The Man Who Had Naught — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

There was a man and he had naught,
And robbers came to rob him;
He crept up to the chimney pot,
And then they thought they had him.
But he got down on t'other side,
And then they could not find him;
He ran fourteen miles in fifteen days,
And never looked behind him.

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Learning from "The Man Who Had Naught"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Man Who Had Naught" uses 8 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 The Man Who Had Naught?
The lyrics to The Man Who Had Naught are: There was a man and he had naught, / And robbers came to rob him; / He crept up to the chimney pot, / And then they thought they had him. / But he got down on t'other side, / And then they could not find him; ... Read the full 8-line nursery rhyme at Rhyme Buster.
How many lines does The Man Who Had Naught have?
"The Man Who Had Naught" has 8 lines of verse.

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