It stings the toes, and bites the nose! Printable lyrics to every parent and child’s favorite Thanksgiving song, ‘Over the River and Through the Wood’.
Enjoy the vivid imaginary and joyful spirit captured in Lydia Maria Child’s famous poem about visiting the grandparents for the holidays.
Over the River Printable Poem and Lyrics
Click to download the pdf printable version Over the River Printable Pdf.
Over the River and Through the Wood Song Lyrics
Over the river and through the wood
To Grandfather’s house we go.
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through 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-ling!
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!
Over the river and through the wood,
Trot fast, my 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 fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurray for the pumpkin pie!
Extra Verses for the “Long Version” of Over the River
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,
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,
Old Jowler hears our bells.
He shakes his pow, with a loud bow-wow
and thus the news he tells.
History of the Thanksgiving Poem
“Over the River and Through the Wood” is a Thanksgiving poem written by Lydia Maria Child in 1844.
The original title of the poem was “The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day” as it first appeared in the book Flowers for Children. The poem is based on her fond childhood memories of visiting her grandfather’s home for the holidays.
Beyond her famous poem, Lydia Maria Child also wrote extensively about freedom and abolishing slavery.
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by L. Maria Child, Matt Tavares
