THERE'S A TRICK IN PICKIN' A CHICK, CHICK, CHICKEN
Words by Charles Tobias & Coleman Goetz; music by J. Russel Robinson.
As recorded by Wendell Hall, 1927.

INTRO: What's this old world a-comin' to?
Where's this old world a-goin' to?
With this bustlin' hustlin' up today's ways,
Each invention brings a change—
Somethin' new an' somethin' strange;
But what puzzles me are the gals of nowadays.

1. Oh, the way they're a-dressin' an' the things they a-do
Keeps me a-guessin', I'm a- tellin' you.
There's a trick in pickin' a chick-chick-chicken today.
Grey-haired granny an' sister Sue—
I can't tell 'em apart; can you?
There's a trick in pickin' a chick-chick-chicken today.
You must be wise; you must be gifted
To recognize a face that's lifted.
Oh, the way they're a-dressin' an' the things they a-do
Keeps me a-guessin', I'm a-tellin' you.
There's a trick in pickin' a chick-chick-chicken today.

2. Oh, the way they're a-dressin' an' the things they a-do
Keeps me a-guessin', I'm a-tellin' you.
There's a trick pickin' chicken, a chick-chick-chicken today.
My great-grandmother, eighty-three,
Wears a skirt up above the knee.
There's a trick pickin' chicken, a chick-chick-chicken today.
A baby's style would sure delight you.
She'll say: "If I had teeth, I'd bite you."
She bobs her hair an' she shows her ears.
She's been foolin' 'em sixty years.
There's a trick pickin' chicken, a chick-chick-chicken today.

3. Oh, the way they're a-dressin' an' the things they a-do
Keeps me a-guessin', I'm a-tellin' you.
There's a trick pickin' chicken, a chick-chick-chicken today.
Ev'ry moan on a saxophone
Empties out some old ladies' home.
There's a trick in pickin' a chick-chick-chicken today.
A man gets in an awful muddle.
He don't know who he's tryin' to cuddle.
Get a queen outside in the dark alone
Then find out she's a chaperone.
There's a trick in pickin' a chick-chick-chicken today.

[chicken sounds]
There's a trick in pickin' a chick-chick-chicken today.

[There were other early recordings by Benny Meroff & His Orchestra; Irving Kaufman; Nat Shilkret & Victor Orchestra with vocalist Johnny Marvin; Al Handler's Alamo Cafe Orchestra; The Golden Gate Orchestra with vocalist Jack Kaufman; Six Hayseeds; Six Jumping Jacks; California Humming Birds.]