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02-14-2005, 08:10 AM
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#1 of 26 
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"This Old Man"
In the nursery rhyme "This Old Man", he plays Knick Knack all over the place. What is Knick Knack? What is Patty Whack? And why was he rolling home?
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02-14-2005, 08:17 AM
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#2 of 26
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I think it has something to do with S&M with a dog, but I'm not quite sure
Brent
\"I\'m on morphine and I\'m higher than a kite.\"
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02-14-2005, 08:20 AM
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#3 of 26
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I loved a Far Side cartoon in which Gary Larson showed an old lady saying "With a knick knack paddy whack, give a dog a bone!", and in the next panel we see an old man rolling down the hill towards the house....
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02-14-2005, 09:33 AM
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#4 of 26
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Well, "rolling" is a term referring to being on Ecstacy (maybe other drugs as well?), and with the creative naming of drugs on the street, I wouldn't discount the possibility of "knick knacks" or "paddy wacks" or "knick knack paddy whacks" referring to some exotic substance or combination thereof. So, in an effort to dull his old man pain, he goes out to buy a few "knick knack paddy whacks", ingests them, and then "rolls" home.
Out there? Maybe, but remember Puff the Magic Dragon...  |
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02-14-2005, 10:34 AM
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#5 of 26
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A lot of nursery rhymes have some meaning. Sing a song of sixpence was actually a coded message from Blackbeard to recruit sailors for his ship.
\"and no one seems to understand the glory of guitar, when out of tune, the off timing, the singers who can't sing, - the beauty of punk!\"
"I apologize if there is anyone in this room I have not offended" - Brahms
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02-14-2005, 11:16 AM
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#6 of 26
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'Cause his old man's a Rolling Stone.
\"I have in my heart what it takes to run with the big dogs in this life, and nobody can say otherwise.\"
\"Attention all personnel. Tonight\'s movie is a holdover from last week and will be shown right after supper, which is also a holdover from last week.\"
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02-14-2005, 11:23 AM
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#7 of 26
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Jay
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Quote:
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but remember Puff the Magic Dragon...
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What about Puff? He lived by the sea.
Jay
You are the crispy noodle in the vegetarian salad of life
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02-14-2005, 11:29 AM
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#8 of 26
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Quote:
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What about Puff? He lived by the sea.
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It's that Jackie Paper. I heard he was trouble
Kenneth |
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02-14-2005, 11:40 AM
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#9 of 26
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Quote:
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A lot of nursery rhymes have some meaning.
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Quite true. Often they were used as a coded criticism of the monarchy in England. Unlike the urban legend that "Bah, Bah, Black Sheep" is a racist rhyme, it actually is a complaint about the high taxes the crown and it's subsidiaries levied on the average "sheep" (peasantry). "One for my master, one for my dame...". |
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02-14-2005, 01:35 PM
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#10 of 26
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Quote:
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A lot of nursery rhymes have some meaning. Sing a song of sixpence was actually a coded message from Blackbeard to recruit sailors for his ship.
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Urban myth, I'm afraid - see Stopes.
A very useful book on the subject of nursery rhymes and their origins is The Oxford Book of Nursery Rhymes edited by Peter and Ilona Opie, published by Oxford University Press. As far as I can recall 'knick knack paddywhack' is deliberate nonsense. Unfortunately the book isn't to hand and I won't be able to get my hands on it until later this week, but I'll try to remember to look it up.
Oh and just before anyone says it, Ring a Roses is not about the plague. The earliest version of the rhyme is 19th century and has nothing to do with plague symptoms.
However, if you want a really creepy origin for a nursery rhyme, check out London Bridge is Falling Down. The song is all about how the bridge will be prevented from falling down. What is not often realised is that in the oldest versions of the rhyme a 'watcher' was to be placed in the bridge. This is a reference to the charming habit of burying a person alive in the foundations of a river bridge to assuage the river gods. |
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02-14-2005, 01:38 PM
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#11 of 26
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Really? huh, I could've sworn that I saw that on some history channel type show not from an internet source.
Oh well, live and learn.
\"and no one seems to understand the glory of guitar, when out of tune, the off timing, the singers who can't sing, - the beauty of punk!\"
"I apologize if there is anyone in this room I have not offended" - Brahms
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