Music › C major › This Old Man

🐶 This Old Man: chords and words

This Old Man is written in C major, with 4 chords: C, F, G and G7. Tap Fits a small voice and I’ll move the whole song to where you can sing it.

This Old Man in C major

The tune goes from C4 to A4: try “Fits a small voice”.

CThisoldman,heplayedone,

Fheplayedknick-knackGonmythumb;

Cwithaknick-knackpaddywhack,giveGthedogaCbone;

CthisG7oldmancamerollingChome.

CThisoldman,heplayedtwo,

Fheplayedknick-knackGonmyshoe;

Cwithaknick-knackpaddywhack,giveGthedogaCbone;

CthisG7oldmancamerollingChome.

CThisoldman,heplayedthree,

Fheplayedknick-knackGonmyknee;

Cwithaknick-knackpaddywhack,giveGthedogaCbone;

CthisG7oldmancamerollingChome.

CThisoldman,heplayedfour,

Fheplayedknick-knackGonmydoor;

Cwithaknick-knackpaddywhack,giveGthedogaCbone;

CthisG7oldmancamerollingChome.

Traditional English counting song. Public domain. peabody.kids/music

Where the song comes from

This Old Man is an English counting song. Cecil Sharp and Sabine Baring-Gould printed a version in English Folk-Songs for Schools in 1906. Each verse counts one higher and finds a new word that rhymes with the number.

Words: English Folk-Songs for Schools, Sharp and Baring-Gould (London, 1906). Tune: the same book (1906). Both were printed before 1931, so the song is in the public domain in the United States: anyone may sing it, print it and share it. Peabody wrote out the tune and the chords for this page. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Old_Man.

For teachers

The tune runs from C4 to A4 in C major. For a class from Pre-K to 2nd grade, try D major (D, G, A, A7), which keeps it inside D4 to B4.

Easiest to play

On a ukulele: F major (F, Bb, C, C7). On a guitar: D major (D, G, A, A7).

Sing it with the words lit up

The sing-along plays the tune and lights each word as it is sung.

More songs

Look up any chord in the Chord Finder, or see every song in C major.

Checked 2026-10-31.