Lyrics as published in an 1866 Southern newspaper, humorously listing lyricist as "A.Pinder" (pindar being another word for peanut) and music by "P.Nut". Verse 1 :Sitting by the roadside on a summer's day :Chatting with my mess-mates, passing time away :Lying in the shadows underneath the trees :Goodness, how delicious, eating goober peas. :Chorus ::Peas, peas, peas, peas ::Eating goober peas ::Goodness, how delicious, ::Eating goober peas.
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The Reverend Wayland Fuller Dunaway recorded a stanza of the song he heard while imprisoned at the Union prison on Johnson's Island, Ohio, during the latter part of the Civil War. Dunaway had been a captain in Co. I, 40th Virginia Infantry, when captured during the Battle of Falling Waters in July 1863. His stanza: :But now we are in prison and likely long to stay, :The Yankees they are guarding us, no hope to get away; :Our rations they are scanty, 'tis cold enough to freeze,-- :I wish I was in Georgia, eating goober peas. ::Peas, peas, peas, peas, ::Eating goober peas; :I wish I was in Georgia, eating goober peas.
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"Goober Peas" () is a traditional folk song probably originating in the Southern United States. It was popular with Confederate soldiers during the American Civil War, and is still sung frequently in the South to this day. It has been recorded and sung by scores of artists, including Burl Ives, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Rusty Draper and The Kingston Trio. The lyrics of "Goober Peas" are a description of daily life during the last few years of the Civil War for Southerners.
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After being cut off from the rail lines and their farm land, they had little to eat aside from boiled peanuts (or "goober peas") which often served as an emergency ration. Peanuts were also known as pindars and goobers. As peanuts (or ground nuts) are a common food in West and Central Africa, enslaved Africans provided these names to the U.S.'s vocabulary. Publication date on the earliest sheet music is 1866, published by A. E. Blackmar in New Orleans.
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It sustained 180 casualties during the Seven Days' Battles which was about half its effective force. The unit lost 4 wounded at Cedar Mountain, had 14 killed and 73 wounded at Chancellorsville, and of the 253 engaged at Gettysburg more than twenty percent were disabled. Many were captured at Sayler's Creek and only 7 men were included in the surrender on April 9, 1865. A captain in Company I, while in a Union prison, recorded an additional stanza to the popular Confederate soldier song, Goober Peas.
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Boiling peanuts has been a folk cultural practice in the Southern United States, where they were originally called goober peas, since at least the 19th century. The practice of eating boiled peanuts was likely brought by enslaved black people from West Africa, where the related bambara groundnut is a traditional staple crop. In July and August, when the peanut crops would come in, unsold and surplus peanuts would be prepared in a boiling, and extended families and neighbors would gather to share conversation and food. Like a fish fry, peanut boils have been organizing principles for social gatherings.
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Like many short stories featuring Br'er Rabbit, the tale describes one of the trickster's successful attempts to talk his way out of a difficult situation. Br'er Rabbit is sneaking into Br'er Fox's garden to steal goober peas (peanuts) when he gets caught in a snare trap laid by Br'er Fox. Suspended awkwardly in mid-air, unable to free himself, he worries what will happen when Br'er Fox finds him caught in his trap. He then sees the notoriously slow-witted Br'er Bear approaching and quickly thinks of a way to trick Br'er Bear into freeing him.
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The trio worked with the assistance of Lou Gottlieb on the song selection and the arrangements. Rehearsals were done at the Cocoanut Grove club where the group was appearing at the time. "Molly Dee" was written by John Stewart who would eventually become a member of the Trio, replacing Dave Guard. "Across the Wide Missouri" is the Trio's version of the popular American folk song "Oh Shenandoah". Although credited to Dave Guard, “Goober Peas” dates from the Confederate South and “A Worried Man” (”Worried Man Blues”) is a song first recorded by The Carter Family in the 1930s and Woody Guthrie in the 1940s.
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