At breakfast, mama tells us all
she’s making soup today,
and we all know just what that means,
we’d best stay out of her way.
‘Cause when my mama’s making soup,
she makes a great big pot,
and some of it gets canned in jars
because there’s such a lot.
From the garden come the carrots,
String beans and tomatoes,
From the cellar pa brings out
a bushel of potatoes.
From the hen house mama takes
a hen that isn’t laying
and as she wrings the chicken’s neck,
she tells it to start praying;
From her herb plot by the door,
she takes parsley and some onions,
checking stems so carefully,
she only wants the young ones.
She tells me to fetch water from
the well and fill the pot,
and I ask pa to help me out,
because it weighs a lot.
Mama puts her apron on and
sharpens up her butcher knife,
When mama gets that soup look on,
You’d best run for your life
She’s peeling carrots, chopping beans,
and crushing up tomatoes,
and all the while she’s peeling and
chopping up potatoes.
She throws the peelings out the kitchen door
and all the hens come running,
and gather round to hunt and peck,
where the cats are sunning.
Pa goes to fetch the mason jars
stored down n the cellar,
and brings them up for me to wash,
Cause I’m such a cordial helper;
Before long, Mama’s kettle boils
with vegetables and chicken,
and anyone who crosses ma
is sure to get a lickin!
The canning jars go into a pot
and mama boils them too,
and when the soup has cooked enough,
there’s plenty more to do.
Pa and I help mama fill
the jars up to the top
and get the canner boiling
Til’ the water’s really hot.
When the jars have boiled enough,
and are lined up on the table,
we all have a bite of soup.
and some bread if we are able.
Sandra Lee Smith
Originally posted June 9, 2010
Updated September 15, 2018
