Thanksgiving Fusion Special -- Emily Dickinson in the Straw

[gonzo914]

Yes, Emily Dickinson does go well with The Yellow Rose of Texas, but she goes even better with Turkey in the Straw --

Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –

Turkey in the Straw (haw, haw, haw)
Turkey in the Hay (hey, hey, hey)
Roll it up and kick it up and tie it in a ball
And play an old tune called Turkey in the Straw.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,
And Mourners to and fro
Kept treading – treading – till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through –
And when they all were seated down,
A Service, like a Drum –
Kept beating – beating – till I thought
My Mind was going numb –

Turkey in the Straw (haw, haw, haw)
Turkey in the Sea (hee, hee, hee)
Rack ‘em up, and stack ‘em up, a gee and a haw,
And sing a little tune called Turkey In The Straw.

This is my letter to the world,
That never wrote to me,—
The simple news that Nature told,
With tender majesty.
Her message is committed now
To hands I cannot see;
For love of her, sweet countrymen,
Judge tenderly of me!

Turkey in the Straw (haw, haw, haw)
Turkey in the Well (Ain’t gonna tell)
And the bullfrog danced with his mother-in-law
And the song they were dancing to was Turkey in the Straw.

Post your favorite Emily Dickinson poem set to Turkey in the Straw here.

(Brought you by gonzo914 productions, the same fine people who brought you Sam McGee of the County Down.)

[fearfaoin]

Yes, Emily Dickinson does go well with The Yellow Rose of Texas...

I want to sing that to "Oh, Susanna"...

Here's one (somewhat abbreviated):

• SUCCESS is counted sweetest
  By those who ne’er succeed.
  To comprehend a nectar
  Requires sorest need.
  
  Not one of all the purple host
  Who took the flag to-day
  Can tell the definition,
  So clear, of victory,
  
  Turkey in the Straw (haw, haw, haw)
  Turkey in the Zoo (hoo, hoo, hoo)
  Roll 'em up and twist 'em up a high tuck a-haw
  And hit 'em up a tune called "Turkey in the Straw"

[gonzo914]

No more takers on Emily? Then how about Coleridge?

Albatross in the Straw

There was water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
The very deep did rot : O Christ !
That ever this should be !
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.
Turkey in the straw (haw, haw, haw)
Turkey lost at sea (hee, hee, hee)
And the mariner danced with his mother-in-law
While the albatross was singing 'bout the turkey in the straw.

[fearfaoin]

No more takers on Emily? Then how about Coleridge?

Albatross in the Straw

Stunning!

Howzabout a little Burns:

• Once I lov'd a bonie lass,
  Ay, and I love her still;
  And whilst that virtue warms my breast,
  I'll love my handsome Nell.
  
  As bonie lasses I hae seen,
  And mony full as braw;
  But, for a modest gracefu' mein,
  The like I never saw.
  
  Oh! Turkey in the Brae (hae, hae, hae)
  Turkey in the skee (hee, hee, hee)
  Bullfrag danced wi' his darlin's ma'
  And they ael sung a chune called "Turkey in the Straw"

The Ballad of John Barleycorn woks, too
(Burns + Traffic = Awesome):

• There was three kings into the east,
  Three kings both great and high,
  And they hae sworn a solemn oath
  John Barleycorn should die.
  
  They took a plough and plough'd him down,
  Put clods upon his head,
  And they hae sworn a solemn oath
  John Barleycorn was dead.
  
  Oh! Turkey in the beer (heer, heer, heer)
  Turkey in the Haggis (ack, ack, ack)
  Stuff a sheep stomach, and tie it up raw,
  And we ael sang a chune called "Turkey in the Straw"

[gonzo914]

Burns -- excellent.

How about Wordsworth (not easy to find) -- Slumber in the Straw

A slumber did my spirit seal;
I had no human fears:
She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.
No motion has she now, no force;
She neither hears nor sees;
Rolled round in earth's diurnal course
With rocks, and stones, and trees.
Turkey in the grave (who ya gonna save?)
Turkey in the trees (my, mercy me)
And my spirit danced with my mother-in-law
While the seal sang a song called Turley in the Straw

And here's what inspired me -- Sally in The Garden with the Hog-Eyed Man/Worried in the Straw. It was mentioned in the Yeats bluegrass thread, but there was no link directly to it.

And finally, for now at least -- Possum in the Straw

Oh, roar a roar for Norah,
Norah Alice in the night,
For she has seen Aurora
Borealis burning bright.
A furore for our Norah!
And applaud auroras seen:
O where throughout the summer
has our Borealis been?
Pogo in the straw (gosh a mickle, dickle pickle)
Pogo in the swamp (seem a little damp)
As the critters all danced with their mothers-in-laws,
The song they was singin' was turkey in the straw.

[carrie]

Well, this one fits to Turkey in the Straw, but I think its truer meaning comes out when it's sung to the tune of Old Joe Clark. I particularly like the way the emphasis on "me I" at the end of the 3rd stanza explodes with meaning. Can't you hear that jaw harp a'twangin' and a'buzzin'?

I heard a fly buzz when I died;
The stillness round my form
Was like the stillness in the air
Between the heaves of storm.

The eyes beside had wrung them dry,
And breaths were gathering sure
For that last onset, when the king
Be witnessed in his power.

Round and round Old Joe Clark
Round and round I say,
Round and round Old Joe Clark,
I ain't got long to stay.

I willed my keepsakes, signed away
What portion of me I
Could make assignable,-and then
There interposed a fly,

With blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz,
Between the light and me;
And then the windows failed, and then
I could not see to see.

Round and round Old Joe Clark
Round and round I say,
Round and round Old Joe Clark,
I ain't got long to stay.


Carol

[gonzo914]

Old Joe Clark -- bloody brilliant, cskinner.