This Is the House That Jack Built

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"This Is the House That Jack Built" is a popular British nursery rhyme, first popularized by Randolph Caldecott. It tells the story of Jack, who builds a house.

1 Rhyme
2 References in popular culture
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Rhyme

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 priest 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 cock that crowed in the morn

That waked the priest 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 cock that crowed in the morn

That waked the priest 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 in place of malt, judge in place of priest, and rooster in place of cock.

[edit] References in popular culture

This popular poem has inspired countless variations and parodies.

One of the "Political Miscellanies" associated with the Rolliad, an 18th century British satire, was "This Is the House That George Built", referring to George Nugent Grenville, Marquess of Buckingham, who had briefly supported William Pitt the Younger into government before resigning from office. The parody is attributed to Joseph Richardson.[1]
The poem "The Responsibility" by Peter Appleton parodies this rhyme to make a social comment about the manufacture of weapons.[2]
A children's book parody of the nursery rhyme called The House That Crack Built (ISBN 0-8118-0123-3) shows drug lords in Colombia making crack and its effect on people.
General Electric, which saw a revival under Jack Welch, has frequently been referred to as "The House That Jack Built".
The news stories in 2006 about the shady dealings of lobbyist Jack Abramoff led to editorials about "the house that Jack built".^[1]
The Capitol Steps created and performed a parody called "The House That Jack Bribed", also referring to Jack Abramoff.
Aretha Franklin had a top-ten pop and R&B hit single with "The House That Jack Built" (not a version of the rhyme) in 1968.
English singer Tracie Young had a hit single with "The House That Jack Built" (not a version of the rhyme) in 1983.
In 1987 a pioneering house music act under the name Jack N Chill released a single called "The Jack That House Built". On re-release a year it made the UK top ten.
In 1996 Metallica released the album Load containing a song called "The House Jack Built".
A cartoon short created by Walt Disney had two jazzed versions of "The House That Jack Built" and "Old McDonald Had a Farm".
The House that Jack Built. The largest manfuacture of custom assembled dollhouses in the United States. [3]