Wednesday 3 January 2018

"The House that Jack Built"

Do you have a favourite nursery rhyme?  One of mine is undoubtedly "The House that Jack Built" and I was reminded of it the other day when Partner-who-loves-tea and I visited a local farm and met one of the longhorn cows.


This is perhaps the most common set of modern lyrics:

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.

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 judge 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 rooster that crowed in the morn
That woke the judge 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 his corn
That kept the rooster that crowed in the morn
That woke the judge 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 horse and the hound and the horn
That belonged to the farmer sowing his corn
That kept the rooster that crowed in the morn
That woke the judge 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.

Some versions use "cheese" instead of "malt", "priest" instead of "judge", "cock" instead of "rooster", the older past tense form "crew" instead of "crowed", or "chased" in place of "killed". Also in some versions the horse, the hound, and the horn are left out and the rhyme ends with the farmer.


It has been argued that the rhyme is derived from an Aramaic hymn Chad Gadya (lit., "One Young Goat") in Sepher Haggadah, first printed in 1590; but although this is an early cumulative tale that may have inspired the form, the lyrics bear little relationship. It was suggested by James Orchard Halliwell that the reference to the "priest all shaven and shorn" indicates that the English version is probably very old, presumably as far back as the mid-sixteenth century.


8 comments:

  1. What worries me about this poem is that there are seven (7!) words ending with "orn"... and only one word (rat) to rhyme with "cat"... and NO RHYME FOR "DOG"! What did the dog ever do to be denied a rhyming word? Poor doogie! Also - no rhyming word for "malt". I mean, where's the parity? I suggest a walk-out.

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    1. They used to flog the dog but that's no longer politically correct!

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  2. Also, I have questions. Why was the man "tattered and torn"? Did he fall down a well? Was he from the wrong side of the tracks? And why was the maiden "all forlorn"? Because she didn't have a man? Or maybe she was bipolar? I need some answers here. These nursery rhymes were designed to screw with young minds. Let's not even get into "Little Miss Moffat"...

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    1. Who knows why maidens are all forlorn? I wouldn't like to guess. As for the tattered ands torn, I suspect he'd had an argument with the cow with the crumplesd horn...

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  3. We have similar accumulating nursery rhymes in Sweden... I think there is one (or more) of that kind included for example in my grandfathers old school reader from around 1910.

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  4. It's fascinating to look into the history of the old rhymes and stories. There is often so much more too them than just a children's verse. Happy New Year!

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  5. I'd forgotten about that nursery rhyme! It's a long one! So cute too. I'm sure my "Jack" knows it! He never built a house but he keeps ours warm as the high temp tomorrow will be 8 degrees..brrrr!

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  6. The interesting thing about that nursery rhyme is that you only have to learn one verse.

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