I determined my theme after reading a very old nursery rhyme, “The House that Jack Built.” This is one of the many slightly different versions of the nursery rhyme:
The House that Jack Built
This is the house that Jack built.
This is the cheese that lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the rat that ate the cheese
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the cat that killed the rat
That ate the cheese that lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the dog that worried the cat
That killed the rat that ate the cheese
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 cheese
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 cheese
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 cheese
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 cheese
That lay in the house that Jack built.
This is the cock that crowed in the morn
That waked 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 cheese
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 waked 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 cheese
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 waked 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 cheese
That lay in the house that Jack built.
It must have been a “deep-feelings” day, because after I read this rhyme, my first thought was where is Jack? Jack needs to be the star in the house that he built. Instead, all of these things are coming in and out of the house. They are all linked together. They all create the current state of the house. After reading the first 10 lines or so lines, I felt the chaos. I felt the pressure, the rush, and most importantly, I envisioned the affects of all the comings and goings on the house…and on Jack, wherever he may be.
When your house becomes The House That Jack Built, or The House That Clutter Built, the comings and goings, the chaos, the lack of permissions, the pace of relationships and actions that build and build until we can’t even find Jack, it is time to rethink. I want to find your “Jack” and find the others and require permissions. I want to slow down and analyze what is coming in and out of the house. I also want everyone who plays a part in The House That Clutter Built to understand the chain of affect.
History Buffs and the Curious:
“This Is the House That Jack Built” is a popular British nursery rhyme and cumulative tale.
In episode 3.05 of the TV show Frasier, 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 1987, near the end of the track “Home” by Roger Waters on his “Radio KAOS” 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. This is a song I’ll be using on Organizing-411 on Webtalkradio.
In 1996, Metallica released the album Load containing a song called “The House Jack Built”.
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.
Cherrington Manor, a handsome timber-framed house in North East Shropshire, England, is reputed to be the actual house that Jack built. There is a former malt house in the ground.
It is a cumulative tale that does not tell the story of Jack, who builds a house, but instead shows how the house is indirectly linked to numerous things and people, and through this method tells the story of “The man all tattered and torn”, and the “Maiden all forlorn”, on top of other smaller storylines.
The origin of the lyrics to ‘This is the house that Jack built’ cannot be traced to specific people or historical events but merely reflect the everyday characters and lifestyle which could have been found in rural England and date back to the sixteenth century. The phrase ‘This is the house that Jack built’ is often used as a derisory term in describing a badly constructed building!
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