When the bough breaks....

There were many signs of storm damage but this old oak stood firm, although she seems to have lost part of a bough at some previous time.  I googled , “when the bough breaks,” and got multiple things to hit on, nearly all referring to the same fairly recent cinema film. What I should have got was some kind of discussion on the origin and meaning of the phrase. Of course, it’s a metaphor. When too much strain is placed on a person or a system of some kind, the result can be a breakage. (“Down will come cradle, baby and all.”)  Google, of course  being a dumbed-down source of information, goes – “Hey. Movie!”  This dear friends, is your world.