# This Old Man

"This Old Man" is an English counting song of old and obscure origins, built to climb from one to ten with a "knick-knack paddywhack" refrain; its melody later became a 1958 film hit.

## At a glance

| | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Sung in | English |
| Words by | Traditional |
| First known | collected from the 1870s |
| Best for ages | 2–7 |
| Mood | playful, traditional, counting |
| Page | https://littlesongbook.com/songs/this-old-man/ |

## Lyrics

### Verse 1 (en)

This old man, he played one,
He played knick-knack on my thumb;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

### Verse 2 (en)

This old man, he played two,
He played knick-knack on my shoe;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

### Verse 3 (en)

This old man, he played three,
He played knick-knack on my knee;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

### Verse 4 (en)

This old man, he played four,
He played knick-knack on my door;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

### Verse 5 (en)

This old man, he played five,
He played knick-knack on my hive;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

### Verse 6 (en)

This old man, he played six,
He played knick-knack on my sticks;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

### Verse 7 (en)

This old man, he played seven,
He played knick-knack up to heaven;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

### Verse 8 (en)

This old man, he played eight,
He played knick-knack on my gate;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

### Verse 9 (en)

This old man, he played nine,
He played knick-knack all the time;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

### Verse 10 (en)

This old man, he played ten,
He played knick-knack once again;
With a knick-knack paddywhack, give a dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.

## How to sing it

1. Hold up fingers for the number in each verse — one, two, three, up to ten.
2. Tap the body part or object it rhymes with as you sing it — thumb, shoe, knee, door.
3. Clap along to the "knick-knack paddywhack" refrain, which is the same every time.

## Common questions

**What kind of song is "This Old Man"?**

A counting song. Each verse takes the next number and rhymes it with something — one on my thumb, two on my shoe, three on my knee — so children practise counting up to ten while the cheerful refrain stays the same.

**How old is it?**

Its origins are old and unclear. A related version, "Jack Jintle", was noted down from a Welsh nurse in the 1870s, and folk collectors printed similar songs in the early 1900s. Nobody knows who first made it.

**What does "knick-knack paddywhack" mean?**

Not much — it is mostly rhythmic nonsense that carries the refrain along. "Knick-knack" suggests a little tapping or rapping sound, and the whole line is there to be chanted and clapped rather than understood.

**Is "This Old Man" connected to a film?**

Its tune was adapted as "The Children's Marching Song" for the 1958 film "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness", which turned it into a popular hit and helped spread the melody widely.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — This Old Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Old_Man)
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7786193