No One at Home Lyrics
The hen-house and barn are empty because everyone is busy. Old Brindle has gone to borrow yarn to darn socks for her spotted calf, Speckle is washing her chicks at the lake, and Daddy Cockle is in bed with a toothache.
No One at Home
No one at home in the hen-house,
And no one at home in the barn,
Old Brindle has gone to the neighbor's
To borrow a skein of brown yarn,
To borrow yarn for the darning
Of socks for her wee spotted calf -
The little rollicking rascal
Has never enough by half.
And Speckle is down by the willow
Washing her chicks in the lake,
While old Daddy Cockle is lying
Abed with a bad toothache.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/no-one-at-home/
- Type
- Animal Rhymes, Poems for Children
- Written by
- Leroy F. Jackson
- Tune
- Chatty, like gossip over a gate, with a groan on the toothache
- Best for ages
- 3 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Washing her chicks in the lake, | Rub your hands together as if scrubbing small chicks. |
| Abed with a bad toothache. | Hold your cheek and groan. |
What Does No One at Home Mean?
The animals in this poem live like a human family. Brindle is the name of a cow, since the poem says she has a calf, and a brindle coat is tawny with darker streaks. She has gone to the neighbour's to borrow a skein, a loose coil of yarn, to darn, or mend, socks for her wee spotted calf. The calf is a rollicking rascal, meaning playful and noisy, who never has enough by half, so the socks are always wearing out.
Speckle washes her chicks in the lake, and Daddy Cockle lies in bed with a bad toothache. The title tells the joke: nobody is at home, because every animal has a human job to do. The rhymes barn with yarn, calf with half, and lake with toothache give the poem a bounce when read aloud.
History and Origin
Leroy F. Jackson's 1918 rhyme book, published by Rand McNally, holds this verse. Its joke is that the farm animals have household chores and troubles, just like a family.
Learning Activities
- Barnyard jobs: ask the child what job each animal is doing and what other chore the farm needs.
- Knit a sock: hold up a sock and a ball of yarn, and talk about how socks are made and mended.
- Doctor's visit: pretend to be the doctor for Daddy Cockle and suggest a warm drink and a rest.
- Who is at home? draw a barn with empty doors and add each animal where the poem puts it.