Wow. I had no idea about this song but my Grandfather, an Adirondack Raconteur by the name of Vic Pomerville (Sometimes spelled Pommerville) used to sing us a song we thought was of his own creation about a mysterious creature called THE CHICKEN-CROW. He may have lifted the melody and structure from The Churkendoose since he often made up his own lyrics to other melodies. Sometimes he'd do it without really being aware he wasn't being totally original. No harm intended - it just came out that way. I'd really like to hear this song.

Grandpa's Chicken-Crows lived in Utica (New York) when it got too cold up North in Newton Falls (near Star Lake) and liked to hang out in an enchanted Lilac Grove. They granted wishes to little girls and boys but could also play tricks on you. They'd also rat you out to Grandpa Vic if they caught you doing something really naughty. Nosey old Chicken-Crows! They had other magical creatures they hung out with including a talking Trout, The Jennie Wren, a family of Blue-Blooded Beavers and a menacing character named Fat Frog. He started all this Chicken-Crow business in the early 60's when his oldest daughters started having kids. Many of the characters evolved out of nicknames for the kids. My Mom is The Jennie Wren for instance while my sister is Reenie-Been The Beaver Queen.

By the late 80's the Chicken-Crows fell out of favor and the song became about something called The Peanut-Butter Birds. All that really changed was the name. They still flocked in the magic Lilac Grove where some of his other characters lived. What had happened was one group of Grandchildren had grown up and a younger set had come along and apparently they preferred Peanut-Butter Birds to Chicken-Crows.

Perhaps they are all descendants of the Churkendoose? When that whole Turducken BBQ craze started, all of us Grandkids and Great-Grandkids had a good laugh thinking that the Chicken-Crows might be offended. Believe me, you don't want to offend a Chicken-Crow...they have tempers.

Grandpa Vic was field-recorded on a few occasions and I even taped many of his songs and stories back when I was in Grad School (Anthropology..SUNYA) but I never did get the Chicken-Crow song....just some of their stories. I've always wanted to produce a limited CD for all of Vic's descendants but the quality of the recordings leaves a lot to be desired. Also, trying to track down the origins of many of the stories and songs he liberally borrowed from could be prohibitive. Still, Grandpa Vic was something alright!

I still believe the Chicken-Crows are out there in the Lilacs waiting for us to come back and visit for a spell. My folks just moved back up to Star Lake so who knows, maybe they'll see them around. They just have to remember that the Chicken-Crows don't grant your wish if you ask for something for yourself. If you get greedy, they just might play a trick on you or send Fat Frog over to teach you a lesson. I suppose I ought to do a search on some of those terms and see if he borrowed them too! It wouldn't surprise me to find other, older origins for some of his characters. The Talking Trout isn't original to him either.

L. M. Feerick-Pollison
Los Angeles
Granddaughter of Victor Pomerville (Deceased 1994)

Any NY Folklorists who want access to any of the recordings of my Grandpa or texts of his many stories....contact me at: LisaMFeerick@aol.com and/or Daverat@aol.com He specialised in stories and songs of The North Woods, The St. Lawrence River, Logging camps and Adirondack tales of the supernatural. (In addition to his children's stories)