Kelley wrote:
Dear Lisa,
I was wondering if you could help me. My mum used to sing a song to my children about a man running through a paddock or field with a pancake tied to his bum, bum, bum.
This is the only bit of the song I can remember and I wondered if you had ever heard of it or knew of its origins. I haven’t been able to find it on any Nursery Rhyme Websites as I don’t know the name of it.
Hoping you can help.
Kind Regards,
Kelley Carter
If anyone can help out with this song, please comment below.
Thanks!
Lisa
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March 28th, 2011 at 5:08 pm
There was a farmer had a gun
and through the cornfield he did run
with a big straw hat
and a belly full of fat
and a pancake tied to his bum bum bum
May 25th, 2011 at 4:20 pm
My grandfather used to say, “There was a little man and he had a little gun, and over the hills he did run. He had a little hat, and a belly full of fat, and a pancake tied to his bum, bum, bum.” Grandpa was of Dutch descent but thought he was British. He had a lot of these little rhymes. Where did he get them? Meaning? Who knows? But anyone who has changed diapers might read something into the last line of the poem.
July 6th, 2011 at 8:33 am
There was a little man who had a little gun and through the fields he did run with a belly full of fat and a high top hat and a pancake tied to his bum bum bum. My nan (born 1908 in newcastle but her mother was scottish) any help also she used to sing be bonny baby to me !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 7th, 2011 at 6:18 am
Im from Dublin my grandad born circa 1911 used to sing:
There was a little man and he had a little gun
and up the chimney he would run
with a belly full of fat and an auld tin hat
and a pancake stuck to his bum bum bum
marys comments about the black and tans are interesting always wondered what the rhyme was about.
August 19th, 2011 at 11:50 am
My Irish grandmother sang this song to me many times. Such fond memories. I must remember to sing to any grandchildren the Lord sees fit to send me.
August 22nd, 2011 at 4:49 pm
My granmother from Yorkshire used to sing this song
October 1st, 2011 at 4:44 pm
My grandma used to sing this one to me (in Canada), and her dad told it to her (from England), but she sang it:
There was a little man
who had a little gun
and over the fields
he’d run run run
with a high beaver hat
and a belly full of fat
and a pancake tied
to his bum bum bum.
October 9th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
This is the one that my grandpa would sing to me..
There was a little man
and he had a little gun
up to the brick fields he did run
with a belly full of fat
and a big straw hat
and a pancake tied to his bum bum bum
November 3rd, 2011 at 6:10 pm
My father used to bounce me on his knee as a small child and sing the following
song:-
Liverpool England 1940 of there about.
There was a little man and he had a little gun,
and over the hills he used to run.
With a big top hat and a belly full of fat,
and a pancake tied to his bum bum bum
January 20th, 2012 at 1:32 am
My 96 year old aunt remembers her father, who was from Ireland, reciting this rhyme. He came to the US in about 1913-1914. That is before the Irish revolution so this rhyme is much older and I would question it’s relationship to the Black and Tans which originated after WWI.
January 26th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
I live in Ireland, and my grandad used to sing it to me like this:
There was a little man and he had a little gun
And up the chimney he did run
With a belly full of fat and an old tall hat
And a pancake stuck to his bum bum bum
I’m only 19, so it wasn’t very long ago that he sang it to me. He used to sing it to my dad as well when he was little. I’m guessing it’s been passed down through the generations.
March 9th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
My dad, who, at one time was a gold prospector and diamond drill operator in northern Ontario (and liked his booze), would sing a little ditty – most of the time – just to make a noise
It went like so – most of the time ….
Oh there was a little man and he had a little gun
and through the bush he used to run
with a belly full of fat and a bobbed tail hat
and a pancake tied to his bum bum bum.
doo-doo-dah-doo-doo doo-doo-dah-doo
etc. etc. etc.
(you get the idea)
this was sung?? – to the tune?? of Turkey in the Straw !
and my take on this was, it referenced a prospector or trapper who made the ‘fixins’ for his ‘Bush Bread’ and wrapped it in a cloth and tied it around his waist ‘in the small of his back, under his shirt’, because if he left it in the cabin when he was away it would freeze. “a pancake tied to his bum bum bum”
Bush guns were usually short 30 to 45 cal. “little gun”
Thanks
July 2nd, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Irish Dad and i miss him a billion:-
There was a little man and he had a little gun and through the cornflakes he would run with his belly full of fat and a big top hat and a pancake tied to his bum bum bum!!!!
August 1st, 2012 at 7:52 am
My granda used to sing me a song. I live in Ireland! It was:
Not last night but the night before
Three little men came to my front
One played a fiddle
One played a drum
And one had a pancake tied to his bum!
September 25th, 2012 at 9:13 am
Another version of ‘Little Fly’ taught to me by my mum in the 60s and passed down from her Mum (in the thirties):
Little fly upon the wall
Ain’t you got no friends at all?
Ain’t you got no father, mother?
Ain’t you got no sister, brother?
Ain’t you got no shabby shirt?
Ain’t you got no petticoat?
Little fly, d’you want to die?
Squishy squashy – bye bye!
(And then you’d pretend to squish the fly on the wall).
October 15th, 2012 at 7:52 pm
My father sang this version to me:
Well the was a little man
and he had a little gun
up the hill he did so run
with a belly ful of fat
and a pigtail hat
pigtail, pigtail
what da ya think o that!
November 9th, 2012 at 1:50 pm
every time somebody said “not last night but the night before” i always said “3 black cats came knocking at the door” and it made me laugh.that is all i could remember. now i have finally looked it up and it seems like it was something that was going around in my childhood but the rest of the rhyme isn’t familiar.
November 21st, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Pam Davies asked if I anyone knew a song that started ‘A fly got up one morning’. My mother (born in London in 1908) used to sing this often. The bits that I remember are:
A fly got up one morning, rubbed his eyes and looked around
He said, ‘It’s my birthday today, I’m going to see the town.
He washed his face in a glass of beer, his hands and body too
Then dried himself on a man’s moustache, and through the window flew.
Then there was lots more, involving ‘a lovely lady fly he met in Leicester Square’. I can try to remember more but Pam’s posting was from July 2009 and it’s now more than three years later so I don’t know if she’s still out there. Email me if you are, Pam.
December 9th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
Growing up in country WA my father used to sing to us kids
‘There was a little man
he had a little gun
and over the London Bridge he run
with a belly full of fat, an old straw hat
and a pancake tied to his bum, bum, bum.’
Mum used to go crook at him, for singing us songs like that.
I never heard the rhyme again until about 40 years later, in Sydney, I heard a London born work colleague singing it, with the same words, to her little girl.
January 25th, 2013 at 11:13 am
My Lancashire born mother, born 1896, used to rock me in the rocking chair and recite this rhyme to me:
You know last night and the night before?
Three little Tom cats came to our door
One had a fiddle and one had a drum
And one had a pat-a-cake tied to it’s bum.
January 31st, 2013 at 10:14 am
My mother in law sings to my 5 children..
There was a little man and he had a little gun
Over the mountains he did run
With a big tall hat and a belly full of fat
And a drumstick tied to his bum bum bum
March 19th, 2013 at 4:59 pm
My mums 72 from Norfolk east Anglia her grandmother sang it like this ‘there was a little man who had a little gun, across the fields he used to run, with a high brown hat and a belly full of fat and a frying pan tied to his bum bum bum’, I sing this to my 3 year old.
July 20th, 2013 at 6:35 pm
I’m from Scotland and this is the rhymes I know:
Not last night but the night before three little Monkeys came to the door, One had a fiddle, one had a drum and one had a pancake stuck to his bum!
Dan, Dan, the funny wee man, washed his face with a frying pan. He combed his hair with the leg of a chair, Dan, Dan, the funny wee man.
Piggy on the Railway picking up stones, along came an Engine and broke Piggy’s bones. Oh said Piggy, “That’s not fair!” Oh, said the Engine driver, “I don’t care!”
October 5th, 2013 at 10:04 pm
Not last night but the night before…Three little pussy’s came kicking at the door.
One had a fiddle and one had a drum
And one had a pat-a-cake stuck to its bum.
Early in the morning
Early in the morning
Early in the morning
before the break of day
Oh hey diddle diddle the cat did a piddle all over the kitchen floor…
The little dog laughed to see such fun….so the cat did a little bit more.
Early in the morning
Early in the morning
Early in the morning
before the break of day
Our dad is a hero…his bravery made us blush.
Cause they gave free beer at the local pub… and dad got killed in the rush.
Early in the morning
Early in the morning
Early in the morning
before the break… before the break…before the break of day
October 7th, 2013 at 9:39 am
Great chants Barry! Would you like to sing any of them for us? -Mama Lisa
October 22nd, 2013 at 3:57 pm
My grandfather used to sing:
Oh, there was a little man and he had a little gun
And over the mountain he would run
With a belly full of fat and a big plug hat
And a pancake tied to his bum, bum, bum
December 29th, 2013 at 6:53 pm
My Mom came from No. Ireland to Saskatchewan in 1927. She used to recite it differently;
Not last night but the night before, 3 wee kids came to our door. One had a fiddle and one had a drum and one had a pancake tied to his thumb.
She said this was a change from another version which read:
Not last night but the night before, 3 wee Nazis came to our door….(She never liked that version)
December 30th, 2013 at 10:56 am
I am 79. My mother and grandmother used to sing to us children: “My old man is a funny old man, he washes his face in a frying pan, he combs his hair with the leg of a chair….” I remember a piece of the lyric that goes: with an old tin can and he brushes his teeth with a ….
At least one of your commenters recalls “washes his face in a frying pan…”
January 25th, 2014 at 9:01 pm
My grandpa and grandpa, now in heaven both, were of Scottish and Irish descent. They used to keep me busy with little poems and “ditties” as my grandma used to refer to them as lol
I remember my Grandpa telling me:
“There was a little man
and he had a little gun
over the fields he used to run
with a stove pipe hat
and a belly full of fat and
a panny cake tied to his
rummy tum tum”
and then there was
“when I was a little girl
about so high,
my mama used to spank me and
make me cry,
but now I’m a big girl
and mama can’t do it,
but daddy takes a big stick
and tends right to it!”
ha ha times have sure changed, but I make sure I share these with my children and hope they will remember to share them with theirs.
I do also recall the “tom cats” story, thank you for jarring my memory!
March 15th, 2014 at 5:10 am
My father sang this version to us in the 50s
There was a liitle boy
he had a little gun
through the fields he would run
old straw hat
belly full of fat
and hotcakes on his bum bum bum
August 26th, 2014 at 8:26 pm
I was born in Ayrshire, Scotland in 1955 and remember bits of the rhyme mentioned twice above concerning “Dan. Dan…” “washed his face in a frying pan”. “brushed his hair with the leg of a chair”. – but I can’t put it together. I can remember at age 4 thinking it was silly ! But at 58 it still comes back a bit. I’m fairly certain this came from my grandmother which would put it (in her childhood) back as far as the 1800’s.
October 23rd, 2014 at 1:56 pm
Amazing! I thought my father made it up. He is 86 now and is from Rochdale in Lancashire. He use to recite it as if telling a ghost story:
Not last night, but the night before,
Three little Tom cats came to my door,
One with a banjo,
One with a drum,
And one with a pancake stuck to his bum!
I am nearly sixty now and it is one of the earliest things I can remember him saying.
The tradition in our family now is that if anyone uses the expression “not last night, but the night before” they must finish off by reciting the ditty! My wife still cannot get it right!
December 13th, 2014 at 8:52 am
Been trying to remember that myself to sing to my wee girl bt all i can remember is ‘not las nite but the nite before 3 tomcats came knocking at my door, i opened the door to let them in n they knocked me down with a rolling pin’
January 31st, 2015 at 8:38 am
My father, born in Southland, New Zealand, in 1916, used to recite this version:
Not last night but the night before
Two tom cats came knocking at the door
I went downstairs to let them in
But they knocked me down with a rolling pin.
My father’s mother’s mother came from Scotland and that’s probably the lineage. And there are lots of other Scots down there at the bottom (cold end) of NZ.
February 17th, 2015 at 5:12 pm
i rather be a little thing growing up
than a big thing growing down
i rather be a Junior with a smile
than a senior with a frown,,, and we frown are faces to show this ,,,,
my mums cousin learnt us this when we were little every time i saw him i would recite it to him , on the tom cat 1 we say 1 with a fiddle 1 with a drum 1 with a pan cake stuck to his bum ,,,,,
February 26th, 2015 at 9:09 pm
Dirty Maryanne
Washed her face in the frying pan
Combed her hair with the leg of a chair
That was dirty Maryanne.
Dublin late 50’s
March 11th, 2015 at 6:25 am
Most of these rhymes I remember but with subtle differences. My mother came from Kennington in London and my Dad from Lambeth in London. My Dad would start to say the rhyme “not last night but the before, two tom cats came knocking at my door” and there it ended because my Mum would never let him finish it, so it must have rude.
My Mum used to tell us the rhyme
Little fly upon the wall,
Aint you got no clothes at all?
What not even a shimmy shirt?
Coo, aint you rude!
She also used to tell us this one:
The Other day upon the stair;
I met a man who wasn’t there;
That man was there again today;
I wish that man would go away.
I used to ponder this rhyme as I couldn’t understand how you could meet someone who wasn’t there.
Now we have our first great grandchild I’m trying to remember all the old nursery rhymes that we used to be told.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:18 pm
Those are great rhymes!
March 20th, 2015 at 5:17 am
This is the rhyme I remember from growing up in Old Woking Surrey. Its rude but here goes folks:
Not last night but the night before
Three Tom cats came a knocking at my door.
One with a saucepan, one with a drum,
One with a Pancake stuck to his bum.
I went downstairs to let them in,
Bowled me over with a rolling pin.
The rolling pin was made of glass.
Cut three slices off my arse!
Went upstairs to go too bed.
Fell in the piss pan bum over head.
Went downstairs to light a fire
Fell in the fire and burnt my c*ck
Went outside to get some coal
A big brown rat ran up my hole.
There you have the full version I heard from my elder brother. Of course I thought it hilarious and told all my school mates. That’s the only version I ever knew. Hope this helps anyone trying to remember this rude version. It still makes a 59 yrs old titter.
June 6th, 2015 at 3:03 pm
I live in NL Canada when my mom was a little girl she used to sing the song
There was a little boy
and he had a little gun
Over the mountain he did run
With a old skin cap
And a belly full of fat
And a pancake tie to his
bum bum bum
October 23rd, 2015 at 8:20 am
As a Lancashire girl myself and with my last grandparent passing away this week I’m trying to find the words to a rhyme my grandad taught me in about 1976. All I have is the opening 2 lines…..
Does thi not know me? I’m mi mam’s little lass…..
I used to stand on a little stool and recite this but can no longer remember it. If anyone is able to fill in the blanks that would be brilliant. Many thanks.
August 27th, 2016 at 8:52 pm
My dad used to sing
‘Not last night
But the night before
This old man
Came knocking at the door’
Can’t recall the rest
November 19th, 2016 at 5:05 am
There was a little man and he had a little gun
and over the hills he did run, run, run
He had a tall hat and a belly full of fat
two panckakes tied to his bum, bum, bum.
Silly! But it always made us giggle when we were kids.
February 13th, 2017 at 4:51 pm
I’d just been teaching my 6 year old the 3 Tom Cats rhyme, which my mum from Liverpool taught me, she was a pre war child. My daughter is made up to see the song on here, as we tried YouTube in vain.
One the girls used to sing when skipping in the 70’s was
Ta ra ra bum de yeh
My knickers flew away
I found them yesterday
On the m6 motorway
February 21st, 2017 at 9:48 am
Manchester….my dad and mum told us lots of rymes ..this one stuck in my mind …. I went to the pictures tomorrow’ I bought a front seat at the back’ a lady gave me a Apple I ate it and gave it her back ….
March 5th, 2017 at 8:00 am
Here’s the version of Three Tom Cats I remember (44 years old now)
Not last night but the night before
Three tom cats came knocking at my door
One with a banjo, one with a drum
One with a pancake stuck to his bum
Went downstairs to let them in
Hit me on the head with a rolling pin
Rolling pin was made of glass
Got three chunks stuck in my ass
Went upstairs and went to bed
Bucket of piss fell on my head
Electric lamp fell on my bed
All blew up and I was dead.
I think you make up the last verse yourself 😊
May 27th, 2017 at 1:22 am
My nan used to sing this to me
Not last night but the night before two tom cats came knocking on my door. I went downstairs to let them in but they knocked me over with a rolling pin, the rolling pin was made of grass they turned me over and hit me on the
Ask no questions , tell no lies I saw a little boy doing up his flies.
June 26th, 2017 at 10:27 am
If I could just go back to the before-mentioned worm song, I would like to tell of a night in 1970 when my Mum had an operation, was just home and was still coming out of the anaesthetic, she sang the following:
“Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, think I’ll go and eat worms! Big ones, small ones, fat ones, skinny ones, ones that wriggle & squirm!”
We recorded it on our huge reel to reel tape deck! When Mum woke properly, we told her about her singing. She didn’t believe us and said she’d never heard of the song. So when we played it back to her, she was dumbfounded! Years later my Grandmother said she used to sing it to my very young Mum and her siblings. It’s amazing how drugs can bring old forgotten memories to the forefront of our minds!
I would love to know the rest of the song if anyone can enlighten me?!
June 26th, 2017 at 12:28 pm
Great story! :) Thanks for sharing Gai.
People have sent us many versions of The Worms Crawl In here. We also have a version with a recording here. Enjoy! -Mama Lisa
August 4th, 2017 at 11:17 am
The flies crawl up the window
That’s all they have to do
They go up in their thousands
And come down two by two…..