Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own radio show, The Wayfaring Stranger, which popularized traditional folk songs. In 1942, he appeared in Irving Berlin's This Is the Army and became a major star of CBS Radio. In the 1960s, he successfully crossed over into country music, recording hits such as "A Little Bitty Tear" and "Funny Way of Laughin'". Ives was also a popular film actor through the late 1940s and '50s. His film roles included parts in So Dear to My Heart (1948) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), as well as the role of Rufus Hannassey in The Big Country (1958), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Ives is often associated with the Christmas season. He did voice-over work as Sam the Snowman, narrator of the classic 1964 Christmas television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Ives also worked on the special's soundtrack, including the songs "A Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", both of which continue to chart annually on the Billboard holiday charts into the 2020s.
The Grey Goose
Burl Ives Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The preacher went a hunting, Lord, Lord, Lord
And he carried along a shotgun, Lord, Lord, Lord
And along came a grey goose, Lord, Lord, Lord
Well he shot down a grey goose, Lord, Lord, Lord
And the gun went a-boom-boom, Lord, Lord, Lord
And down come the grey goose, Lord, Lord, Lord
Took six weeks of falling, Lord, Lord, Lord
And they put him on the table, Lord, Lord, Lord
And your wife and my wife, Lord, Lord, Lord
There’s time for feather pickin’, Lord, Lord, Lord
But the fork wouldn’t stick it, Lord, Lord, Lord
And the knife wouldn’t cut it, Lord, Lord, Lord
And they put him in the oven, Lord, Lord, Lord
But the oven wouldn’t burn him, Lord, Lord, Lord
And they him in the hog pen, Lord, Lord, Lord
But the hog couldn’t eat it, Lord, Lord, Lord
And he broke the hogs teeth out, Lord, Lord, Lord
So they threw him in the sawmill, Lord, Lord, Lord
And the sawmill wouldn’t cut him, Lord, Lord, Lord
And he broke the saws teeth off, Lord, Lord, Lord
And the last time I seen him, Lord, Lord, Lord
She was flyin’ cross the ocean, Lord, Lord, Lord
With a long string o' goslings, Lord, Lord, Lord
And they’re all goin’ quing, quack, Lord, Lord, Lord.
"The Grey Goose" by Burl Ives is a song that tells a humorous story of a preacher who goes hunting and ends up shooting a grey goose. The song has a bouncy and catchy tune, which helps to accentuate the humorous nature of the lyrics. The preacher at first seems to be far from his duties, but the song goes on to depict his misadventures with the grey goose.
The preacher, carrying a shotgun, comes across a grey goose and shoots it, causing it to fall to the ground. As they get ready to eat the goose, they encounter an obstacle. Despite their efforts, the fork is unable to penetrate the goose's tough skin, and the knife is not sharp enough to cut it. After unsuccessful attempts at cooking and feeding it to the hogs, they take it to the sawmill. Even the sawmill is unable to cut it, and eventually, the goose makes a great escape, flying across the ocean with her goslings.
The song is a reminder that sometimes things do not go as planned, and that you cannot always predict the outcome of your actions. It also serves as a commentary on the sometimes comical nature of human's relationship with food.
Line by Line Meaning
One Sunday morning, Lord, Lord, Lord
On a Sunday morning, the story begins
The preacher went a hunting, Lord, Lord, Lord
The preacher went hunting along with his shotgun
And he carried along a shotgun, Lord, Lord, Lord
The preacher had a shotgun with him on the hunt
And along came a grey goose, Lord, Lord, Lord
A grey goose suddenly appeared
Well he shot down a grey goose, Lord, Lord, Lord
The preacher shot the goose with his shotgun
And the gun went a-boom-boom, Lord, Lord, Lord
The sound of the shotgun echoed
And down come the grey goose, Lord, Lord, Lord
The grey goose fell to the ground
Took six weeks of falling, Lord, Lord, Lord
The goose fell for six weeks
And six weeks calling, Lord, Lord, Lord
For six weeks, they searched for the goose
And they put him on the table, Lord, Lord, Lord
They placed the goose on a table
And your wife and my wife, Lord, Lord, Lord
Both wives were present
There’s time for feather pickin’, Lord, Lord, Lord
They began to pluck the goose's feathers
But the fork wouldn’t stick it, Lord, Lord, Lord
The fork couldn't penetrate the goose's skin
And the knife wouldn’t cut it, Lord, Lord, Lord
The knife was also ineffective
And they put him in the oven, Lord, Lord, Lord
They tried to cook the goose in an oven
But the oven wouldn’t burn him, Lord, Lord, Lord
The goose did not cook in the oven
And they him in the hog pen, Lord, Lord, Lord
They threw the goose in with the pigs
But the hog couldn’t eat it, Lord, Lord, Lord
Even the pigs couldn't eat the goose
And he broke the hogs teeth out, Lord, Lord, Lord
The goose broke the pig's teeth
So they threw him in the sawmill, Lord, Lord, Lord
Finally, they put the goose in the sawmill
And the sawmill wouldn’t cut him, Lord, Lord, Lord
The sawmill blades couldn't cut the goose
And he broke the saws teeth off, Lord, Lord, Lord
The goose even broke the sawmill blades
And the last time I seen him, Lord, Lord, Lord
The singer saw the goose one last time
She was flyin’ cross the ocean, Lord, Lord, Lord
The goose was flying across the ocean
With a long string o' goslings, Lord, Lord, Lord
The goose had a long line of baby geese following her
And they’re all goin’ quing, quack, Lord, Lord, Lord.
The geese were all making their distinctive sounds
Contributed by Mateo L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ColonelMarcellus
When I was very young, my parents bought our very first record player. My grandfather bought us the Burl Ives children's songs record, our first record. We played that poor record almost til it melted. The choice was understandable: my grandfather was personally acquainted with Mr Ives.
@babyamyful
I played Burl Ives for my kids when they were young and my son said in all his songs some thing dies, but i know they loved him he has this voice and that guitar or banjo that is soo darn good it dont matter it gets you going. we love him all the same.
@betsy1947
Brings back my childhood. Love it.
@kyusama347
I love this one!!
@oddish4352
I remember this album from 40+ years ago.
@johnbradley5966
My parents got me a Burl Ives album when I was kid and this was one of the songs on it.
@CGamer76
I loved this song as a kid
@THORSTENSENLBVU
great childhood memoriers, used to sing it a Thanksgiving dinner .
@roderickrayrutledge2740
Why do I know every word of this album....oh yeah, I'll be sixty next birthday! God bless grandmas.❤🙏
@Bvbb20
Brings back so many memories.