Taking Children's Songs (Way Too) Literally - Down by the Bay

The song "Down by the Bay" is quite sad, when you think about it. The lyrics are as follows:

Down by the bay,

Where the watermelons grow,

Back to my home,

I dare not go,

For if I do,

My mother will say

Did you ever see [some ridiculous object/animal performing a ridiculous action]

What a horrific childhood - a child, terrified to return home because of their mother. Is this fear really caused by the mother's ridiculous questioning or is the questioning merely the tip of the far darker insanity which truly petrifies the child? Children are frequently receptive to concepts which adults might consider to be nonsense, as is evinced by the popularity of this very song. It would be very strange indeed for silly questions alone to cause such a deep-seated fear that a child would feel driven away from the primary place most children find safety and comfort: the home.  

Further investigating the song's relation to the home, I am struck by more subtle train of thought running through this song. What is the significance of the home's proximity to watermelons and to a bay? Watermelons typically grow in sandy soil; is this an indication of a house built on literal unstable ground or merely a metaphor for the emotional instability which underlies the child's household? Geographically, the relation to a bay indicates that the household is barely above water, perhaps inexorably sliding into the bay due to erosion of the sandy soil upon which it is built. When viewed alongside the more obviously threatening figure of the mother, this song's true purpose crystallizes. "Down by the Bay" is clearly a cry for help from a child who has no other means of expressing their plight but through cheerful song.

Indeed, the song relates increasingly ridiculous situations in an effort to grab the attention of adults who might otherwise tune out a child's requests. By couching the cry for help in such an absurd manner, the child is hoping that any adult confused by the propositions presented might notice the twisted situation underlying the entirety of the song. Truly, the fact that our culture has accepted this cry for help from an abused child as merely another fun playtime activity shows the depravity to which we have all become numb.