Gold Spoons vs. Hard Cider

DESCRIPTION: "In a cabin made of logs, By the river side, There the Honest Farmer lives, Free from sloth and pride." This contrasts to the "Tinsell'd finery" of Martin (van Buren). "THe farmer" eats crackers, cheese, cider. Martin's lackeys block the farmer's way
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1840 (Poughkeepsie Journal, according to Nestler)
KEYWORDS: political nonballad food farming
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Dec 2, 1840 - William Henry Harrison defeats Martin Van Buren
Mar 4, 1841 - Harrison (the first Whig to be elected President) is inaugurated. He gives a rambling inaugural address in a rainstorm and catches cold
April 4, 1841 - Harrison dies of pneumonia, making him the first president to fail to complete his term. After some hesitation, Vice President John Tyler is allowed to succeed as President
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
ADDITIONAL: Harold Nestler, "Songs from the Hudson Valley" (article in _New York Folklore Quarterly_, Volume V, #2, Summer 1949), pp. 106-107, "Gold Spoons vs. Hard Cider" (1 text)
A. B. Norton, _Songs of the People in the Log Cabin Days of Old Tippecanoe_, A. B. Norton & Co., 1888 (available on Google Books), p. 73, "Gold Spoons vs. Hard Cider" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Old Tippecanoe (I)" (subject of the Harrison/van Buren election) and references there
NOTES [41 words]: Lest we think that Donald Trump is the only President who had no acquaintance with the truth, this song is, for all practical purposes, pure lies. Martin van Buren grew up fairly poor, and William Henry Harrison was not a poor but honest farmer. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.4
File: Nest106

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