"Turkey in the Straw" is an American

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

that first gained popularity in the 19th century. Early versions of the song were titled "Zip Coon", which were first published around 1834 and performed in

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of racist theatrical entertainment developed in the early 19th century. Each show consisted of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances that depicted people spec ...

s, with different people claiming authorship of the song. The melody of "Zip Coon" later became known as "Turkey in the Straw"; a song titled "Turkey in de Straw" with different music and lyrics was published in 1861 together with the wordless music of "Zip Coon" added at the end, and the title "Turkey in the Straw" then became linked to the tune of "Zip Coon". The song is related to a number of tunes of the 19th century and the origin of these songs has been widely debated. Links to older Irish/Scottish/English ballads have been proposed, such as "The Old Rose Tree". The song became highly popular and many variations of the song exist. It was also frequently adapted and used in popular media. A song based the tune of "Turkey in the Straw", "Nigger Love a Watermelon, Ha! Ha! Ha!", has been described as having the "most racist song title".

Origin

"Turkey in the Straw" is thought to be originally a tune from 19th century minstrel shows, "Zip Coon" or "Old Zip Coon", published around 1834. The authorship of the song has been claimed by

George Washington Dixon George Washington Dixon (1801?Many biographies list his birth year as 1808, but Cockrell, ''Demons of Disorder'', 189, argues that 1801 is the correct date. This is based on Dixon's records at a New Orleans hospital, which list him as 60 years ol ...

who popularized the song, and Bob Farrell and George Nicholls. "Zip Coon" in turn has been linked to a number of 19th folk songs believed to have older antecedents in Irish/Scottish/English folk songs. Songs proposed it has links to include "Natchez Under the Hill", "The Old Bog Hole", "The Rose Tree", "Sugar in the Gourd", "The Black Eagle", "Glasgow Hornpipe", "Haymaker's Dance", "The Post Office", "Old Mother Oxford", "Kinnegad Slasher" and others. Eloise Hubbard Linscott believes that the first part of the song is a

contrafactum In vocal music, contrafactum (or contrafact, pl. contrafacta) is "the substitution of one text for another without substantial change to the music". The earliest known examples of this procedure (sometimes referred to as ''adaptation''), date back ...

of the ballad "My Grandmother Lived on Yonder Little Green", published in 1857 by

Horace Waters Horace Waters was a 19th-century hymn publisher and frequent collaborator with Stephen Foster Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for ...

, which is in turn said to be a contrafactum of the Irish/Scottish/English ballad "The Old Rose Tree" published by at least 1795 in Great Britain.''Folk Songs of Old New England,'' by Eloise Hubbard Linscott ''(née'' Eloise Barrett Hubbard; 1897–1978),

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

(1939; reprinted 2011 by

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

), pps. 101, 102, & 244; ; The link to "The Old Rose Tree" has been questioned, but a number of musicologists suggest that it may be a composite of "The Rose Tree" and "The (Bonny) Black Eagle". Similar tune was popular with

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the ...

players as early as 1820, and the tune of "Turkey in the Straw"/"Zip Coon" may have come from the fiddle tune "Natchez Under the Hill" believed to have been derived from "Rose Tree". The title "Turkey in the Straw" later became associated with the tune of "Zip Coon" in an unusual way. According to James J. Fuld, Dan Bryant copyright a song with new lyrics and music titled "Turkey in the Straw" on July 12, 1861, but with the wordless music of "Zip Coon" (but titled "Old Melody") attached at the end.

Lyrics

: First verse : Traditional chorus : First verse of another version : First verse of another version : The full lyrics :: :: Tuckahoe (''

Peltandra virginica ''Peltandra virginica'' is a plant of the arum family known as green arrow arum and tuckahoe. It is widely distributed in wetlands in the eastern United States, as well as in Quebec, Ontario, and Cuba.Whigham, Dennis F., Robert L. Simpson and Ma ...

'', also called green arrow arum) = an edible wetland plant with long petioles :: Reubens = farmers There are versions from the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, versions about fishing and one with

nonsense Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have u ...

verses. Folklorists have documented folk versions with obscene lyrics from the 19th century. : ''Lyrics of

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. The group are currently composed of Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce and Tsehay Hawkins, as well as supporting members Evie Ferris, John Pearce, C ...

'' and Sharon Lois and Bram Another version is called " Natchez Under the Hill". The lyrics are thought to have been added by Bob Farrell who first performed them in a blackface act on August 11, 1834. : First verse of another version In 1942, a soundie titled, "Turkey in the Straw" was created by Freddie Fisher and The Schnickelfritz Band (directed by Sam Coslow and produced by Josef Berne). There are two versions to the chorus that are sung. The first goes: : Chorus; first version : Chorus; second version In

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...

, they used these lyrics: ''Mickey's Fun Songs'' and ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'' use these lyrics:

"Zip Coon"

The title of "Zip Coon" or "Old Zip Coon" was used to signify a dandified free black man in northern United States. "Zip" was a diminutive of " Scipio", a name commonly used for slaves. According to Stuart Flexner, "coon" was short for "

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

" and by 1832 meant a frontier rustic and by 1840 also a Whig. At that time, "coon" was typically used to refer to someone white, it was only in 1848 when a clear use of the word "coon" to refer to a black person in a derogative sense appeared. It is possible that the negative racial connotation of the word may have evolved from "Zip Coon" and the common use of the word "coon" in minstrel shows. An alternative suggestion of the word's origin to mean a black person is that it was derived from ''

barracoon A barracoon (a corruption of Portuguese ''barracão'', an augmentative form of the Catalan loanword ''barraca'' ('hut') through Spanish ''barracón'') is a type of barracks used historically for the internment of slaves or criminals. In the Atl ...

'', an enclosure for slaves in transit increasingly used in the years before

, but on the stage, "coon" could have been used earlier as a black character was named Raccoon in a 1767 colonial comic opera. "Zip Coon" was sung to the same tune as "Turkey in the Straw", and it was first performed by Bob Farrell, and popularized by

in the 1830s. This version was first published between 1829 and 1834 in either New York or

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. Dixon, and Bob Farrell and George Nicholls have separately claimed to have written the song, and the dispute is not resolved.

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

songwriter

Daniel Decatur Emmett Daniel Decatur Emmett (October 29, 1815June 28, 1904) was an American songwriter, entertainer, and founder of the first troupe of the blackface minstrel tradition, the Virginia Minstrels. He is most remembered as the composer of the song "Dixie ...

is sometimes erroneously credited as the song's author. "Zip Coon" has a vocal range of an octave and a minor sixth. Both the verse and the chorus end on the tonic, and both begin a major third above the tonic. In the verse, the highest note is a fifth above the tonic and the lowest is a minor sixth below. In the chorus, the highest note is an octave above the last note, and the lowest is the last note itself. The song stays in key throughout. The song gave rise to the blackface minstrel show character

Zip Coon "Turkey in the Straw" is an American folk song that first gained popularity in the 19th century. Early versions of the song were titled "Zip Coon", which were first published around 1834 and performed in minstrel shows, with different people c ...

. "Zip Coon" has many different lyrical versions. Thomas Birch published a version in 1834, while

published a version called "Ole Zip Coon" with different lyrics circa 1835. Both Birch's and Dixon's versions keep the same chorus and the first four stanzas: : Chorus : Chorus : Chorus In subsequent stanzas, both lyricists talk about events in the life of

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

, Birch of President Jackson's battle with the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ...

and Dixon of General Jackson at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

. When the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...

began, Dixon published a new version of "Zip Coon" with updated lyrics pertaining to the war: The chorus "Zip a duden duden duden zip a duden day" likely influenced the song "

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is a song composed by Allie Wrubel with lyrics by Ray Gilbert for the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie ''Song of the South'', sung by James Baskett. For "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", the film won the Academy Award for Best O ...

" in

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's 1946 adaptation of

Joel Chandler Harris Joel Chandler Harris (December 9, 1848 – July 3, 1908) was an American journalist, fiction writer, and folklorist best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, where he served as an apprentice on a planta ...

Uncle Remus Uncle Remus is the fictional title character and narrator of a collection of African American folktales compiled and adapted by Joel Chandler Harris and published in book form in 1881. Harris was a journalist in post-Reconstruction era Atlanta, a ...

tales, ''

Song of the South ''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American live-action/animated musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on the Uncle Remus stories as adapted b ...

''. Another version of "Old Zip Coon" with new self-referencing lyrics by David K. Stevens (1860–1946) was published in the ''Boy Scout Song Book'' (1920). Stevens' lyrics contain no direct racial references other than the title of the song itself:

"Nigger Love a Watermelon, Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Nigger Love a Watermelon, Ha! Ha! Ha!" is a 1916 adaptation of "Turkey in the Straw", performed by Harry C. Browne and produced by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

. It has since been named as the most racist song title in the United States for its use of

watermelon stereotype The watermelon stereotype is a stereotype that African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Afric ...

s. The song was released in March 1916. It was performed by the silent movie actor Harry C. Browne. It was released with "

Old Dan Tucker "Old Dan Tucker," also known as "Ole Dan Tucker," "Dan Tucker," and other variants, is an American popular song. Its origins remain obscure; the tune may have come from oral tradition, and the words may have been written by songwriter and perfor ...

" as a B-side. The music for it was based upon "Turkey in the Straw" and performed with Browne singing baritone whilst playing a banjo with orchestral accompaniment. A contemporary review in July 1916 called it: "... a treat to tickle the musical palates of those who love to listen to the old-time slave-day river songs". Columbia Records continued to promote it up to 1925. The song used racist stereotypes in it with Browne describing watermelons as "colored man's ice-cream". Radio DJ

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

, who had played older songs with racial overtones on the radio, refused to ever play this song because he felt that the title showed it was always intended to be hateful. In 2014, it was asserted that the jingle used by many

ice cream truck An ice cream van ( British) or ice cream truck (North American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or ne ...

s in the United States was based upon this song. It has been argued that this allegation is incorrect, as the "Turkey in the Straw" tune had been used long before this song was created. Nevertheless, because of the association, a number of American ice cream truck companies ceased to use the "Turkey in the Straw" melody for their jingles.

Performance history

Decca 9-27306 - TurkeyInTheStraw-OldHenCackle-Fiddler'sDream

Artistic and popular use of "Turkey in the Straw" through the years has established the song as an item of Americana. * "Turkey in the Straw" was

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...

's favorite song. * “Turkey in the Straw” was the signature song of Billy Golden, an American

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

comic who was a popular recording artist from the 1890s to the 1910s. * In 1909, the composer

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed ...

incorporated the tune, along with other vernacular American melodies, into his orchestral Symphony No. 2. * According to survivors, "Turkey in the Straw" was among songs played by the

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

of the RMS ''Titanic'' at one point during the sinking on April 14 and 15, 1912. * "Nigger Love a Watermelon" (1916) was recorded by Harry C. Browne. * In 1920, American composer

Leo Wood Leo Wood ''(aka'' Jack Wood; ''né'' Leopold Wood Lantheaume; 2 September 1882 – 2 August 1929) was an American songwriter and lyricist. Career Leo Wood was born in San Francisco to Louis Ferdinand Lantheaume and Hannah Marcuse Wood ''(maiden) ...

wrote the lyrics to Otto Bonnell's version of "Turkey In The Straw, A Rag-Time Fantasy" which was published by Leo Feist Inc., New York. * In early June 1922 Texas champion breakdown fiddler

Eck Robertson Alexander Campbell "Eck" Robertson (born November 20, 1887 in Delaney, Arkansas, died February 15, 1975 in Borger, Texas) was an American fiddle player, mostly known for commercially recording the first country music songs in 1922 with Henry Gi ...

, together with Henry C. Guililand, made America's first commercial recordings of fiddle music for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York City, featuring "Turkey In The Straw" as one of their four song selections. * In 1925, American composer Joseph W. Clokey (stepfather of

Gumby ''Gumby'' is an American clay animation franchise, centered on the titular green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey. Gumby stars in two television series, the feature-length '' Gumby: The Movie'', and other media. He im ...

creator

Art Clokey Arthur "Art" Clokey (born Arthur Charles Farrington; October 12, 1921 – January 8, 2010) was an American pioneer in the popularization of stop-motion clay animation, best known as the creator of the character Gumby and the original voice o ...

) wrote the choral ballad "The Musical Trust", which incorporated "Turkey in the Straw" (with a reference to ''Zip Coon'') and other traditional American tunes. * In 1926, "Turkey in the Straw" was recorded by the old-time band

Gid Tanner James Gideon "Gid" Tanner (June 6, 1885 – May 13, 1960) was an American old-time fiddler and one of the earliest stars of what would come to be known as country music. His band, the Skillet Lickers, was one of the most innovative and influ ...

& His

Skillet Lickers The Skillet Lickers were an old-time band from Georgia, United States. When Gid Tanner teamed up with blind guitarist Riley Puckett and signed to Columbia in 1924, they created the label's earliest so-called "hillbilly" recording. Gid Tanner ...

with Riley Puckett. * In 1928, this was used as the base melody in the famous early

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

cartoon ''

Steamboat Willie ''Steamboat Willie'' is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon ...

''. The rendering of the tune in the cartoon is noted for being one of the first instances of successful synchronization in animated films. The tune became prominent in Disney's animated series and was used in many subsequent cartoons in the 1920s and 1930s, including the first Mickey Mouse cartoon in color, '' The Band Concert'', in which

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

annoys an orchestra by repeatedly playing the tune over their efforts at

The William Tell Overture The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera ''William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, af ...

''. * In 1942,

Carson Robison Carson Jay Robison ( – ) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although his impact is generally forgotten today, he played a major role in promoting country music in its early years through numerous recordings and radio appear ...

performed an anti-Axis Powers version of "Turkey in the Straw". * The full melody is quoted in a fiddle and whistling solo in the " Skip To My Lou" number from the 1944 musical film ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...

'' starring

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

. * Erno Dohnanyi used the tune (and also two other traditional American folk tunes) in his composition ''American Rhapsody'' (1953). * The melody is played by many

ice cream trucks An ice cream van (British) or ice cream truck (North American) is a commercial vehicle that serves as a mobile retail outlet for ice cream, usually during the spring and summer. Ice cream vans are often seen parked at public events, or near ...

; in

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

's 1942 novel '' The High Window'', the protagonist recounts "The Good Humor man went by in his little blue and white wagon, playing 'Turkey in the Straw' on his music box". * The instrumental "Hoedown" from

Emerson Lake and Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, per ...

's album ''

Trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

'' quotes the melody. * The 1990 film ''

Back to the Future Part III ''Back to the Future Part III'' is a 1990 American science fiction Western film and the final installment of the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Ste ...

'' featured this song, which was arranged by

Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Bac ...

and

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sou ...

. * The 1990s animated television series ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, until ...

'' used the tune for "Wakko's America", in which Wakko names all 50-state capitals in the form of a song. * Adult Swim's television series ''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The write ...

'' used the song as a part of their '' Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III'' special, in which

Emperor Palpatine Sheev Palpatine, also known by his Sith name Darth Sidious, is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. Initially credited as the Emperor in the original trilogy films, ''The Empire Strikes ...

lists the lesser known ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' orders, 1–65. * The

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles ...

song " Ningen Kankei No Way Way" uses the melody of tune (also known as the "Oklahoma Mixer" in Japan) during the dance break. *

had a rewritten version of this song which was sung in the direct-to-video films such as "Barney's Adventure Bus" and "Let's Go to the Farm, as well as the Season 5 episode "Howdy Friends!" and the Season 8 episode "Squares, Squares, Everywhere!".

References

External links

Turkey in the Straw

*
NPR: Recall That Ice Cream Truck Song? We Have Unpleasant News For You

The New Republic: That Viral Story About the Racist Ice Cream Song Is Wrong
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkey In The Straw American folk songs American country music songs Blackface minstrel songs American children's songs Traditional children's songs 19th-century songs 1923 singles 1926 singles Songs of the American Civil War Year of song unknown Thanksgiving songs