Farm Folklore

The Crows are in the Corn

A Georgia Tall Tale
retold by
S. E. Schlosser

It happened in Georgia not long ago, that a farmer and his wife decided to sleep late, like the rich folk do. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, the kind that brings all God's creatures out to play. But not these farm folk. No, they just slept and slept and slept.
The crows were gathered in a large oak tree, having a big morning meeting. They noticed that there was nobody stirring around the house, and that the corn was ripe in the field. So they adjourned their meeting mighty quick and flew over to the field to eat some corn.
"Caw-n, caw-n," they cackled excitedly.
The old rooster woke up to their activities and started to crow excitedly to the sleeping family. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!"
The farmer and his wife just kept sleeping, and the crows kept eating the corn.
"Caw-n, caw-n," they called.
"The crows are in the corn! The crows are in the corn!" The rooster cock-a-doodle-dooed with all his might.
The farmer kept snoring, and his wife just rolled over and pulled the pillow over her head.
The rooster was frantic. He tried once more: "The crows are in the corn. They're pulling up the corn!"
The farmer and his wife kept right on sleeping. And the crow's kept right on eating.
The rooster quit crowing in disgust. Nothing would wake the farmer and his wife.
The old turkey came strolling into the yard and watched the proceedings. Finally he said to the rooster: "The corns all et up, all et up, all et up."
When the farmer and his wife finally rolled out of bed, they found that the corn was all gone. That is why in Georgia we say "the crows are in the corn" when it is time to get up. 

The farm folklore I chose to write about is a Georgia Tall Tale called “The Crows are in the Corn,” retold by S.E. Schlosser.  The tale starts off by saying that in Georgia, a farmer and his wife decided to sleep in one day “like the rich folk do.”  I thought this was an interesting phrase, and farmers do not get to sleep in, so it would feel like a real luxury to be able to do this.  

Next, it mentions that it was a “beautiful Sunday morning, the kind that brings all God’s creatures out to play.”  And then it says that the farmer and his wife were not among these creatures, as they continued to sleep and sleep. 

Then it talks about the crows having their big morning meeting in a big oak tree.  I thought this was interesting, because in an article entitled, “Getting to know your neighborhood crow,” Suzanne Hogan points out that crows do congregate, and have done so for over 50 years.  Her article also states that Kevin McGowan of Cornell’s lab of ornithology says that, “Crows don’t like to do anything alone or quietly.”  

The tall tale continues that the crows quickly noticed that nobody was up or moving around in the house, and “the corn was ripe in the field.”  Although crows are considered a nuisance by some, or even a bad omen, they are also known for their intelligence.  This is shown in the tall tale, and the crows quickly “adjourn” their meeting to fly over to the corn fields to eat. “Caw-n, caw-n, they cackled excitedly.”

Next the rooster wakes up and catches on to what the crows are doing.  He repeatedly tried to wake the farmer and his wife, but they keep sleeping while the crows keep eating.  “The crows are in the corn!  The crows are in the corn!”  The story continues with the farmer snoring away and the wife pulling her pillow over her head to try to drown out the noise.  This highlights the constant hard work that farmers do, and what a precious thing sleep is, as they usually do not get enough of it.  Roosters are one of those iconic symbols on a farm.  The rooster crowing at dawn everyday could be seen as a symbol of predictability and the reassurance of one of the few things that doesn’t change.  Perhaps others would view it as a regular annoyance, or an unpleasant reminder that the luxury of sleep and dreams were over, and of the never-ending work and chores on a farm. 

So after not too long Mr. Rooster realized that he would not be successful in waking up the farmer and his wife and “quit crowing in disgust.”  The crows continued to eat the corn.  This also reminded me of the ongoing battles that farmers have whether it be pests, weeds, the weather, or other things.  A farmer can never really just sit back and relax and not worry about anything, because there is always something that needs to be done, and there is always something to worry about.

Finally, the tale says the “old turkey” came into the yard to watch what was going on. He eventually told the rooster that the corn was “all et up.” It ends with the farmer and his wife finally rolling out of bed, only to discover that their corn is all gone, having been eaten up by the crows.  The story ends by saying that’s why in Georgia, people will say “the crows are in the corn” when it’s time to get up.

                                                                    Works Cited

Hogan, Suzanne. “Getting to Know Your Neighborhood Crow.” kcur.org. Web. 14 Jun. 2015.

Schlosser, S. E. “The Crows are in the Corn: A Georgia Tall Tale.” americanfolklore.net. Web. 14 Jun. 2015