This Is The House That Jack Built
1755 
England Lyrics
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.
History and Meaning
"This is the House That Jack Built" is a classic English cumulative tale, a narrative technique where the story builds upon itself with each new element repeating all previously introduced ones in a chain of interconnected events. The earliest known printed version appeared in London in 1755 in "Nurse Truelove's New-Year's-Gift, or the Book of Books for Children," though its oral origins are believed to be much older. Some scholars suggest it may derive from the Aramaic hymn "Chad Gadya" (One Young Goat), first printed in 1590, while James Orchard Halliwell noted that the reference to "the priest all shaven and shorn" indicates the rhyme could date to the mid-sixteenth century. The rhyme's eleven stanzas introduce elements like the malt, the rat that ate the malt, and the cat that killed the rat, building an increasingly complex narrative chain. It gained significant popularity in the 19th century through illustrated editions, particularly Randolph Caldecott's 1878 version, and inspired political satires like William Hone's 1819 "The Political House That Jack Built."