Turkey In The Straw

"Turkey In The Straw" is one of the most famous and well known of American folk songs, both inside and outside of the USA. Like many folk songs, its origins are lost in antiquity, but it appears to have originated with the blackfaced minstrels of the 1820s and 1830s.

Although originally an early coon song, it has been "cleaned up" over the years, "Turkey in de straw, turkey in de hay" becoming "Turkey in the hay, in the hay, in the hay", etc. There are also many different versions, including some that are not suitable for children!

As of December 2010, the British Library catalogue listed over two dozen entries with this title - including a 1979 musical comedy, and what appears to be a 1934 arrangement of the original song "From 'way down South. Turkey in de Straw" for piano by Oscar Rasbach, which was published by G. Schirmer of New York.

There is also "Old Zip Coon. Turkey in the Straw. Minstrel Song for Two-part Chorus", S. A. Setting by B. Treharne, published by Willis Music of Cincinnati in 1936. (Ie two songs with the same melody). The original melody was actually called "Natchez Under The Hill".

Bryceson Treharne (1879-1948) was a classical composer, and arguably the most famous son of Merthyr Tydfil (after Timothy Evans!). After the First World War he relocated to the United States.

Zip Coon was the alter ego of Jim Crow, another of those best forgotten racially derogatory stereotypes that persisted until well into the Twentieth Century.
Written in 2/4 or 4/4 time, "Turkey In The Straw" is probably best known both as a song and as instrumental for solo violin.

An earlier arrangement by Otto Bonnell, is subtitled "A Rag-Time Fantasie", copyright 1899, was transferred to Will Rossiter of Chicago, and assigned in 1904 to Leo Feist. Here's the politically incorrect cover of the sheet music for that version.

A slightly risqué version was recorded on film by The Original Schnickelfritz Band in 1942.

View Disney video here: http://youtu.be/NhwWlqTE8bU