Mr Nobody
Lyrics
Three-stanza version printed in the Arkansas Methodist
I know a funny little man,As quiet as a mouse,Who does the mischief that is doneIn everybody's house.There's no one ever sees his face,And yet we all agreeThat every plate we break was crackedBy Mr. Nobody.
'Tis he who always tears our books,Who leaves the door ajar;He pulls the buttons from our shirtsAnd scatters pins afar.That squeaking door will always squeak,For, prithee, don't you see?We leave the oiling to be doneBy Mr. Nobody.
The finger marks upon the doorsBy none of us are made;We never leave the blinds unclosedTo let the curtains fade.The ink we never spill; the bootsThat lying round you see,Are not our boots. They all belongTo Mr. Nobody.
History and Meaning
Everyone in the house has the same answer when something breaks or goes missing: Mr Nobody did it. The joke slips out in the very first stanza. The people say "every plate we break" before blaming the imaginary man for the crack.
What do the old words mean?
A door "ajar" is a little bit open. "Prithee" is an old way of saying "please" or "I ask you". "Oiling" a door means putting a little oil on its hinges so they stop squeaking. Mr Nobody gets blamed both for causing trouble and for failing to do a job that everyone keeps putting off.
Where do these words come from?
This three-stanza version appeared in the children's section of the Arkansas Methodist on 29 July 1920. The paper credits Riverside Magazine and gives no writer's name. Other printings vary in wording or add another stanza.
Try a household mystery
Think of a missing sock, a paper left on the floor, or a trail of crumbs. Give one reader the complaint and let everyone else answer with the refrain. Then ask what someone in the house could do to put things right.
Related Nursery Rhymes
Lyrics from nurseryrhymes.info