Music

If Gadsden native Jim Connor hadn't bothered to clean out a guitar case before selling it, his classic song “Grandma's Feather Bed,” made popular by John Denver, never would have been recorded. Connor, 73, who lives on Sand Mountain, said the song began as a letter that was a poem to his grandmother, who operated a boarding house in the Woodlawn area of Birmingham. As a child, Connor would visit there, spending time with his eight cousins. Personally, I'm very thankful for this song. This tune takes me back to my childhood. We sang it in chorus and my aunt would play it every Christmas, the whole family would chime in. (Source) Lyrics for "Grandma's Feather Bed" When I was a little bitty boy Just up off-a floor We used to go down to Grandma's house Every month end or so We had chicken pie and country ham And homemade butter on the bread But the best darn thing about Grandma's house Was her great big feather bed It was nine feet high and six feet wide Soft as a downy chick It was made from the feathers of forty 'leven geese Took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick It'd hold eight kids, four hound dogs And a piggy we stole from the shed We didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun On Grandma's feather bed After the supper we'd sit around the fire The old folks'd spit and chew Pa would talk about the farm and the war And Granny'd sing a ballad or two I'd sit and listen and watch the fire the middle of the old feather bed It was nine feet high and six feet wide Soft as a downy chick It was made from the feathers of forty'leven geese Took a whole bolt of cloth for the tick It'd hold eight kids, four hound dogs And a piggy we stole from the shed We didn't get much sleep but we had a lot of fun On Grandma's feather bed Well I love my Ma, an' I love my Pa Love Granny and Grandpa too Been fishing with my uncle, I wrestled with my cousin I even kissed Aunt Lou oooh But if ever had to make a choice I guess it ought to be said That I'd trade them all plus the gal down the road For Grandma's feather bed RELATED: Listen To John Denver’s Unreleased Judy Collins Cover “The Blizzard”