The Wonderful Soup Stone

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The Soup Stone 

There is an ancient folktale about a wanderer who pulls a magical soup stone out of his pack and shows it to the astonished villagers.

Asked to demonstrate it, he has an onlooker fetch a cauldron, into which he places the stone, with appropriate ceremony and gestures.

Now, he requisitions a bunch of carrots and several large onions from the village storehouse.

Eager volunteers contribute beans, scraps of meat, and various spices, all of which goes into the pot.

Two strapping young peasants fill the pot with water from the nearby well and hang it over the communal hearth.

The water begins to bubble, and soon a tantalizing aroma fills the air. The wanderer sniffs at the soup, tastes it, then nods sagely.

He reaches in with a ladle, removes the stone, and returns it to his pack after letting it cool.

The grateful villagers fill a large wooden bowl with the delicious soup for him, and he eats until his belly can hold no more.

His hunger satisfied, he departs, leaving behind him a wondrous tale of a magical stone that conjures up the best soup that anyone can remember.

I've played and sung this song for years but do not have any very good recordings of it. Charlotte Haskin heard me sing this at a family reunion a long time ago and wanted the lyrics.  Somewhere in my head is a blurry memory of an actual soup stone hanging in some dimly lit kitchen and I think it might have been in Grover Haner's place on South Mountain.  I remember when my mother and the Hubbard Aunt's went there to clean his house for him.  He lived alone, almost like a mountain man, and I remember Mom commenting on the greasy sheets from his bed that they had to wash....

Here are the lyrics by Shel Silverstein.

Enjoy Gerry


I swear you could taste the chicken and tomatoes
The noodles and the marrow bone,
But it really wasn't nothing but some water and potatoes
And the wonderful wonderful soup stone.

Hanging from a string in my momma's kitchen
Back in the hard time days,
Was a little old stone 'bout the size of an apple.
It was smooth and worn and grey.
There wasn't much food in my momma's kitchen,
So whenever things got tight,
Momma'd boil up some water, put in the stone
Say, "Let's have some soup tonight."

And I swear you could taste the chicken and tomatoes
And the noodles and the marrow bone.
But it really wasn't nothing but some water and potatoes,
And the wonderful wonderful soup stone.

It'd been in the family for a whole lot of years,
So we knew it was a nourishing thing.
And I remember momma as she stirred it in the water,
And we could all hear her sing.
"It's a magical stone and as long as we got it
We'll never have a hungry night.
Just add a little love to the wonderful soup stone,
And everything will be alright."

And I swear we could taste the chicken and tomatoes
And the noodles and the marrow bone.
But it really wasn't nothing but some water and potatoes,
And the wonderful wonderful soup stone.

So it carried us all through the darkening days
'Till finally the sunshine came.
And the soup stone started a'gathering dust,
But it hung there just the same.
Ever since then, Lord, the food's been plenty
But every now and then I find
That momma in the kitchen and the wonderful soup stone
Drifts across my mind.

And again I taste the chicken and tomatoes
And the noodles and the marrow bone.
But it really wasn't nothing but some water and potatoes
And the wonderful wonderful soup stone.
We were nourished by the wonderful soup stone.
Oh, the wonderful wonderful soup stone.