Infamous fiddle tune that has become the base melody for many other songs. As far as I've heard, the original verse went something like:

Oh, I had a little turkey but she wouldn't lay an egg
So I poured hot water up and down her leg
Oh, the little turkey cried and the little turkey begged
And the little turkey layed a hard-boiled egg
    Turkey in the straw, turkey in the hay,
    Roll 'em up and twist 'em up a high tuckahaw
    And twist 'em up a tune called Turkey in the Straw
American minstrel song, based on a fiddle tune called Natchez Under the Hill, which itself was based on earlier works My Grandmother Lived on Yonder Little Green and the Irish or Scottish ballad The Old Rose Tree. The tune was also popular on the fife during the Civil War. How I learned it:

The old crow flew through the country store
And he -pffft- on the counter and he -pfffft- on the floor
And he -pffft- in the coffee and he -pfffft- in the tea
and if I hadn't moved he would have -pffft- on me.

Chorus:
Turkey in the straw (ha-ha-ha)
Turkey in the hay (hey-hey-hey)
The bullfrog danced with his mother-in-law
And fiddled up a tune called
Turkey in the straw

Traditional verses:

    As I was a-gwine down the road,
    With a tired team and a heavy load,
    I crack'd my whip and the leader sprung,
    I says day-day to the wagon tongue.

    Went out to milk and I didn't know how
    I milked the goat instead of the cow
    A monkey sittin' on a pile of straw
    A-winkin' at his mother-in-law

    Met Mr. Catfish comin' down stream.
    Says Mr. Catfish, "What does you mean?"
    Caught Mr. Catfish by the snout,
    And turned Mr. Catfish wrong side out.

    Came to a river and I couldn't get across
    So I paid five dollars for a blind old hoss
    He wouldn't go ahead nor he wouldn't stand still
    So he went up and down like an old saw mill

    As I came down the new cut road,
    Met Mr. Bullfrog, met Miss Toad
    And every time Miss Toad would sing,
    Old Bullfrog cut a pigeon wing.

    Oh I jumped in the seat and I gave a little yell
    The horses ran away, broke the wagon all to hell
    Sugar in the gourd and honey in the horn
    I never been so happy since the day I was born.

Not-so-traditional verse:
    Did you ever go fishin' on a warm summer day
    When all the fish were swimmin' in the bay
    With their hands in their pockets and their pockets in their pants
    Did you ever see a fishie do the Hootchy-Kootchy dance?
Other songs with the same or similar tunes: Sources:
Nelson, Lesley. "Turkey in the Straw." Popular Songs in American History. 20 January 1999. <http://www.contemplator.com/america/turkeyis.html> 17 January 2001.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.