Listen
Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
This old man, he played one,
He played knick-knack on my thumb;
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;
With a knick-knack paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played three,
He played knick-knack on my knee;
With a knick-knack paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played four,
He played knick-knack on the floor;
With a knick-knack paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played five,
He played knick-knack on my hive;
With a knick-knack paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played six,
He played knick-knack on some sticks;
With a knick-knack paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played seven,
He played knick-knack up in heaven;
With a knick-knack paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played eight,
He played knick-knack at my gate;
With a knick-knack paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played nine,
He played knick-knack on my spine;
With a knick-knack paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played ten,
He played knick-knack once again;
With a knick-knack paddy whack,
Give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"This Old Man" — known also as "Knick-Knack Paddy Whack" — is a counting song that works its way from one to ten through a series of rhyming objects, each paired with the number it represents. The song has been known in various forms since the late nineteenth century; the first printed version appeared in a Welsh collection in 1906, under the title "Old Farmer Bland."
Each verse follows the same structure: the old man plays a number, the surface he knick-knacks upon rhymes with that number, and the chorus of "give a dog a bone, this old man came rolling home" brings the verse to its close. The rhymes are a mixture of the mundane and the unexpected — from thumb and shoe to spine and heaven — and finding the rhyme for each number is part of the song's appeal.
The refrain "knick-knack paddy whack" is a piece of nonsense verse in the best tradition, made more memorable by its rhythm than its meaning. The song has been recorded by countless artists and features in numerous film soundtracks, most famously in the 1997 film Toy Story 2. This recording gives it a traditional, unhurried treatment that lets each verse breathe.
