Subject: Lyrics for: From: brad3555@hello.net.au Date: 28 May 98 - 01:12 AM Anybody out there who has the lyrics for turkey in the straw, could you please email them to: brad3555@hello.net.au There's a version of the lyrics that has something to do with animals. For example: I went to milk a cow but I didn't know how I milked a sheep instead of a cow It goes something like that. But any version anyone's got, If I could get the lyrics, I'll be very appreciative. Thanks so much. brad3555@hello.net.au . Digital Tradition Version 1 |
Subject: Lyr Add: TURKEY IN THE STRAW From: Ted from Australia Date: 28 May 98 - 08:03 AM Brad, Here ya go. TURKEY IN THE STRAW
Oh we had a little chicken but it wouldn't lay an egg This is from an old (20-odd years) cassette of Michael Cooney. The performance of the song was mainly clawhammer banjo and the singing part was only after 2 sets of AABB |
Subject: Lyr Add: TURKEY IN THE STRAW From: Barry Finn Date: 28 May 98 - 08:53 AM Came upon a river & I want get across Jumped on an alligator thought it was a horse Won't go forward & won't stay still Went up & down like an old saw mill
Ch: Turkey in the straw, ha, ha, ha
Hitched up my wagon & I went down the road |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Dawn Date: 28 May 98 - 10:39 AM And my favorite....
Got chased through the woods by a grizzly bear All the neighbors thought that he must have lost his mind Cuz he ran through the woods with a bear behind! |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Jerry Friedman Date: 28 May 98 - 11:02 AM The words Brad is looking for are in the database. I'll e-mail him. My mother has a songbook with similar words to the first version in the DT, but the chorus goes
Dancin' tonight, *whistle four notes* Speaking of the DT, the tune to "Skunk Hole" is "Dixie", not "Turkey in the Straw". This is not a matter of different variants--the words fit the one tune and not the other. Does anyone know what "Day, day" means? |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Date: 28 May 98 - 11:51 AM Hey - Somebody get Art Thieme on this thread - He used to do this tune on jewsharp and had collected tons of great verses plus asides between verse: "What sign are you? I'm a feces" yep Art should ad his many verses here... |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Les Date: 28 May 98 - 12:56 PM "Well 18 miles of mountain road, and 15 miles of sand, before I travel this road again, I'll be a married man" and from Uncle Dave Macon "As I was a walkin" through the field, a blacksnake bit me on the heel, I tried to run and I done my best, but I jammed my head in a hornet's nest" Also look for variants under the older minstrel tune that "Turkey" came from -- "Old Zip Coon" |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Date: 28 May 98 - 02:36 PM !!WARNING, OFFENSIVE LYRIC ALERT!!
Had a friend who learned in the Merchant Marine sing |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Barry Finn Date: 28 May 98 - 05:12 PM Day, day-bye, bye. Barry |
Subject: Lyr Add: TURKEY IN THE STRAW 2 From: Ted from Australia Date: 28 May 98 - 05:13 PM From the database TURKEY IN THE STRAW 2 (More, and probably later, verses) Oh there was an old geezer and he had a wooden leg [1] And he never had tobacco, so he always had to beg. There's another old soldier, as sly as any fox And he always had tobacco in his old tobacco box. Says the first old geezer, "Will you let me have a chew?" Says the second old geezer, "I'll be damned if I do! If you'd save your money and keep it in your socks You'd always have tobacco in your old tobacco box." Oh I went to Cincinnati and I walked around the block And I walked right into a doughnut shop And I picked up a doughnut and I wiped off the grease And I handed the lady a five-cent piece. She looked at the nickel and she looked at me And she said, "This nickel's no use to me [2] There's a hole in the middle and it goes right through." Says I, "There's a hole in your doughnut, too." Oh I had a little chicken and she had a wooden leg The best damn chicken that ever laid an egg She laid more eggs than any hen around the farm And another wooden leg wouldn't do her any harm.[3] One day the little chicken just wouldn't lay an egg So I poured hot water down the little chicken's leg The little chicken hollered and the little chicken begged And the damned old chicken laid a hard-boiled egg. [1] or "soldier" instead of "geezer" [2] or "Kind sir, you can plainly see" [3] or "another little drink wouldn't do us any harm" @animal filename[ TURKST2 RG |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Susan of DT Date: 28 May 98 - 07:28 PM Jerry - I learned Skunk Hole to Turkey in the Straw |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Art Thieme Date: 28 May 98 - 09:27 PM What the heck is "skunk hole"?!?!?!? Reminds me of the tale 'bout the rabbit makin' love to the skunk; didn't get all he wanted but he got all he could stand!
Little kid, mean as hell,
A man fell into a septic tank,
Another kid had a mirror,
At the funeral the kid's mother,
I knew a boy--didn't have much sense,
Can you toss 'em over your shoulder,
I saw Esau kissin' Kate,
Can't think o' any more... Art
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Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: rich r Date: 28 May 98 - 10:07 PM I'm so excited another Turkey In The Straw thread came I've pondered the acronym for this song and decided not to use it. But, I have more words
O, the mule's gone lame, the hens won't lay
Oats all heated, spuds all froze,
O the coal's too high, crops too low;
Sun's not shining as it should
O the wheels all wobble, the axel's bent
May hang together, b'lieve it will; from "Parodology" eddited by E O Harbin, 1927 rich r |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Nathan Sarvis (nsarvis@iglobal.net) Date: 28 May 98 - 10:20 PM Someone out there will know who to credit this one to It fits lots of tunes
Well the little boy sat on the stoop and cried |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: kiwi@unagi.cybernothing.org Date: 03 Jun 98 - 09:01 PM In the Ward Swingle piece "Country Dances", a medley of about 20 American folk tunes, there's a snippet of "Turkey in the Straw" that goes "Turkey in the straw, haw haw haw-haw Turkey in the hay, hay hay hay-hay Roll 'em up and twist 'em up and high a tuck an' haw And ya hit 'em up a tune and call it Turkey in the Straw" (I know 'cos I just sang it this spring :)) Sla/n, Kyra |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Chet W. Date: 03 Jun 98 - 09:56 PM Did you ever go fishin' on a sunny, sunny day/ When all the little fishes was swimmin' in the bay/ With their hands in their pockets and their pockets in their pants/ All the little fishes do the hoochie-koochie dance Chet |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: kiwi Date: 07 Jun 98 - 09:30 PM Chet - I sang a slightly different version, also from "Country Dances" - "Oh I love to go a-fishin on a sunny summer day just to watch the perches and the catfish play with their pennies in their pockets and their pockets in their pants, wouldja like to see the ladies to the hoochie-coochie dance?" Kiwi |
Subject: Lyr Add: TURKEY IN THE STRAW From: Bill in Alabama Date: 08 Jun 98 - 08:06 AM I learned these verses from assorted old folks in the mountains where I grew up.
[1] There was an old doctor; his name was Peck;
[2] I was down in the henhouse on my knees,
[3] Way down yonder in Chitlin' Switch, |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Ole Bull Date: 08 Jun 98 - 05:11 PM You might be interested in the genealogy of this one. First,I believe, came the fiddle tune Natchez Under the Hill. Then the words to Zip Coon were put to it. You should be able to find them in the Lester Levy internet collection (recently discovered by the Mudcats). They start either "Old Zip Coon was a larned scholar.." or "I went down to Sandy Hook the arter afternoon.." Then about 1870 Dan Emmett droped the words and called just the fiddle tune "Turkey in the Straw." |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Jerry Friedman Date: 09 Jun 98 - 06:28 PM The words to "Old Zip Coon" that I have in a collection start something like:
There once was a man with a double chin
Chorus: Susan, how did you manage to sing "Skunk Hole" to "Turkey in the Straw"? According to my calculations, you would have had to sing the syllable "-move" for eight beats comprising ten or fifteen notes. The version I learned as a child goes to "Dixie", and the words follow, as best as I remember them:
I stuck my head in a little skunk's hole.
Well, I didn't take it out, and the little skunk said, [or "Take it out! Take it out! Take it out! Re-move it!" which goes better to the tune, but the longer "Re" is more fun.] |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: handiman Date: 10 Jun 98 - 05:56 AM Turkey in the straw is on the list at this site. I just loaded it down and I can let you have the sheet music too 25 Dennison Av Hoppers Crossing Vic Australia 3029 |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Philip Hudson Date: 13 Jun 98 - 12:15 AM Jerry Friedman - I just tried "The Little Skunk" to the tune "Dixie" and it works. You need to say "Take it out" three times instead of two. But as a loyal son of the South, I will sing it to that tune only in the privacy of my study and admit it to you alone, so don't tell a soul. As with Susan, the tune we sang it to when I was a boy is very like Turkey in the Straw. It followed the first two lines and then went off on its own. Thanks, Brad, for starting this thread and thinks to every contributor. I am going to download it so I can meditate at my leisure on the depth of human philosophy as revealed in old 'doggrel" verse - Philip HudsonDixie",
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Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Bill D Date: 13 Jun 98 - 12:28 AM copied and pasted from last October..
I remember the Skunk song as The Woodpeckers Hole...(to approximately the tune of "Dixie" I put my finger in the Woodpeckers hole And he woodpecker "well, damn your soul Take it out, take it out, take it out--remove it!" I removed my finger from the Woddpeckers hole And the woodpecker said "well, damn your soul Put it back, put it back, put it back--replace it I replaced my finger...etc ...... 'Turn it round, turn it round,turn it round--rotate it! I rotated my finger in the wood peckers hole etc.... "Other way other way, other way--reverse it! I reversed my finger in the woodpeckers hole etc..... "Do it again, do it again, do it again--repeat it!" Of course,I have NO idea what all that might mean!
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Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Bill D Date: 13 Jun 98 - 12:39 AM (forgot the image from the original message) |
Subject: Lyr Add: TURKEY IN THE STRAW From: grlrednck8@aol.com Date: 25 Nov 98 - 11:30 PM As I was a goin' on down the road, with a tired team and a heavy load, I cracked my whip and the leader sprung, I says day-day to the wagon tongue. CHORUS: "Turkey in the straw (whistle) Turkey in the straw (whistle) Roll 'em up and twist 'em up a high tuck a haw And hit 'em up a high tuck a haw"
Went out to milk and I didn't know how |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Date: 26 Nov 98 - 11:12 AM I worked at a day care and one of the kids absolutely loved this song. Try the Wee Sing Folksongs. Has the whole song and words. |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Lonesome EJ Date: 13 Nov 01 - 08:10 PM I revived this interesting old thread that talks about Turkey in the Straw and its supposed precursor Old Zip Coon. On our way to Sorcha's Cheyenne get together, we were talking about this very distinctive tune and wondering whether it had roots that pre-date its appearance in the US. Are any of our British, Scot, or Irish Mudcatters familiar with tunes similar to this one? |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: raredance Date: 14 Nov 01 - 12:12 AM Not what EJ wanted, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to add more verses.
O, his horse went dead, and his mule went lame,
Farmer Jones went out in a boat,
source same as I used above. rich r |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: SharonA Date: 14 Nov 01 - 09:29 AM Wow, there certainly are disparate lyrics here! *G* |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: masato sakurai Date: 14 Nov 01 - 11:33 AM "Turkey in the Straw - The Anatomy of a Melody" by Mark Wilson may be of some help, with sound clips and music pages, but I suspect "Old Bog Hole" wasn't the Scottish progenitor of the tune, since it was originally the name of a song set to the tune of "Zip Coon" (there's three song sheets of "Old Bog Hole" at the Library of Congress American Memory). "Natchez Under the Hill", which is seemingly related, may have been the antecedent of "Zip Coon." G.P. Knauff's version of "NATCHEZ ON THE HILL" is HERE at The Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music. It has been said that the tune(s) came from "Rose Tree" composed(?) by William Shield. Might have been, but not so similar. The tune of "Rose Tree" was used for I'd Mourne the Hopes That Leave Me by Thomas Moore, for Beethoven's arrangement of "He Promised Me at Parting" (on Ludwig van Beethoven: Volkslied-Bearbeitungen, Deutsche Grammophon), and for Steeleye Span's "False Knight on the Road (on Please to See the King, Shanachie). Two versions of "Rose Tree" are in Brody, The Fiddler's Fakebook (p. 235). For much more detailed information, see The Fiddler's Companion. ~Masato |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Lonesome EJ Date: 14 Nov 01 - 12:17 PM Much thanks Masato. Your last link has a wealth of information, even if it is contradictory. An intriguing statement was this : "An overwhelmingly popular tune in American fiddle tradition. Bayard (1981) suggests that a Scottish tune called "The (Bonny) Black Eagle" (also called "The Way to Edinburgh" by Oswald) resembles "Turkey in the Straw" in in both parts. Besides Samuel Bayard, Alan Jabbour, Winston Wilkinson, George Pullen Jackson and others think that a tune with an even stronger resemblance in the first part to the first part of Turkey is "The Rose Tree" (Maureen ni Cullenaun). Their apparent conclusion is that the Turkey tune is a composite of two older Scottish tunes, the 'A' part of "The Rose Tree" and the 'B' part of "The (Bonny) Black Eagle." |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: SINSULL Date: 14 Nov 01 - 02:46 PM The "Turkey" I sent Spaw sings: Turkey in the straw HO HO HO Folks all dance through the barnyard door And we all get together singing 'Turkey In The Straw'" These rare and beautiful birds will be half price at Rite-Aid the day after Thanksgiving. Put your orders in now! |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! From: Owlkat Date: 15 Nov 01 - 02:38 PM Try singing The Lobster Quadrille from Alice through the looking glass by Lewis Carrol, for a tongue numbing experience. Owl. |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! 'Turkey In The Straw' Lyrics. From: GUEST,Womboy Date: 24 Aug 04 - 03:25 PM Do your balls hang low, can you swing em to an fro, Can you tie em in a knot, can you tie em in a bow, do you eat em in a bap for a fast and tasty snack, do your balls hang low. |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! 'Turkey In The Straw' Lyrics. From: GUEST,Hootenanny Date: 25 Aug 04 - 09:24 AM Do they hang too low Do they swing to and fro |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! 'Turkey In The Straw' Lyrics. From: GUEST,Hootenanny Date: 25 Aug 04 - 09:30 AM Sorry, got a phone call: Do they hang too low Do they swing to and fro Do they bang around a lot Can you tie them in a knot Can you throw the 'round your shoulder Like a European Soldier Do they hang too low in the morning Do they hang around your knees Do they tear your BVD'd etc etc. Can't remember the rest. Got it from an Oscar Brand album some years back. The chorus refered to above was: Any old storm, any old port Life is long and love is short Better get a woman get a woman if you can If you can't get a woman get a clean old man |
Subject: RE: Desparate!!! 'Turkey In The Straw' Lyrics. From: GUEST Date: 26 Aug 04 - 01:27 PM Another verse I learned up in Arkansas: Saw a big catfish comin' down the stream Said the big catfish "What do you mean?" Caught that big catfish right on the snout And turned Mister Catfish inside out! |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Turkey in the Straw From: Goose Gander Date: 18 Jun 08 - 03:18 PM Turkey in the Straw: the Anatomy of a Melody by Mark Wilson, from the Rounder Records website. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Turkey in the Straw From: GUEST,TJ in San Diego Date: 18 Jun 08 - 04:12 PM For Bill in Alabama: On an old Josh White album from years back, one of the tunes was "Raise a Ruckus Tonight." The words you furnished, in particular the last verse, are almost exactly the same as in that song, i.e.: "Way down yonder in Chitlin' Switch, Raise a ruckus tonight! A bullfrog jumped from ditch to ditch. Raise a ruckus tonight! Bullfrog jumped in the bottom of the well; Raise a ruckus tonight! He swore, by God, he'd jumped in hell! Raise a ruckus tonight! CH: Why don't you come along, little children come along, While the moon is shining bright. Get on board, down by the river shore, We're gonna raise a ruckus tonight." This has got to be a very old piece, one undoubtedly used by many of the blind blues singers in the early years of the 20th century. Josh White very likely learned his version as a youngster from those singers who he guided and shilled for back in those days. It turns out that this served as a theme song for an early radio show hosted by Pete Seeger and has been done by many other folk and blues artists, including Leon Bibb and Brownie McGhee. |
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