

The folk song “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” was born in the United States in the late 19th century.

In Japan, some may remember hearing it on NHK’s “Minna no Uta.” It’s widely seen as a hopeful song about traveling endlessly over hills and fields.

However, the original was actually a work song sung by people involved in grueling railroad construction.

It is said to have included shocking lyrics depicting exhaustion from relentless labor and even hinting at a lover’s infidelity.

Once you learn this, it’s strange how the cheerful melody starts to take on an eerie undertone.