With Thanksgiving getting nearer and nearer, a sudden had thought struck me: where did Turkey in the Straw come from? It may as well be as old as Ring Around the Rosie, because there are several theories as to its history and even the lyrics. I wasn't able to find many consistent details surrounding it before another thought struck me.
There's that other song called The New England Boy's Song About Thanksgiving Day. I don't know when or why the title was commonly changed, but many people (like myself) know this song by its alternate name: Over the River and Through the Wood. I don't know about you, but I have always thought of this song as a Christmas song--even though I only ever hear it being sung in a Thanksgiving setting. And over the years, it has actually been adapted to toggle between Thanksgiving and Christmas to suit purposes.
Maybe it's the fact that there are a sleigh and snow in the lyrics. And where I live, we never get snow around Thanksgiving, and the only sleigh that runs through here is Santa's. Or maybe it's the wood fact, because the only woods I experience are in the mountains with the evergreens (i.e. Christmas tree relatives). But whatever the reason, it is most definitely for Thanksgiving. We know this, because its origin has not yet been lost to current customs.
The author/lyricist's name was Lydia Maria Child, and she was born in Medford, Massachusetts, where they obviously saw snow on at least some Thanksgivings. Ms. Child was one of America's earlier women who made a living off of her writing. She was a novelist, wrote many books on domestic advice, and was a political journalist, standing for the anti-slavery movement and an advocator for women's rights as well as Indian rights.
The lyrics of the song were originally her poem, published in her Flowers for Children, Volume 2, in 1844. Basically writing a compilation from a boy's perspective, she described her memories as a child, spending Thanksgiving at her grandfather's house. It is unclear to me when "grandfather" was turned into "grandmother," about whom I have been accustomed to singing. Grandfather's house was also in Medford; and today there is a house known as Grandfather's House (or the Paul Curtis House), believed to be the one mentioned in Ms. Child's poem. The poem was originally twelve verses long, but most people only sing a few. Many of these, I had no idea existed. They share her excitement, thrill, and delight that she experienced and anticipated every year growing up.
As you enjoy your time this Thanksgiving with friends and family, be sure to enjoy the full experience of singing this entire tune that so many grow up hearing yet knowing nothing about.
Over the river, and through the wood,
To grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way,
To carry the sleigh,
Through the white and drifted snow .
Over the river, and through the wood,
To grandfather's house away !
We would not stop
For doll or top,
For 't is Thanksgiving day .
Over the river, and through the wood,
Oh, how the wind does blow !
It stings the toes,
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go .
Over the river, and through the wood,
With a clear blue winter sky,
The dogs do bark,
And children hark,
As we go jingling by .
Over the river, and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play—
Hear the bells ring
Ting a ling ding,
Hurra for Thanksgiving day !
Over the river, and through the wood—
No matter for winds that blow;
Or if we get
The sleigh upset,
Into a bank of snow .
Over the river, and through the wood,
To see little John and Ann;
We will kiss them all,
And play snow-ball
And stay as long as we can .
Over the river, and through the wood,
Trot fast, my dapple grey !
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound,
For 't is Thanksgiving day !
Over the river, and through the wood,
And straight through the barn-yard gate;
We seem to go
Extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait .
Over the river, and through the wood—
Old Jowler hears our bells;
He shakes his pow,
With a loud bow wow,
And thus the news he tells .
Over the river, and through the wood—
When grandmother sees us come,
She will say, Oh dear,
The children are here,
Bring a pie for every one .
Over the river, and through the wood—
Now grandmother's cap I spy !
Hurra for the fun !
Is the pudding done ?
Hurra for the pumpkin pie !
Sources:
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/childlydiamaria/a/over_the_river.htm
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/over_the_river_grandfather.htm
http://folkmusic.about.com/od/folksongs/qt/Over-The-River-And-Through-The-Woods.htm
http://www.potw.org/archive/potw64.html
