This Is the House That Jack Built - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

"This Is the House That Jack Built" is a popular British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

nursery rhyme

Nursery rhyme

The term nursery rhyme is used for "traditional" poems for young children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the 19th century and in North America the older ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’ is still often used.-Lullabies:...

and cumulative tale

Cumulative tale

In a cumulative tale, sometimes also called a chain tale, action or dialogue repeats and builds up in some way as the tale progresses. With only the sparest of plots, these tales often depend upon repetition and rhythm for their effect, and can require a skilled storyteller to negotiate their...

. It has a Roud Folk Song Index

Roud Folk Song Index

The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...

number of 20584. It is Aarne-Thompson type 2035.

Lyrics

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 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 woke 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 woke 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 horse and the hound and the horn

That belonged to the farmer sowing his corn

That kept the cock that crowed in the morn

That woke 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" instead of "malt", "judge" instead of "priest", "rooster" instead of "cock", the older past tense form "crew" instead of "crowed", or "chased" in place of '"killed".

Narrative technique

It is a cumulative tale

Cumulative tale

that does not tell the story of Jack's house, or even of Jack

Jack (hero)

Jack is an archetypal Cornish and English hero and stock character appearing in legends, fairy tales, and nursery rhymes, generally portrayed as a young adult. Unlike moralizing fairy heroes, Jack is often portrayed as lazy or foolish, but through the use of cleverness and tricks he usually emerges...

who built the house, but instead shows how the house is indirectly linked to other things and people, and through this method tells the story of "The man all tattered and torn", and the "Maiden all forlorn", as well as other smaller events, showing how these are interlinked.

Origins

It has been argued that the rhyme is derived from an Aramaic hymn Chad Gadya
Chad Gadya
Chad Gadya is a playful cumulative song in Aramaic and Hebrew. It is sung at the end of the Passover Seder, the Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover...

(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. There is a possible reference to the song in The Boston New Letter of 12 April 1739 and the line: "This is the man all forlorn, &c". However, it did not appear in print until it was included in Nurse Truelove's New-Year's-Gift, or the Book of Books for Children, printed in London in 1755. It was printed in numerous collections in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Randolph Caldecott

Randolph Caldecott

Randolph Caldecott was a British artist and illustrator, born in Chester. The Caldecott Medal was named in his honor. He exercised his art chiefly in book illustrations. His abilities as an artist were promptly and generously recognized by the Royal Academy. Caldecott greatly influenced...

produced an illustrated version in 1878.

Cherrington Manor

Cherrington

Cherrington is a village in Shropshire, England, in the civil parish of Tibberton and Cherrington. It was recorded as a manor in Domesday, when it was held by Gerard de Tournai, and was stated to have been held by a man named Uliet in the time of Edward the Confessor, although it was recorded as...

, a handsome timber-framed house in North East Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, is reputed to be the actual house that Jack built. There is a former malt house in the grounds.

Syntactic structure

Each sentence in the story is an example of an increasingly deeply nested subordinate clause (humorous here, but normally a writing style that one should avoid). The last version, "This is the horse...", would be quite difficult to untangle if the previous ones were not present. See the Noun Phrase for more details about postmodification of the noun phrase in this manner.

In literature and journalism

Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...

used it as the basis of a self-parody published in 1797 under the name Nehemiah Higginbotham. This was one of three sonnets, the other two parodying Charles Lamb and Charles Lloyd
Charles Lloyd (poet)
Charles Lloyd II , poet, was a friend of Charles Lamb, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Thomas de Quincey. His best-known poem is "Desultory Thoughts in London".-Early life:...

. Beginning "And this reft house is that the which he built / Lamented Jack! And here his malt he piled / Cautious in vain!" it piled together phrases from Coleridge's serious work put to ludicrous use.
A parody by Frederick Winsor appeared in The Space Child's Mother Goose (1958) as "This is the theory Jack built." It commented on the progress of science by describing the creation, obfuscation, and eventual destruction of a flawed theory.
The poem "The Responsibility" by Peter Appleton parodies this rhyme to make a social comment about the manufacture of weapons.
The twelfth Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...

novel is titled The House that Jack Built.
The news stories in 2006 about the shady dealings of lobbyist Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...

led to editorials about "the house that Jack built".
Laurie Faria Stolarz
Laurie Faria Stolarz
Laurie Faria Stolarz is an American author of young adult fiction novels, best known for her Blue is for Nightmares series. Her works, which feature teenage protagonists, blend elements found in mystery and romance novels.-Background:...

referenced it in her book Blue is for Nightmares
Blue Is for Nightmares
Blue Is for Nightmares is a young adult mystery novel and subsequent eponymous series by Laurie Faria Stolarz.-Blue Is for Nightmares:Stacey Brown, a 16 year old Junior at Hillcrest Boarding School, is a hereditary Wiccan through her grandmother...

. One of the main characters receives an e-mail from an ex-boyfriend with a link to an animation of the poem.
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott
Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...

in her novel Little Women
Little Women
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...

says the "'cow with a crumpled horn' used to invite rash youths to come and be tossed."
In the graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...

From Hell
From Hell
From Hell is a comic book series by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published from 1991 to 1996, speculating upon the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper. The title is taken from the first words of the "From Hell" letter, which some authorities believe was an authentic...

by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...

, Inspector Frederick Abberline
Frederick Abberline
Frederick George Abberline was a Chief Inspector for the London Metropolitan Police and was a prominent police figure in the investigation into the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888.-Early life:...

refers to his house as "the house Jack built" noting the role of Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...

in financing his home.

In politics

One of the "Political Miscellanies" associated with the Rolliad
Rolliad
The Rolliad, in full Criticisms on the Rolliad, is a pioneering work of British satire directed principally at the administration of William Pitt the Younger...

, an eighteenth-century British satire, was "This Is the House That George Built", referring to George Nugent Grenville, Marquess of Buckingham
George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham
George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham, KG, PC was a British statesman. He was the second son of George Grenville and a brother of the 1st Baron Grenville.-Career:...

, who had briefly supported William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...

into government before resigning from office. The parody is attributed to Joseph Richardson.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

, prior to serving as President, first used it to criticize the broad construction approach of the Necessary and Proper Clause of the U.S. Constitution with respect to a bill to grant a federal charter to a mining company. The term was used to suggest that the expansion of federal powers under these arguments would give the federal government infinite powers. "Congress are authorized to defend the nation. Ships are necessary for defense; copper is necessary for ships; mines, necessary for copper; a company necessary to work the mines; and who can doubt this reasoning who has ever played at 'This is the House that Jack Built'? Under such a process of filiation of necessities the sweeping clause makes clean work."
During The Great War, British Propaganda promoted the following version of the rhyme:

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the bomb that fell on the house that Jack built.

This is the Hun who dropped the bomb that fell on the house that Jack built.

This is the gun that killed the Hun who dropped the bomb that fell on the house that Jack built.

In television and film

A 1959 Warner Brothers cartoon is entitled The Mouse that Jack Built
The Mouse that Jack Built
The Mouse that Jack Built is a Merrie Melodies cartoon short, directed by Robert McKimson and released by Warner Brothers studios in 1959.-Production:The cartoon was released on April 4, 1959...

. It is a parody of The Jack Benny Show, whose stars supply the voices of mouse caricatures of themselves.
In 1966 an episode of The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...

was titled "The House That Jack Built".
A 1967 animated short The House That Jack Built
The House That Jack Built (1967 film)
The House That Jack Built is a 1967 National Film Board of Canada animated short based on the nursery rhyme "This Is the House That Jack Built." Directed by Ron Tunis, written by Don Arioli and produced by Wolf Koenig, eight-minute film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short...

was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
The climax of the first adventure of the British fantasy series Sapphire & Steel
Sapphire & Steel
Sapphire & Steel is a British television science-fiction fantasy series starring David McCallum as Steel and Joanna Lumley as Sapphire. Produced by ATV, it ran from 1979 to 1982 on the ITV network. The series was created by Peter J. Hammond who conceived the programme under the working title The...

hinged on the recitation of the rhyme.
A public information film from the 1970s–1980s about fire safety was entitled The House That Jack Built, and was presented as an animated book containing the story of how a house (built by a man named Jack) burnt down in the night due to an unguarded fire and open doors, which resulted in the deaths of Jack's wife and newborn baby. The ending of the advert urges viewers to buy a smoke alarm and follow fire safety plans.
In episode 3.05 of the TV show Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...

, actor Kelsey Grammar as the character Frasier says: "I cut myself because I was shaving without water. And why was there no water? Because I had to move your chair which gouged the floor which made me call for Joe who found bad pipes which called for Cecil who ate the cat who killed the rat that lived in the house that Frasier built!"
In Lars von Trier's The Element of Crime
The Element of Crime
The Element of Crime is the first feature film directed by noted Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier. The film, released in 1984, is also the first in the director's Europa trilogy...

the prostitute Kim tells the poem to a child. Both are being kept in a cage at Frau Gerdas Whorehouse in Halbestadt.

In popular music

In 1967 Alan Price
Alan Price
Alan Price is an English musician, best known as the original keyboardist for the English band The Animals, and for his subsequent solo work....

had an international chart hit with his song "The House that Jack Built". It reached #4 in the UK, #26 in the Netherlands and #38 in Germany.
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...

had a number-six pop and number-two R&B hit single with "The House That Jack Built" (not a version of the rhyme) in 1968.
English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

singer Tracie Young
Tracie Young
Tracie Young was a pop singer in the 1980s. She achieved success after becoming a protégée of Paul Weller.-Career:...

had a hit single with "The House That Jack Built" (not a version of the rhyme) in 1983.
In 1987 a pioneering house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

act under the name 'Jack N Chill' released a single called "The Jack That House Built", which has since been sampled and re-mixed into many other songs (particularly in the house genre).
In 1987 Near the end of the track "Home" by Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...

on his "Radio KAOS
Radio Kaos
Radio Kaos is Mexican Rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1992. The band currently features Claudio Pérez , David Pérez . The release of their first album Botas Negras under EMI Capitol was a success in Mexico...

" CD, he makes a reference to it. It is done in similar fashion to the original prose - only mentioning Jack after a lengthy list of other references to the idea of Home.
In 1995 Clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...

released the song "The House that Peterbilt
Peterbilt
Peterbilt Motors Company is an American manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty Class 5 through Class 8 trucks headquartered in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1939 Peterbilt operates manufacturing facilities in Denton, Texas , and Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec...

", a reference to the truck company.
In 1996 Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

released the album Load
Load (album)
Load is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. Released on June 4, 1996 through Elektra Records, it sold 680,000 units in its first week and debuted at #1 on Billboard 200. The album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and is certified 5x platinum by the RIAA...

containing a song called "The House Jack Built".
The Capitol Steps
Capitol Steps
The Capitol Steps are an American political satire group. It has been performing since 1981, and has released approximately thirty albums consisting primarily of song parodies. Originally consisting exclusively of Congressional staffers performing around Washington, D.C., the troupe now primarily...

created and performed a parody called "The House That Jack Bribed", also referring to Jack Abramoff.
The lyrics of the song 'Alla Fiera Dell'Est' ( 'At the Eastern Fair' )by Italian songwriter Angelo Branduardi, show a marked resemblance to 'The House that Jack Built'
In the Danish movie After the Wedding by Susanne Bier, volunteer worker Jacob teaches English to the children in an orphanage in India by using "The House that Jack Built".
The second studio album by indie band, The Heavy is named 'The House That Dirt Built', a satirisation of the 'The House That Jack Built'.
The fourth song by A Day to Remember
A Day to Remember
A Day to Remember is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida. Founded in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denny and drummer Bobby Scruggs, the band has released four studio albums, nine singles and eight music videos...

on their 2010 studio album, 'What Separates Me from You
What Separates Me from You
What Separates Me from You received generally favorable reviews. James Christopher Monger of Allmusic said, "[It] is whiney, petulant, immature, hopeless, and thoroughly addicting, as the ten songs contained within the gatefold packaging [...] are as immaculately crafted and engaging as they are...

', is named 'This is the House That Doubt Built'.

In sports

The former stadium of the New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium, was nicknamed "The house that Ruth built". Babe Ruth's tremendous drawing power made the stadium possible.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Lyrics

Narrative technique

Origins

Syntactic structure

In literature and journalism

In politics

In television and film

In popular music

In sports

See also

External links