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 my door.
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 my 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 on 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.

It is a nusery Rhyme.

This Old Man

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This Old Man is a nursery rhyme of unknown origin. The rhyme and its associated tune have become well-known in popular culture through several renditions and parodies. The rhyme was originally better known in the United Kingdom than the United States; however, this changed with the 1958 film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. In fact, the usage of the song in this film was so popular that it led to a hit single by Mitch Miller titled The Children's Marching Song.

Since then, there have been several other utilizations of the rhyme or its tune. One such usage was by the U.S. television show Columbo, which utilized the song as a motif. Another usage was by the ending theme of children's television show Barney & Friends, which used the slower associated tune for the song I Love You. In addition, the thriller film Freeze also used a version of the song. The rap duo EPMD wrote the song Knick Knack Patty Wack in which they use the phrase 'Knick knack patty wack give a dog a bone'. Also was seen in a PAX promo for Diagnosis Murder.

Bob Dylan also recorded a rendition of the song included on the 1991 Disney charity album for pediatric AIDS called "For Our Children." Recorded and mixed by Andrew McCartney.

In the mid 90's, the nu-metal band, Korn, used this rhyme in their song "Shoots and Ladders" which talks about the supposed sinister meaning behind this and other nursery rhymes.