The guitar tab (a chord melody) and the sheet music (the chords, melody, and lyrics) for “This Old Man” are available for download as PDFs.
The guitar tablature is an easy, beginner fingerstyle arrangement of the tune.
This Old Man
The video below demonstrates the chord melody arrangement of “This Old Man.”
“This Old Man” Tab
This is a solo fingerstyle guitar arrangement aka chord melody for “This Old Man.”
It’s always a good idea to learn the melody first – the high notes on in the tablature below. After you can perform the melody with ease then it’s time to take on the solo arrangement. That’s just a tip I always give to my students.
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History & Lyrics
The earliest surviving record of “This Old Man” is a version called “Jack Jintle” in Journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society (1937) by Anne Gilchrist. A Welsh nurse taught Anne the version below in the 1870s.
My name is Jack Jintle, the eldest but one,
And I can play nick-nack upon my own thumb.
With my nick-nack and click-clack and sing a fine song,
And all the fine ladies come dancing along.
My name is Jack Jintle, the eldest but two,
And I can play nick-nack upon my own shoe.
With my nick-nack and click-clack and sing a fine song,
And all the fine ladies come dancing along.
My name is Jack Jintle, the eldest but three,
And I can play nick-nack upon my own knee.
With my nick-nack and click-clack and sing a fine song,
And all the fine ladies come dancing along.
Modern Lyrics
This old man, he played one,
He played knick-knack on my drum;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played two,
He played knick-knack on my shoe;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the 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 paddywhack,
Give the 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 paddywhack,
Give the 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 paddywhack,
Give the 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 paddywhack,
Give the 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 paddywhack,
Give the 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 paddywhack,
Give the 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 paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
This old man, he played ten,
He played knick-knack once again;
With a knick-knack paddywhack,
Give the dog a bone,
This old man came rolling home.
For about the history and lyrics of "This old Man" see the Wikipedia artcle about the subject here.
“This Old Man” Sheet Music
The sheet music below is a lead sheet with the chords (with chord diagrams), the melody (in standard notation), and lyrics for “This Old Man.”
The complete sheet music (2 Pages) is available for sale as a PDF.
Download “This Old Man” Sheet Music (2 Pages) as a PDF
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