“The Cremation of Sam McGee” by Robert Service

Earlier this month, Meghan McCain conveyed her deep love and admiration for her father, Sen. John McCain, in a powerful eulogy at Washington National Cathedral. Like a pressed flower saved between the pages of his life story, she inserted a delightfully quirky anecdote about her dad and her mother’s first date — when he recited “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” a Robert Service poem about an Alaskan prospector who welcomed his cremation as the only way to get warm in the icy North.

There are strange things done in the midnight sun

By the men who moil for gold;

The Arctic trails have their secret tales

That would make your blood run cold;

“He learned it in Hanoi while being held a prisoner of war,” Meghan explained. “A prisoner rapped it out in code over and over during years of captivity. My father knew if she would sit through that, appreciate the dark humor that had seen him through so many years of imprisonment, she might sit through a lifetime with him as well, and she did.”

Robert W. Service 1874 – 1958

The unlikely first-date icebreaker, originally published in 1907, turned up as a ground-breaking children’s book in 1986, six years after the Senator  recited the rhyming narrative to his future wife. The book was illustrated by Ted Harrison, an artist best known for his vibrant interpretations of the Canadian North. Harrison’s broad brushstrokes in unconventional color choices bring the gritty, yet funny, poem to life.

Most suited for children in grades four to six, the “The Cremation of Sam McGee” has continued its appeal both as a read-aloud and as a work of art since it was first published by Kids Can Press in 1986. Meghan’s recent reference to the poem draws renewed interest in the book.

“There is no poem that is more fun to read aloud,” says children and young adult author Daniel Pinkwater. Below, he joins NPR’s Scott Simon in a vigorous reading of “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” at the time of the book’s 20th Anniversary edition in 2006.