I must say this has been an interesting thread. I don't remember where I learned that song, but I think it was in the 1940s when I was a kid in Wisconsin. I used to sing it to my kids when they were growing up, but I can't find it in any song books that I have. I never for a minute wondered about the meaning of Nick-Nack, Paddy Whack, whose dog we were giving the bone to, or why the old man was rolling home instead of walking. It was just a fun nonsense song with a catchy tune. While on the subject you might enjoy this:

A frog goes into a bank and approaches a teller. He can see by her nameplate that her name is Patricia Waque. So he says, "Ms. Waque, I'd like to borrow $80,000 to buy a yacht and take a vacation. She looks at the frog in disbelief, but asks his name. He says his name is Kermit Jagger, the son of Mick Jagger the singer, and that he's a friend of the bank manager.

The teller says $80,000 is a lot of money and he will need some collateral against the loan. The frog says, "No problem, I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain pink elephant. Very confused, the teller explains that she'll have to talk to the manager and disappears into a back office.

She tells the manager, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $80,000. And he wants to use THIS as collateral! She holds up the pink porcelain elephant and says, "I mean what the heck is this?" The bank manager looks at her in disgust. "It's a knick-knack, Patti Waque; give the frog a loan -- his old man's a Rolling Stone!"

I don't remember where I first heard that, either! But I'm just wondering, is katlaughing, or will Joe Offer to whack my paddy? :-)

Reiver 2