While on the subject I find the history behind nursery rhymes fascinating. Most of these innocent sounding children's rhymes are cutting political satire sometimes describing grisly events.
http://www.rhymes.org.uk/index.htmJack & Jill has several interpretations, a popular one being the execution of the French King Louis XVI & his Queen Marie Antoinette (on the guillotine). As this rhyme originated in England I prefer this one.
In the mid-1600s, English king Charles I placed a tax on beer and spirits to raise money for his own pleasure. At that time drinks were sold by the jackpot which had the volume of one jack, and the jill (gill) . His subjects resented this new tax. They resented it even more when he reduced the size of the jack and jill to increase his revenue even further. Under his tough rule protests had to be disguised so the people made up the rhyme about jack and jill. The words about "Jack and Jill went up the hill" refers to the increase in price for a jack and jill of drink as the volume was decreased; "Jack came down" is about the measure returning to its original size; "broke his crown" refers to Charles I being almost toppled from the throne as the people revolted; and "Jill came tumbling after" means that the jill returned to the original size.