What disguise did you think was needed for the teddy bears' picnic?

[prepareforharvest]

DH and I are expecting our first and were discussing children's songs.

He said the teddy bears' picnic was a bit dark because you had to go disguised otherwise they'd eat you as part of the picnic.

I always imagined going disguised as a bear so you could join in with this wonderful picnic (without any cannibalism).

So, what disguise did you imagine necessary in light of the picnic?

I agree with you, in disguise so you could join in.

Yes I always thought this was sus

No I agree with your husband - it says 'safer to stay at home'! Definitely dark undertones, keep an eye on those teddies.

It's so they don't see you. After all, it's safer to stay at home.

I think there is an element of some possible jeopardy - you’re warned not to go alone and that it’s better to stay at home.

It's the mummies and daddies you have to watch out for, at the end

The last verse suggests that your disguise is for health and safety reasons 😁

If you go down in the woods today, you'd better not go alone
It's lovely down in the woods today, but safer to stay at home

Not something I'd ever thought about before but now I have - dh is right. Sounds sinister when you think about it 😅

Therians and furries.
Definitely safer to stay at home. 😉

Oh yeah I totally figured you had to be in disguise because you didn't have an invite...and that's rude 😂

Did not think I'd be eaten, just severely reprimanded by a parental bear for my lack of picnic etiquette.

🤣🤣

I only know one verse:

If you go down in the woods today,
You're sure of a big surprise.
If you go down in the woods today,
You'd better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there together because
Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

And I always thought it was because you weren’t a bear and so you needed to disguise yourself as a bear because otherwise you wouldn’t be allowed to join.

The song is about watching the little bears have their picnic, so I assume you go in disguise so you don’t get seen. I always imagine you hide behind a tree or something.

I always assumed that you needed a disguise to avoid being eaten as part of the picnic.

I also wonder whether I was shielded as a child from a more menacing later verse. I thought it ended at them going home to bed because they were tired little teddy bears 🧸

Me too! Not least because my Mam used to sing it at bed time as I was falling asleep! Maybe it’s an entirely different party to this sinister bear attack party?!

Given that first you're told you'd get a surprise, and secondly you should go in disguise, I'd always thought that the bears had loads of really nice food and that it was only for bears.

If you want a dark nursery rhyme, you want to be looking at the little pigs going to market.

You go as a bear so you can join in. They won't eat you if they don't you just won't get the picnic

A red jumper, with yellow checked trousers and matching scarf, should suffice.

Jack and Jill is the nursery rhyme that we need to be concerned about [clutches pearls].

I always thought the disguise was so you could join the picnic without alarming the teddy bears. Surely a group of juvenile teddies (they have mummies and daddies) who 'gaily gad about' aren't dangerous? 🤔

Oh no what do I need to know about Jack and Jill?

Picnic time for teddy bears
The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today
Watch them, catch them unawares
And see them picnic on their holiday

I always assumed you had to go disguised as a tree or something because they would run away if they knew they were being watched by humans. Like watching birds from a hide.

(I’m trying not to think too hard about the image of paedophiles watching kids from the bushes)

I think that deep down we all know that the lyricist just picked the first vaguely plausible word that rhymes with “surprise” and hoped that nobody would ask any difficult questions!

I wondered if "teddy bear's picnic" was a metaphor for a revolutionary group meeting in secret to plot fiendish plots and practise military manoeuvres, and an infiltrator might do well not to be recognised, but apparently it's just a jolly little song about stuffed toys having a picnic and playing games in the woods.

Yeah this!

I always thought the disguise was so you could watch without being spotted. Never considered disguising as a bear to join in or to avoid being eaten!