I think additional information would be useful for this entry.
The tune for “Turkey in the Straw” sounds identical, or very similar, to an older tune called “The Rose Tree,” which can be dated from at least the late 1700s. The same melody was also used for a song called “Zip Coon,” which dates from the 1830s, more-or-less contemporaneously with “Turkey in the Straw.” “Turkey” was (and remains) a popular fiddle and children’s song, often with humorous nonsense lyrics. “Zip Coon’s” lyrics were racist caricatures of black men. That song was popular in minstrelsy, usually performed by white men in blackface.
It has sometimes been suggested that “Turkey” was based on “Zip Coon,” but there seems no actual evidence for this. It seems more likely (at least to me) that each independently borrowed its melody from “Rose Tree.” (Or, of course, that similarity could be coincidental, too, but I see little reason to challenge the predominant view of this.)
In about 1951, Vaughn Horton wrote a song called “Cock-A-Doodle-Do” which uses (almost) the same tune as “Turkey in the Straw.” Its lyrics are different but “fowl-based,” and by 1950 “Zip Coon” was all but unknown, so it seems appropriate to consider “Cock-A-Doodle-Do” an adaptation of “Turkey” rather than “Coon.” I know of two releases, both in 1951, one by Louis Jordan and the other by Red Foley.
The same tune has also been used for a group of songs generally called “Do Your Ears Hang Low.” Variations can be dated to World War I. Many versions are obscene. The more popular modern versions are children’s “camp songs” with silly lyrics. It seems likely that the tune used in “Ears” would have been borrowed from either “Turkey” or “Coon,” as “Rose Tree” had gone out of fashion by the time “Ears” became popular. It is unknown whether “Ears” was based more on “Turkey” or “Coon,” although the former seems more plausible. In 2006, Jibbs (Jovan Campbell) released a rap variation called “Chain Hang Low.”
Thus, I propose the following pedigree:
“Rose Tree” > “Turkey in the Straw” and “Zip Coon.”
“Turkey in the Straw > Do Your Ears Hang Low” and “Cock-A-Doodle-Do.”
“Do Your Ears Hang Low” > “Chain Hang Low.”
Sources and authorities:
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/05/turkey-in-the-straw/
https://www.loc.gov/folklife/LP/AmFiddleTunesLiner_opt.pdf?loclr=blogflt
https://www.loc.gov/item/sm1834.360780/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Your_Ears_Hang_Low%3F
https://www.discogs.com/Sharon-Lois-Bram-Stay-Tuned/release/2806455
Sharon, Lois & Bram
Vaughn Horton
https://www.discogs.com/Louis-Jordan-And-His-Orchestra-Cock-A-Doodle-Doo/release…
https://www.discogs.com/Red-Foley-Sugarfoot-Rag-Square-Dance-Cock-A-Doodle-Doo/r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_Hang_Low
https://www.discogs.com/artist/703922-Jibbs
