The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven

The turkey shot out of the oven and rocketed into the air,

It knocked every plate off the table and partly demolished a chair.

It ricocheted into a corner and burst with a deafening boom,

Then splattered all over the kitchen, completely obscuring the room.

It stuck to the walls and the windows, it totally coated the floor,

There was turkey attached to the ceiling, where there'd never been turkey before.

It blanketed every appliance, It smeared every saucer and bowl,

There wasn't a way I could stop it, that turkey was out of control.

I scraped and I scrubbed with displeasure, and thought with chagrin as I mopped,

That I'd never again stuff a turkey, with popcorn that hadn't been popped.

by Jack Prelutsky

Over the River!

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 -
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,
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ding,"
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river, and through the wood,
Trot fast, and dapple-gray!
Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood -
And straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!

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!

By: Lydia Marie Child

When I was growing up, we always went to my maternal grandmother's house every Thanksgiving.  We lived near Birmingham in Garywood (Hueytown) and my grandmother lived in the outskirts of West Blocton on Smith Hill.  Without fail, our family would sing this song in the car on our way.  It seemed fitting since we were traveling through more rural country.  Thinking about this always brings back good memories for me. 

We Gather Together

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
he chastens and hastens his will to make known;
the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:
sing praise to his Name, he forgets not his own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;
so from the beginning the fight we were winning:
thou, Lord, wast at our side: all glory be thine!

We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
and pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation:
thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

We Gather Together is a Christian hymn of Netherlands origin written in 1597 by Adrianus Lalerius to celebrate Dutch victory over Spanish forces in the Battle of Turnhout. In the United States, it is popularly associated with Thanksgiving Day and is often sung at family meals and at religious services on that day.

At the time the hymn was written, the Dutch were engaged in a war of national liberation against the Catholic King Philip II of Spain. "Wilt heden nu treden," "We gather together" resonated because under the Spanish King, Dutch Protestants were forbidden to gather for worship. The hymn first appeared in print in a 1626 collection of Dutch patriotic songs, "Nederlandtsch Gedencklanck."

According to the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, We Gather Together first appeared in an American hymnal in 1903. The hymn gained popularity, especially in services of Thanksgiving.