Tennessee Polk Salad Association

-- The title Miss Polk Salad is spelled P.O.L.K because of the Elvis Presley rendition of the song Polk Salad Annie (Lyrics by Tony Joe White)

-- The Miss in Miss Polk salad is used to represent a southern usage of the word and not to represent marital status.

Tennesse Polk Salad Assc.
P.O. Box 1006
Harriman, TN. 37748

David Webb (President)
Ron Coleman (Sec. Treasurer)

Use only 6 to 7 inch shoots before berries. ""The roots, berries, seeds, and mature stems and leaves of pokeweed are poisonous"" says Extension Foods Scientist Jean Weese. (Source: Dr. Jean Weeese, Food Scientist, Alabama Coopertive Extension System (334) 844-3269

The informatin presented on this website is offered strictly for informative and educational purposes. If you have any health related issues or questions consult your personal physcian before using any of the recipes or other information contained on this site.

Please refer all link and technical issues to the Webmaster.

All images, photos, and text on this website are owned by Rocky Top General Store and the respective photographer and/or sources. NONE of the images or photos on this site can be reused, published, or reprinted in ANY form without the written permission of the copyright holders.

~ Stories ~ Songs ~ Personal Anecdotes ~

If you like to share your songs, stories, and other polk salad related folklore with others via our website please e-mail us

PLEASE NOTE: That all information or stories on this page represent personal experiences on the part of the submitters and should note be taken to be medical or scientific fact. Please use all appropriate caution and safe handling/cooking methods when preparing polk salad.

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Polk Salad Annie - Sung by Elvis Presley, Lyrics by Tony Joe White

Elvis' Rendition Of The Song Polk Salad Annie
Sung by Elvis Presley
Lyrics by Tony Joe White

If some of ya'll never been down South too much...
I'm gonna tell you a little bit about this, so that you'll understand
What I'm talking about
Down there we have a plant that grows out in the
woods and the fields,
looks somethin' like a turnip green.
Everybody calls it Polk salad. Polk salad.
Used to know a girl that lived down there and
she'd go out in the evenings and pick a mess of it...
Carry it home and cook it for supper, 'cause that's about all they had to eat,
But they did all right.

Down in Louisiana Where the alligators grow so mean
There lived a girl that I swear to the world Made the alligators look tame

Polk salad Annie polk salad Annie
Everybody said it was a shame
Cause her mama was working on the chain-gang
(a mean, vicious woman)

Everyday 'fore supper time She'd go down by the truck patch
And pick her a mess o' Polk salad And carry it home in a tote sack

Polk salad Annie 'Gators got you granny
Everybody said it was a shame
'Cause her mama was aworkin' on the chain-gang
(a wretched, spiteful, straight-razor totin' woman,
Lord have mercy. Pick a mess of it)

Her daddy was lazy and no count
Claimed he had a bad back
All her brothers were fit for was stealin' watermelons out of my truck patch
Polk salad Annie, the gators got your granny
Everybody said it was a shame
Cause her mama was a working' on the chain gang
(Sock a little polk salad to me, you know I need a mess of it)

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Submitted By: Ejscott1@aol.com
07-27-2004

Hi,

When I lived in Tn. I cooked the Poke Stalks, like we cook okra, rolled them in corn meal and flour, and fried them in oil. Very tasty!!!

Eddie Jean Scott Simmons

Submitted By:Dorothy Blake Hughett
07-27-2004

I read your article in the Roane County News and I did not see anything about seasoning poke salad with bacon grease or fat back. The seasoning keeps it from being so toxic to your system.

I was born and raised in Morgan County and also lived in Roane County. Thanks for your time,

Dorothy Blake Hughett

CLAIM OF COPYRIGHT & NOTICE OF SUCH
NOTICE: All images, photos, and text on this website are owned by Rocky Top General Store and the respective photographer and/or sources. NONE of the images or photos on this site can be reused, published, or reprinted in ANY form without the written permission of the copyright holders. The phrases Tennesee Polk Salad Association, Miss Polk Salad, and Tennessee Polk Salad Queen, and related me rchandise and photos are the property of the Tennessee Polk Salad Association (Harriman, Tennessee). Unauthorized photography or duplication of the aforementioned phrases and/or materials will be considered a breech of our intellectual properties and well be dealt with as such. Photography by anyone other than the AUTHORIZED Polk Salad Association photographer(s) for COMMERCIAL purposes without express written permission from an authorized Polk Salad Association representative is strictly forbidden.