This Is the House That Jack Built Lyrics
It starts with a house and grows by one line every verse: the malt, the rat, the cat, the dog, the cow, all the way to the farmer sowing his corn. The House That Jack Built is the classic cumulative rhyme, and a real memory challenge.
This Is the House That Jack Built
This is the house that Jack built.
This is the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
The rest of the rhyme
This is the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the farmer sowing the corn,
That kept the cock that crowed in the morn,
That waked the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tattered and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milked the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt
That lay in the house that Jack built.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-house-that-jack-built/
- Type
- Mother Goose, Counting Rhymes
- First published
- 1750s
- Tune
- Spoken rhyme
- Best for ages
- 3 to 9 years
What Does This Is the House That Jack Built Mean?
Each verse adds a new character and then repeats the whole chain back to the house. By the end, one sentence links the farmer, the rooster, the priest, the man, the maiden, the cow, the dog, the cat, the rat, the malt and the house that Jack built. Malt is grain used for baking and brewing, stored in the house.
Because it keeps growing, children feel real pride when they can say the whole thing without a slip.
History and Origin
The rhyme was printed in England in the 1750s and was a best-seller in picture-book form in the 1800s. Randolph Caldecott's illustrated edition of 1878 is especially famous. Cumulative chains like this exist in many languages, and some scholars compare it to a much older Hebrew song, Had Gadya, sung at Passover.
Learning Activities
- Memory chain: each person adds the next line and repeats the chain. Whoever slips starts again.
- Picture strip: draw each character in a row so children can "read" the chain.
- Your own house: make a family version, such as "This is the cat that sat on the mat in the house where our family lives".