St. Louis Genealogical Society Blog: Another Holiday Tradition: The Thanksgiving Song

Do you remember learning that sweet Thanksgiving song when you were younger? Did you hum "Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go" long before you ever knew that horses were harnessed to sleighs in the days before people just got into their cars and drove to Grandma's? Like many holiday traditions, this well-worn one is not the same as when it started, and so we thought you'd like a little background before you start humming this week. We hope you still have a grandparent to go to for your holiday, or, if you are the grandparent, that your family will be making a trek to your comfortable home for a delicious holiday meal. Meanwhile, here's some fun information on this beloved holiday classic.

The Thanksgiving song was first published in 1844 as a poem written by Lydia Maria Child for a children’s book of poetry entitled Flowers for Children, volume 2. Originally titled “The New England Boy’s Song About Thanksgiving Day,” it was a poem based on Ms. Child’s memories of visiting her grandfather, possibly at the Paul Curtis house in Medford, Maryland. Although she is not a person most of us have heard of, Ms. Child was a novelist, journalist, teacher, poet, and a fervent abolitionist.

Ms. Child's twelve-verse poem was set to music by a composer whose name has been lost to time and has also undergone some noticeable changes:

Note the title; it's "through the wood," NOT woods.
Also note that the family was traveling to Grandfather's home, not Grandmother's, likely since women in 1844 seldom owned property!
In today’s warm world, we don’t often get snow in November anymore, but in the mid-nineteenth century, New England was in the midst of a “little ice age,” and much colder than it is now.

Most of us have probably never seen all of the verses; we are most familiar with the first few. So here, for your Thanksgiving pleasure, is the whole poem as it was first written. We hope it puts a smile on your face!

Over the River and Through the Wood

Over the river and through the wood,
To Grandfather’s house we go;
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river and through the wood,
To Grandfather’s house away!

We would not stop
For doll or top,
For ‘tis Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river and through the wood—
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the wood,
With a clear blue winter sky.
The dogs do bark
And children hark,
As we go jingling by.

Over the river and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play––
Hear the bells ring,
Ting-a-ling ding
Hurray for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river and through the wood—
No matter for winds that blow;
Or if we get
The sleigh upset
Into a bank of snow.

Over the river and through the wood,
To see little John and Ann.
We will kiss them all
And play snow-ball
And stay as long as we can.

Over the river and through the wood,
Trot fast my dapple grey!
Spring over the ground
Like a hunting hound!
For ‘tis Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river and through the wood
And straight through the barn-yard gate;
We seem to go
Extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the wood,
Old Jowler hears our bells;
He shakes his paw
With a loud bow-wow,
And thus the news he tells.

Over the river and through the wood—
When Grandmother sees us come,
She will say, “Oh, dear,
The children are here,
Bring pie for everyone.”

Over the river and through the wood—
Now Grandmother’s cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

If you get a chance to visit with your family this week, see if you can share family stories while you enjoy a bountiful meal or two. However you spend your Thanksgiving, those of us at St. Louis Genealogical Society wish you a very happy holiday!