"Antigonish" is a poem by the American educator and poet

William Hughes Mearns William Hughes Mearns (1875–1965), better known as Hughes Mearns, was an American educator and poet. A graduate of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, Mearns was a professor at the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy from 1 ...

, written in 1899. It is also known as ''The Little Man Who Wasn't There'', and has been adapted in song under this title.

History of the verse

Inspired by reports of a ghost of a man roaming the stairs of a haunted house, in

Antigonish, Nova Scotia Antigonish ( ; ) is a town in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous Highland games outside Scotland. It is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) northeast of Halif ...

, Canada, the poem was originally part of a play called ''The Psyco-ed'', which

had written for an English class at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, circa 1899. In 1910, Mearns staged the play with the Plays and Players, an amateur theatrical group, and on March 27, 1922, the newspaper columnist F.P.A. printed the poem in "The Conning Tower", his column in the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...

''. Mearns subsequently wrote many parodies of this poem, giving them the general title of ''Later Antigonishes''.

Editions of the verse

In popular culture

Music entries

In 1939 "Antigonish" was adapted as a popular song titled "The Little Man Who Wasn't There", by

Harold Adamson Harold Campbell Adamson (December 10, 1906 – August 17, 1980)Larkin, pp. 41-42 was an American lyricist from the 1930s through the 1960s. Early life Adamson, the son of building contractor Harold Adamson and Marion "Minnie" Campbell Adamson, ...

with music by

Bernie Hanighen Bernard D. Hanighen (April 27, 1908 in Omaha, Nebraska – October 19, 1976 in New York City, New York) was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for " When a Woman Loves a Man", and writing lyrics to the jazz composition " 'Ro ...

, both of whom received the songwriting credits. A 1939 recording of the song by the

Glenn Miller Orchestra Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band that was formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most pop ...

, with vocals by

Tex Beneke Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke ( ; February 12, 1914 – May 30, 2000) was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. Hi ...

, became an 11-week hit on ''

Your Hit Parade ''Your Hit Parade'' is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1953 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During its 24-year r ...

'' and reached #7. The Danish fusion-rock band Rainbow Band, later renamed to Midnight Sun, recorded a song based on the lyrics on two albums with two different vocalists, first in 1970, then in 1971. Industrial metal band Psyclon Nine used the poem in their song The Unfortunate from their 2005 album INRI. In 2016, The Odd Chap released an electro swing version using samples from the Glenn Miller Band recording. In 2018, the experimental industrial group The Reptile Skins released an EP entitled ''Antigonish'' with the two lead singers having a different interpretation of the poem. In 2019, the

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel Estela Naïad released a song adapted from the poem, with the composition of the main theme and the voice of Estela Naïad, the harmonies and choirs of Priscilla Hernández, and the musical production of Naliam Cantero.

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

used a variation of the poem in his song "Pick Up Your Heart". The opening verse is featured on the opening track "Ytterligare ett steg närmare total jävla utfrysning" off the album ''

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden, city at the mouth of the Nissan (river), Nissan river, in the provinces of Sweden, province of Halland on the Sweden, Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat ...

'' by Swedish band Shining. Other versions were recorded by Mildred Bailey & Her Orchestra, Larry Clinton & His Orchestra with vocals by

Ford Leary Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, and Bob Crosby & His Orchestra with vocals by

Teddy Grace Teddy Grace (born Stella Gloria Crowson, June 26, 1905 – January 4, 1992)
- accessed July 2010 was an American fema ...

Outside of music

* The Coen Brothers film, '' The Man Who Wasn't There'', was given its title based on the poem. * The poem is pivotal in “Upon the Stair”, the 85th episode of the Rusty Quill podcast

The Magnus Archives ''The Magnus Archives'' is a supernatural horror Podcast#Fiction_podcast, fiction podcast written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall, and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims starred as the Head Archivist for the fictional Magnus Ins ...

. * The poem was used in the 2003 film ''

Identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...

'' starring

John Cusack John Paul Cusack ( ; born June 28, 1966)(28 June 1996)Today's birthdays ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'', ("Actors John Cusack is 30") is an American actor. With a career spanning over four decades, he has appeared in over 80 films. He began acting in f ...

. * In the ''

Fear the Walking Dead ''Fear the Walking Dead'' is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series created by Robert Kirkman and Dave Erickson for AMC. It is a spin-off to '' The Walking Dead'', which is based on the comic book series of the same na ...

'' episode " Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame," a man who has been tortured and left brain-damaged disjointedly repeats lines from the poem.

References