This Old Man Lyrics
One is drum, two is shoe, three is tree, and so on all the way to ten. This Old Man is a counting song where every number has its own rhyme and its own action.
This Old Man
This old man, he played one,
He played nick nack on my drum;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
Verses two to ten
This old man, he played two,
He played nick nack on my shoe;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played three,
He played nick nack on my tree;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played four,
He played nick nack on my door;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played five,
He played nick nack on my hive;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played six,
He played nick nack on my sticks;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played seven,
He played nick nack on my Devon;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played eight,
He played nick nack on my gate;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played nine,
He played nick nack on my line;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played ten,
He played nick nack on my hen;
Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/this-old-man/
- Type
- Counting Rhymes, Action Songs
- Tune
- Traditional
- Best for ages
- 2 to 7 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| This old man, he played one | Hold up one finger. |
| He played nick nack on my drum | Tap the rhyming thing: your tummy for drum, your foot for shoe, and so on. |
| Nick nack paddy whack, give a dog a bone | Tap your knees twice, clap twice, then hold out a pretend bone. |
| This old man came rolling home | Roll your hands over each other. |
What Does This Old Man Mean?
Each verse counts up by one and pairs the number with a rhyming word: one and drum, two and shoe, three and tree, four and door. The old man taps out a rhythm on each thing, gives a dog a bone, and rolls on home. The chorus is nonsense, chosen for its bouncing rhythm rather than its meaning.
The rhyming words change from family to family. This early version has "Devon" for seven and "hen" for ten. Many children today sing "heaven" and "again" instead.
History and Origin
The words here come from English Folk-Songs for Schools, a songbook for British schools published in 1906 by Sabine Baring-Gould and Cecil Sharp. The song became famous around the world after 1958, when Ingrid Bergman sang it with a group of children in the film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness.
Learning Activities
- Number rhymes: before each verse, ask children to guess the rhyming word for the next number.
- Make your own: invent new rhymes for each number: one and sun, two and glue, three and bee.
- Count on fingers: hold up the right number of fingers for each verse, all the way to ten.
- Rolling home: finish each verse by rolling on the floor like the old man.