Sleepin' Over: John Denver's Grandma's 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
Just to make the tick.

It'd hold eight kids,
Four hound dogs,
And a pig we stole from the shed.
We didn't get much sleep
But we had a whole lot of fun,
On Grandma's feather bed.

As the story of this jolly song goes, John Denver heard banjo player Jim Connor perform this song about visiting his granny down in Alabama. According to Denver, it brought back memories of visiting his Oklahoma grandma, who had eleven children, eight of them boys, and the wild times all the cousins had playing and sleeping together, and he added it to his repertoire right away.

Grandma's Feather Bed, with Audio CD (John Denver Series) tells how everyone gathered in the kitchen to play and sing ("Granny sang a ballad or two") while the kids dozed off, to wake up the next morning "in the middle of the old feather bed." Fishing with the uncles and wrasslin' with the cousins was part of the fun, too, but, as the song goes, the singer would "even kiss Aunt Lou" for another night back on Granny's old feather bed.

Illustrator Christopher Canyon provides non-stop action and plenty of hilarious detail which will keep kids poring over the pictures (for example, a handmade road sign which reads "Almost to Grandma's House"). This is a great family sing-along for those "Are we there yet?" moments on long car trips to visit relatives. To make it a little easier, the book includes a CD of Denver's rousing performance of the song, and the appendix includes the words and music. Who knows? If you get enough practice along the road, Grandma may appreciate a performance from all of you when you arrive!

"I was going to write this song," said John Denver, "but Jim just beat me to it. Thanks, Jim. I couldn't have written it any better."