Jump to content

This Old Man

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 207.170.210.34 (talk) at 21:45, 9 December 2009 (→‎Use in popular culture). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"This Old Man"
Song
LanguageEnglish
WrittenEngland
Published1906
Songwriter(s)Traditional

"This Old Man" is an English language children's song, counting and nursery rhyme with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3550.

Lyrics

Modern versions of the rhyme include:

This old man, he played one;
He played knick-knack on my thumb. (or 'on a drum' or 'on my tongue')
With a knick-knack, paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone;
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played two;
He played knick-knack on my shoe.
etc.
This old man, he played three;
He played knick-knack on my knee. (or 'on my tree')
etc.
This old man, he played four;
He played knick-knack on my door. (or 'on the floor')
etc.
This old man, he played five;
He played knick-knack on my hive. (or 'on my knife', 'making a dive', 'on my thigh', or 'way up high')
etc.
This old man, he played six;
He played knick-knack with some sticks.
etc.
This old man, he played seven;
He played knick-knack up in heaven. (or 'on my oven' or 'down in Devon')
etc.
This old man, he played eight;
He played knick-knack on my gate. (or 'on my plate' or 'on my pate')
etc.
This old man, he played nine;
He played knick-knack on my spine. (or 'in a line')
etc.
This old man, he played ten;
He played knick-knack once again. (or 'on my pen', 'on my shin', or 'on my hen', or 'now and then')
etc.
This old man, he played eleven;
He played knick-knack on the way to heaven. (or 'down to Devon')
etc.
This old man, he played twelve;
He played knick-knack on my shelf.
etc.
This old man, he played thirteen;
He played knick-knack on my curtain.
etc.
This old man, he played fourteen;
He played knick-knack in the autumn.
etc.
This old man, he played fifteen,
He collects bronze coins marked 'Ich Dien'.
etc.
This old man, ten add six,
He played knick-knack on my bricks,
etc.
This old man, ten plus seven,
He played knick-knack on my bedding,
etc.
This old man, ten plus eight,
He played knick-knack on my slate,
etc.
This old man, ten plus nine,
He played knick-knack on my twine.
etc.
This old man, ten plus ten,
He played knick-knack once again. (or 'on my pen', 'on my shin', or 'on my hen')
etc.

Origins and history

The origins of this song are obscure. The earliest extant record is a version noted in 1937 by Anne Gilcrest and learnt from her Welsh nurse in the 1870s under the title "Jack Jintle" with the lyrics:

My name is Jack Jintle, the eldest but one,
And I can play nick-nack upon my own thumb.
With my nick-nack and pad-lock and sing a fine song,
And all the fine ladies come dancing along.
My name is Jack Jintle, the eldest but two,
And I can play nick-nack upon my own shoe.
With my nick-nack, etc.[1]

The more familiar version, with references to the "old man" and "knick-knack paddy-whack" was included in Cecil Sharp and Sabine Baring-Gould's English Folk-Songs for Schools, published in 1906.[2] It was collected several times in England in the early twentieth century with a variety of lyrics. In 1948 it was included by Pete Seeger and Ruth Crawford in their American Folk Songs for Children and recorded by Seeger in 1953. It received a boost in popularity when it was adapted for the 1958 film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness by composer Malcolm Arnold as "The Children's Marching Song", which led to hit singles for Cyril Stapleton and Mitch Miller.[3]

Controversies

The term "Paddywack" was used from at least the early nineteenth century to describe an angry person, specifically a "Brawny Irishman".[4] From at least the 1970s sensitivity over possible racism has meant that the song is often sung as "Knick-knack patty-whack", particularly in the USA.[5]

  • The U.S. television series Columbo, utilized the song as a motif.
  • It is used as the ending theme of children's television show Barney & Friends, which used the slower associated tune for the song I Love You.
  • The thriller film Freeze also used a version of the song.
  • The film Nightwatch used a version of the song performed by Tom Glazer.
  • The rap duo EPMD wrote the song You're a Customer in which they use the phrase 'Knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone'.
  • Bob Dylan recorded a version of the song included on the 1991 Disney charity album for pediatric AIDS called "For Our Children". Recorded and mixed by Andrew McCartney.
  • In the mid 1990's, the nu metal band, Korn, used this rhyme in their song "Shoots and Ladders" which talks about the supposed sinister meaning behind this and other nursery rhymes.
  • Warren Zevon's song "Prison Grove" includes the phrase "Knick Knack Paddy Wack They say you'll hear your own bones crack"
  • Mr. Bungle's song Squeeze Me Macaroni includes the phrase "Knick knack paddy wack give your dog a bone"

Notes

  1. ^ A. G. Gilchrist, "Jack Jintle", Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, 3 (2) (1937), pp. 124-5.
  2. ^ S. B. Gould and C. J. Sharp English Folk-Songs for Schools (London: J. Curwen & Sons, 1906) pp. 94-5.
  3. ^ N. Musiker and D. Adès, Conductors and composers of popular orchestral music: a biographical and discographical sourcebook (Greenwood, 1998), p. 248.
  4. ^ J. Coleman, A History of Cant and Slang Dictionaries: Volume II: 1785-1858 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 37.
  5. ^ B. R. Trencher, Child's Play: An Activities and Materials Handbook (Lack Worth, Fl: Humanics Publishing Group, 1976), p. 64.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=This_Old_Man&oldid=330737650"