Old Father McNether Lyrics
Old Father McNether is imagined as the person who sorts out the weather, mixing it with a big turkey feather so that it blows hot one minute and cold the next.
Old Father McNether
Old Father McNether
He sorts out the weather
And takes what he pleases, I'm told,
With a big turkey-feather
He mixes the weather,
And makes it blow hot and blow cold.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/old-father-mcnether/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Leroy F. Jackson
- Tune
- Teasing and sing-song, with a puff of breath on blow hot and blow cold
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| He mixes the weather | Stir the air with one hand, like a spoon in a big bowl. |
| And makes it blow hot and blow cold | Puff out your cheeks and blow, then shiver. |
What Does Old Father McNether Mean?
The poem gives the weather a maker. Old Father McNether works like a cook: he sorts the weather out, takes what he pleases, and stirs it with a turkey feather the way a cook uses a spoon. The words "I'm told" show that the speaker is only repeating what has been heard, a child's way of passing on a story as if it were news.
The last line fits real weather well, because in many places it changes from warm to cold in a day. To blow hot and cold is also an everyday saying for someone who keeps changing their mind. McNether, weather and feather all rhyme, so the name was chosen to fit the sound.
History and Origin
Leroy F. Jackson put this verse into The Peter Patter Book of Nursery Rhymes (copyright 1918). The book's opening poem says the rhymes were told to Jackson by Peter Patter, who lives on a mountain near the sun.
Learning Activities
- Weather chart: draw the weather outside each day for a week and see whether Old Father McNether has been busy.
- Feather breeze: blow gently on a feather and watch which way it moves, to feel what a small wind does.
- Your own weather-maker: invent a name that rhymes with weather, such as Mr Feather or Aunt Heather, and say what they use to mix it.
- Hot and cold game: call out hot and cold and let the children change what they wear in a pretend wardrobe.