A Man with a Nickel — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

A man with a nickel,
A sword, and a sickle,
A pipe, and a paper of pins
Set out for the Niger
To capture a tiger--
And that's how my story begins.
When he saw the wide ocean,
He soon took a notion
'T would be nicer to stay with his friends.
So he traded his hat
For a tortoise-shell cat--
And that's how the chronicle ends.

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Learning from "A Man with a Nickel"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "A Man with a Nickel" uses 12 lines to create a memorable verse — proof that effective poetry doesn't need to be long. Pay attention to the meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is what makes the rhyme stick in your head.

Songwriters and poets can borrow these patterns. Try writing your own lyrics using the same rhyme scheme and line length as this nursery rhyme. You can also use words from the poem above as starting points — click any word to find rhymes or look up its definition, then build from there.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the words to A Man with a Nickel?
The lyrics to A Man with a Nickel are: A man with a nickel, / A sword, and a sickle, / A pipe, and a paper of pins / Set out for the Niger / To capture a tiger-- / And that's how my story begins. ... Read the full 12-line nursery rhyme at Rhyme Buster.
How many lines does A Man with a Nickel have?
"A Man with a Nickel" has 12 lines of verse.

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