29 Oct 05 - 08:13 PM (#1593424) Subject: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,buzzmebergr@gmail.com
Hi I am trying to create a list of songs about chickens for an imaginary CD compilation: if you know any songs about chickens please help add to the list, I admit there are a few by Louis Jordan, but that the reason the quest started. |
29 Oct 05 - 08:56 PM (#1593439) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Big Al Whittle there was the spitting image song - wave a chicken in the air, which was number one in England there was a roy rogers song [MY CHICKASHAY GAL] that went, got a slick chick a-waiting in a chikasay home, from a chickasay girl I'll never more roam there was the wartime classic - HEY LITTLE HEN, tell me when when when, will you lay me an egg for my tea and as the chinese ventriloquist said, fancy a click cluck? |
29 Oct 05 - 09:13 PM (#1593456) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Elmer Fudd CHICKEN IS NICE -- sung by Dave Van Ronk C-H-I-C-K-E-N Blues -- sung by Mississippi John Hurt? (I heard Geoff Muldaur sing it) LITTLE RED ROOSTER -- sung by Big Mama Willie Mae Thornton and also Mick Jagger Something about chickens who weren't laying eggs. Last lines are: "They're laying eggs now just like they used too Since that rooster came in our yard." I Had a Little Rooster by the Barnyard Gate And that little rooster was my playmate... |
29 Oct 05 - 09:31 PM (#1593466) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Joybell "The Chicken Reel" can have words if you do chicken noises to it. Also "Water Bound" starts with "Chickens crowin' in the old cornfield..." Cheers, Joy |
29 Oct 05 - 09:46 PM (#1593476) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Ferrara (All the Little ) Chickens in the Garden, see DT for more info "Turkey in the Straw" has chicken verses. My mother sang: "Oh, we had a little chicken and she had a wooden leg, 'Twas the best little hen that ever laid an egg, It was the finest little hen we ever had around the farm, And another little drink wouldn't do me any harm." Bill's family sang this verse to Turkey in the Straw: "Oh, we had a little chicken and it had a wooden leg, So we poured hot water up and down its leg, Oh the little chicken hollered and the little chicken begged, And the little chicken laid a hard boiled egg." |
29 Oct 05 - 09:51 PM (#1593478) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Ferrara We had some chickens, no eggs would they lay, We had some chickens, no eggs would they lay; One day a rooster came into our yard, He caught those chickens right off their guard. They're laying eggs now, just like they used ter, Ever since that rooster came into our yard (repeat) We had a cow, no milk would she give (repeat) One day that rooster came into our yard, He caught that cow right off her guard. She's giving egg nog, like she never used ter, Ever since that rooster came into our yard (repeat) We had a dog, no pups would she give (repeat) One day that rooster, etc She's laying pooched eggs, like she never used ter, Ever since that rooster came into our yard (repeat) Have forgotten the rest, maybe Bill will add some verses. Or Dick Greenhaus, he's bound to know more.... Rita |
29 Oct 05 - 09:55 PM (#1593486) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: KT Ghost Chickens in the Sky |
29 Oct 05 - 09:56 PM (#1593487) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: The Walrus CHICK, CHICK, CHICK, CHICK, CHICKEN (LAY A LITTLE EGG FOR ME) If you want to stretch a point, you could include "The Birdie Song" (species not given). W |
29 Oct 05 - 10:04 PM (#1593494) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Joe Offer Ferrara, that's The Rooster, which is in the Digital Tradition. In another thread, somebody posted this verse: We had a rooster, no love would he give. We had a rooster, no love would he give. One day another rooster came into our yard and caught that rooster right off of his guard. He's laying hens now, just like he used to . . . -Joe Offer- Some of these are listed above, but here's what I see listed in the Digital Tradition:
There are other "cock" songs, but maybe we shouldn't get into them... |
29 Oct 05 - 10:43 PM (#1593518) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Janie In the DT also "WHO BROKE THE LOCK ON THE HENHOUSE DOOR Riley Puckett's version is probably the best known. Janie |
29 Oct 05 - 10:53 PM (#1593525) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST "CHICKEN CORDON BLEUS" -Steve Goodman "Thus Cacked Henrietta" Ray Stevens ["Also Sprach Zarathustra" done with chicken sounds] |
29 Oct 05 - 11:01 PM (#1593531) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST GALLO DEL CIELO (Tom Russell) |
29 Oct 05 - 11:07 PM (#1593539) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST CLUCK OLD HEN - Tom Ashley, Frank Profitt, Wayfaring Strangers & others |
29 Oct 05 - 11:47 PM (#1593557) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: starfishian Willie and the Poor Boys (a Jimmy Page/Bill Wyman project) - "Chicken Shack Boogie". I can find it if you need it. |
30 Oct 05 - 12:12 AM (#1593565) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Bard Judith "And we'll kill the old red rooster when she comes, And we'll kill the old red rooster when she comes, And we'll kill the old red rooster, we'll kill the old red rooster, We'll kill the old red rooster when she comes...." |
30 Oct 05 - 12:13 AM (#1593566) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Goose Gander "Chicken in a Graveyard" by the Thingz Fine-feathered friend in a long black veil, Fowl intentions leave me pale. Chicken in a graveyard got his eyes on you. Beady little eyes as cold as death, Finger-lickin' claws choke away your breath. Chicken in a graveyard got his eyes on you. |
30 Oct 05 - 01:21 PM (#1593640) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Fullerton Chicken Reel - Les Paul (Take Your Elbow Out Of The Soup) You're Sitting On The Chicken - By Ian Dury Evidently Chickentown - John Cooper-Clarke. (OK so it's a poem but it's got musical accompaniment and its funny) Dirty Rooster. - Slim Gaillard. A very strange record indeed. It consists of two vocalists, almost certainly intoxicated, doing chicken noises over a groovy jazz rhythm section. BUT Listen more carefully and they are clear singing..... "F**k off, F**k off, F**k off, F**k off, F**k off, F**k off" etc ad lib ad inf. |
30 Oct 05 - 01:30 PM (#1593644) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: ranger1 There's also "Dixie Chicken", a song that I only remember because I hate it so much. Covered by Little Feat and Garth Brooks. |
30 Oct 05 - 01:43 PM (#1593653) Subject: RE: Hens Forth,Songs about chickens From: Severn The original hit version of "Chicken Shack Boogie" was by Amos Milburn. |
30 Oct 05 - 02:12 PM (#1593668) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Laurent Let's try a French one, sung by French singer Jacques Dutronc. I don't know whether he wrote it but it really sound like a traditionnal lively marching song. It's really up to date. Ma poule n'a plus qu'vingt-neuf poulets (twice) Elle en avait trente, la poule a (nomally, an accent is needed) ma tante. Allongeons la jambe, la jambe car la route est longue. Ma poule n'a plus qu'vingt-huit poulets... And so on until only one remains. |
30 Oct 05 - 02:13 PM (#1593669) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens to recoop your losses From: Severn Companion verses to add to Bill D. verse to "Turkey In The Straw" that ferrara gave: Well, I had a little chicken and it wouldn't lay an egg So I poured hot chocolate up and down its leg And the pour chicken cried and the poor chicken begged And the poor little chicken laid an Easter Egg Well I had a little chicken and it wouldn't lay an egg So I poured some soy sauce up and down its leg And the poor chicken cried and the poor chicken begged And the poor little chicken laid an Egg Foo Young. (collected in the field from three young American ladies my friends and I tried to pick up in Mexico City years ago, but that's another story....) "Crow Black Chicken"-Originally recorded by The Leake County Revellers on a 78, it was later covered by The New Lost City Ramblers on the Folkways LP "Volume 4", and in a slide guitar based version by Ry Cooder on "Boomer's Story" on Reprise. "Lock On The Chicken Coop Door" came from The shelor Family and was recorded on an LP by Half Shaved on "Downhome Homemade Old Time Music" on Flying Crow Records. "Run Chicken Run"-an old Link Wray instrumental hit Dave Swarbrick recorded the fiddle tune "The Hens March Through The Midden" a number of times. NRBQ recorded an instrumental called "Trouble at the Henhouse" |
30 Oct 05 - 02:36 PM (#1593682) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Susan of DT Search the DT for chicken, hen, cock, and rooster. You will get some extraneous hits, but there are plenty. One of the song circles we go to has chicken as the topic of the next sing, so I ran the searches for chicken and cock - you get many pages. |
30 Oct 05 - 02:39 PM (#1593683) Subject: Lyr Add: ROBERT'S ROOSTER + HERBERT (J Rasmussen) From: Jerry Rasmussen ROBERT'S ROOSTER By Jerry Rasmussen CHORUS: Robert's Rooster is Red and his dog Jack is black And they never talk back to their Mother And when it would rain, they would never complain They would sit and they'd play by the hour 1. Sometimes they would sail on the stormy sea And the wind it would roar and howl Jack would cover his eyes, and the rooster would hide While Robert stood watch on the bow 2. Sometimes they would play at the big parade And they'd march all around the room Robert carried the fowl and the dog he would howl And the rooster would carry the tune 3. And when they got tired of playing The dog would curl up on the floor And Robert would lie with his rooster beside And Jack would look happy and snore HERBERT by Jerry Rasmussen 1. He came a-riding into town in a great big Cadillac With the windows all rolled down, tied in a gunny sack But the sack was for potatoes, and hot for Herbert's kind And with his spurs as sharp as razors, he cut the ties that bind CHORUS: And Herbert was a terror of the local countryside Sometimes he'd flag the neighbor's cat, and he'd take him for a ride And there never was a man or beast who could make him miss a step And you can bet your bottom dollar, he hasn't met one yet 2. When Herbert strolled the neighborhood, the squirrels stayed in their nests The dogs would look the other way, and the cats would genuflect And the pigeons in my Dad's garage got up to bar the door For those who messed with Herbert, were never seen no more 3. We took him to my Uncle's farm when I had to move away The roosters met him at the gate, just to have a little play But when he rode them 'round the Farm, their enthusiasm waned And I swear he'd jump them through a hoop he had them so well trained Robert's Rooster was written many years ago for my son, Gideon when he was a little boy. Herbert was a banty rooster. My friend Earl sold him to me with a Harley David Motorcycle for $90. I kept him a year until I went away to college and had to take him to my Uncle's farm. He did indeed ride on the back of the neighbor's cat when the cat was foolish enough to enter our yard. And then, if we're talking about chicken songs, there's always Coward Of The County. Jerry |
30 Oct 05 - 03:33 PM (#1593722) Subject: RE: Roosters & Roasters For The Roster From: Severn "The Chicken and the Hawk" on "Joe Turner's Greatest Hits" on Atlantic and by The Nighthawks on "Trouble" on Powerhouse. Rooster Blues - Lightnin' Slim on "Sound of the Swamp: The Best of Excello Records" on Rhino as well as other places. Old Hen Cackle-Coleman & Harper on "Down In The Basement-Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove of Vintage 78s, 1926-1937" on Old Hat "Chicken You Can Roost Behind The Moon"-Beale Street Sheiks on the Biograph LP "Mississippi & Beale Street Sheiks 1927-1932" Didn't Rufus Thomas also do "Do The Funky Chicken"? ....And one final question... That "Chicken In The Graveyard" Michael Morris cited a few posts back WAS a "Poultry-Geist", wasn't it? |
30 Oct 05 - 03:39 PM (#1593725) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Charley Noble There's also a wonderful poem about a chicken who is swept off the deck of a full-rigged ship in the Sunda Strait and is happily rescued. It's called "Hen Overboard." Nautical singer Bob Webb [& Craig Edwards & Helen Richmond Webb] recorded an entire CD of chicken-related songs ["Cluck Old Hen: Celebrating 150 Years of the Rhode Island Red"] just recently [2004] but failed to include the one above. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
30 Oct 05 - 04:21 PM (#1593746) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Goose Gander Yes, indeed, a poultry-geist. I received a whole chicken in a can for my birthday last month (from my brother, who gives me nothing but gag gifts). So now a song screams to be written.... "Chicken in a Can-Can" |
30 Oct 05 - 04:33 PM (#1593756) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: KT Walks like a chicken, talks like a chicken, but it ain't no armadillo!!! |
30 Oct 05 - 04:47 PM (#1593765) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Big Jim from Jackson Paul Stamler at KDHX in St. Louis has compiled a CD of chicken songs. Our own Seamus Kennedy has a GREAT song called "Fishin' For Chickens" |
30 Oct 05 - 05:03 PM (#1593774) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Elmer Fudd Is there a song that went along with the dance, the Funky Chicken? |
30 Oct 05 - 09:29 PM (#1593951) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Big Al Whittle eric taylor - chicken Pie Ry Cooder- ever since the big crap game, I been living on chicken and wine I'm a leader of society, since I got mine |
30 Oct 05 - 09:59 PM (#1593977) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Gerry The klezmer band, Kapelye, did a song about Chicken on one of their albums, sorry I don't remember any details. |
31 Oct 05 - 08:09 AM (#1594111) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKEN SONG (Jay Ungar) From: GUEST,Henryp Two, different, songs from Jeff Warner and Jeff Davis "C-H-I-C-K-E-N," Jeff Warner & Jeff Davis on TWO LITTLE BOYS WD 102(self-released) CHICKEN SONG Jay Ungar (c) 1986 Swinging Door Music BMI sung by Jeff Warner & Jeff Davis on Old Time Songs For Kids, WD 101 In these inflationary times some folks got lots of bread, But we're still paying through the nose just to keep our family fed. We tried to change our diet and get something cheaper to eat, We're eatin' lots more chicken now, and a whole lot less red meat. CHORUS: Chicken, chicken, put 'em in a pot, Cook 'em up most any way, Tell you what you got: [What?] Chicken in a pot. When you go to a butcher just to get yourself that bird, Make sure you got the whole thing, 'cause you can use it all, I've heard. You can cook the eggs, and gnaw the bones, and eat up all of that meat, Stuff a pillow with the feathers, and make a soup out of the feet. Well, eatin' all these chickens, I'm sure that it's a sin. It seems their lives have just begun before we do them in. I been doin' a little calculatin' and I'll tell you right now, It takes 543 chickens just to make up one old cow. Well, I've had 'em fried, broiled, braised, curried, baked, and creamed, Cordon bleu'd, and barbecued. I can see them in my dreams: Croquette, cutlet, almondine, paprikash, and fricassee. It's time to switch to tofu and set your chicken free. |
31 Oct 05 - 08:46 AM (#1594137) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Splott Man All Birds Look Like Chickens To Me by Irving Jones published 1899. Still popular with jazz bands around south Wales |
31 Oct 05 - 09:28 AM (#1594171) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: moongoddess Bob Webb has a CD out called "Cluck Old Hen" - Celebrating 150 years of the Rhode Island Red. Some of the songs were already mentioned, but here is the whole list: Cacklin' Hen Who Broke the Lock I'll Rise When the Rooster Crows Waterbound Cluck Old Hen Banty Rooster Banty Rooster Blues Ragtime Joe (C-H-I-C-K-E-N) Mornin' Blues Soldier's Joy Pullet Surprise(Chicken Reel) Pretty Crowing Chicken Mister Chicken Crow Black Chicken Free Little Bird A great CD! My favorite is Ragtime Joe. |
31 Oct 05 - 01:08 PM (#1594259) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Wayne Mitchell Run, Run, Chicken Run, sung by The Serendipity Singers on their We Belong Together album (1966?), attributed to Galbraith/Teifer/Marens, (possibly related to the Link Wray instrumental which Severn mentioned?) An Peata Circe (The Pet Hen) For just a mention of chickens: Sourwood Mountain It Ain't Gonna Rain No More Egg-suckin' Dog |
01 Nov 05 - 11:21 AM (#1595007) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,bbc at work My very favorite is Fishin' for Chickens, already mentioned as being in the DT. It was brought to my attention by our own Dharmabum, sung by him at a past Old Songs Festival. Great memory, that! best, bbc |
02 Nov 05 - 08:09 AM (#1595672) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST not a song, but a great fiddle tune Jenny's Chickens http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/756 Very often played before Bonnie Kate, the pairing being popularised by Michael Coleman |
02 Nov 05 - 08:26 AM (#1595684) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Robin Madge I did write a tune called "Pullet and see" to go with "The hens march to the midden" when I was performing with Hen's Teeth. Robin Madge |
02 Nov 05 - 08:53 AM (#1595700) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Snuffy PICKIN' A CHICKEN (Paddy Roberts / Derek Bernfield / Garfield De Mortimer). Recorded by Eve Boswell 1955, and Jim Reeves - 1956. |
02 Nov 05 - 12:28 PM (#1595843) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Steve-o There's a great blues song done by Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan called "Chicken-a-la-Blues". |
02 Nov 05 - 04:15 PM (#1595982) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: curmudgeon The aforementioned Bob Webb chicken CD is available here. |
02 Nov 05 - 05:01 PM (#1596005) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Artful Codger Might have been mentioned before: "Chicken on a Raft", recorded on the eponymous album of sea shanties by The Young Tradition. The Watersons' "I Went to Market". Not just about chickens, but the hen and cock figure predominantly. |
03 Nov 05 - 01:10 AM (#1596219) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: open mike there is a great kids song called chickens for peace it is by..Peter Alsop...see: www.peteralsop.com |
03 Nov 05 - 01:31 AM (#1596222) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Celtaddict The talking chicken round has been mentioned on another thread. Sandra Boynton (yes, the one who makes the hippo greeting cards) wrote a musical, never produced but available in a truly funny book-and-CD set, called "The Philadelphia Chickens." |
03 Nov 05 - 11:59 PM (#1597017) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Big Al Whittle yes indeed The watersons - all the little chickens in your garden , or something like that from the pence and Spicey Ale album - Mike Waterson - or maybe my memoriy is leaking |
10 Nov 05 - 08:31 AM (#1601347) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICK, CHICK, CHICK, CHICK, CHICKEN (LAY From: Jim Dixon Transcribed from the sound file at http://www.aardvarkmastering.com/edison.htm : CHICK, CHICK, CHICK, CHICK, CHICKEN (LAY A LITTLE EGG FOR ME) Fred Holt, Thos. McGhee & Irving King [As recorded by Earl Oliver's Jazz Babies on Edison Diamond Disk #51745-R.] 1. Now good old farmer Haystack (?) is the cleverest of men. He cuts a rasher off a pig and then shouts to a hen: CHORUS: Oh, chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken, lay a little egg for me. Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken, I want one for my tea. Oh, I haven't had an egg since Easter, and now it's half past three, So, chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken, lay a little egg for me. 2. Now, Rip Van Winkle woke up after twenty years or more. He found a bird's nest in his beard and shouted out, "Oh, Lor'!" |
10 Nov 05 - 03:00 PM (#1601621) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: sharyn Carol Denney has a song called "Roll Chickens Roll." The chorus is "Roll, chickens, roll. Fry, chickens, fry. I hang around the deli And it helps the time go by. Roll, chickens, roll Fry, chickens, fry Nothing's been the same here Since the day you said goodbye." |
10 Nov 05 - 04:41 PM (#1601688) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,buzzmebergr@gmail.com So many songs about chickens, i truly am amazed, thanks to all the peoples for their help, and i am working through the list slowly. stay Cool, BergR |
10 Nov 05 - 09:39 PM (#1601916) Subject: Lyr Add: BETSY BRENNAN'S BLUE HEN From: GEST BETSY BRENNAN'S BLUE HEN
From the widow McKenny I bought for a penny,
May his whiskers turn green when he eats a crubeen,
Oh, this hen she had dozens of nephews and cousins,
May her stockings fall down when she goes out of town,
I bought from Port Saunders that hen and two ganders,
May the ravenous baste burst her blouse at the waist,
I would search the seas over from Boston to Dover,
May the measles and gout when he chance to go out,
May his pipe never smoke, may his tea pot be broke,
May his clothes be in rags and his trousers bread bags,
####.... Johnny Burke (1851-1930) as published by Gerald S Doyle Ltd. in Old-Time Songs And Poetry Of Newfoundland (1927); 4th edition, p.76 (1966); 5th edition, p.58 (1978) ....####
From the Dictionary Of Newfoundland English:
Archived at GEST Songs Of Newfoundland And Labrador
|
10 Nov 05 - 09:50 PM (#1601924) Subject: Lyr Add: THE ROOSTER FROM KITCHUSIS From: GEST THE ROOSTER FROM KITCHUSIS
Come all ye good people I'll sing you a song,
For it's cock-a-lie-doodle and cock-a-lie-diddle,
His owner would swear that he stood five feet tall,
For it's cock-a-lie-doodle and cock-a-lie-diddle,
Now, when he was a baby, a bare six weeks old,
For it's cock-a-lie-doodle and cock-a-lie-diddle,
Then the farmer's poor wife who went out for the eggs,
For it's cock-a-lie-doodle and cock-a-lie-diddle,
Now, Kitchusis it sits in Conception Bay,
For it's cock-a-lie-doodle and cock-a-lie-diddle,
For it's cock-a-lie-doodle and cock-a-lie-diddle, Spoken: Well, I tell you if you don't get that rooster outta here,
####.... Dick Nolan (Welcome Aboard, Boot BTM 2008, Maritime Series, 1984) ....####
Archived at GEST Songs Of Newfoundland And Labrador |
11 Nov 05 - 04:41 AM (#1602126) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST ...and the little ones chewed on the bones oh ... |
11 Nov 05 - 05:55 AM (#1602160) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Big Al Whittle I seem to remeber an old song that went Cock a doodle doo Cock a doodle do me cocks me own so leave it alone Its nothing to do with you Ken Penny and his gang used to sing it at The Jolly Porter in Exeter way back in the 70's, I bet Tony Rose did. also when I was a kid there was this novelty song I'm a bow legged chicken You're a knock kneed hen Never been so happy, since I don't know when Walk a with wiggle and a giggle and a squawk Doing the Tenessee wig walk! Somebody out there reassure me I was not the only one to witness these miracles. all the best al |
11 Nov 05 - 08:19 AM (#1602235) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GLoux Here's an old thread about a chicken song that I'm still trying to decipher. The order of posts is screwed up, so don't get confused... -Greg |
11 Nov 05 - 08:02 PM (#1602735) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Howard Kaplan There's also Malvina Reynolds' "The Little Red Hen"; the complete lyrics are already posted on another thread: thread.cfm?threadid=40846 |
11 Nov 05 - 09:10 PM (#1602767) Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: CHICKEN IN BLACK (from Johnny Cash From: GUEST,Stormy Chicken in Black by Johnny Cash CHICKEN IN BLACK Words and music by Gary Gentry Recorded by Johnny Cash Recorded in Key of A w/change to Bb CAPO: 5th FRET/KEY: A/PLAY: E: E/A/B7 INTRO: E/A/B7/E [E] For two long years my head hurt bad So a [A] doctor checked me and he shook his head He said [B7] I'm sorry to tell you but your body's outlived your brain [E] He said I know this doctor in New York, son And he'll [A] fix you right up with a brand new one So the [B7] head doctor met me when I stepped down off of the train. [E] [E] He said we had this bank robber killed last night His [A] body's shot but his brain's alright I'll [B7] give you a transplant, boy, and you'll be OK [E] I got my new brain in and I was feelin' great I went [A] right back to Nashville with no headache But something [B7] strange happened when I walked in the bank one day. [E] CHORUS: I said [A] stick 'em up ever'body I'm robbin' this place Drop [E] all of your money in my guitar case Don't [A] nobody move and don't nobody reach for that [B7] door A [E] lady said, why you're Johnny Cash I said [A] no ma'am, I'm the Manhattan Flash And I [B7] am the best bank robber in New York. [E] [E] Now the other night Roy Acuff called me He said [A] John I'd like for you to do the Opry So I [B7] went out on the stage, but I couldn't sing [E] I got into a half a verse of 'I Walk The Line' And [A] something snapped in this head of mine I yelled [B7] stick 'em up! Give me your money, your watches and rings. [E] Change to F: F/Bb/C7 [F] Well, I called New York and talked to that brain quack And said [Bb] Doc I gotta have my old brain back He said I'm [C7] sorry there, Mr. Cash, but I can't do that [F] He said I put your brain in a chicken last Monday He's [Bb] singing your songs and makin' lots of money And I got him [C7] signed to a ten-year recording contract.[F] [F] Now friends if you see me walkin' down the street Remember [Bb] what you see ain't necessarily me And if I [C7] try to hold you up, don't pay me no mind [F] But when you got ten bucks that you can blow You oughta [Bb] catch that Johnny Chicken show He's doin' [C7] fairs and concert dates all up and down the line. [F] I said [Bb] stick 'em up ever'body I'm robbin' this place Drop [F] all of your money in my guitar case Don't [Bb] nobody move and don't nobody reach for that door [C7] A [F] lady said, why you're Johnny Cash I said [Bb] no ma'am, I'm the Manhattan Flash And I [C7] am the best bank robber in New York. [F] TAG: TALK: Well, I don't pay any income tax... You don't pay tax on money you steal... You oughta catch that Johnny Chicken show... Chicken In Black! hmmmmmmmm! |
11 Nov 05 - 09:14 PM (#1602772) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Zamboo And the best chicken song of all ... "Ghost Chickens in the Sky" by Whitt and Judy McKinney (The McKinney Washtub Two). Always a show-stopper. Done to the tune of you-know-what, with that great chorus singalong: "buck-buck-buck-BAWKKK, buck-buck-buck-BAWKKK, ghost chickens in the sky-y-y-y-y." |
12 Nov 05 - 10:19 AM (#1603037) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Dani De Colores, where you get to make the sounds of the whole chicken family! Dani |
12 Nov 05 - 10:28 AM (#1603041) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST Should be a chicken verse in 'Old MacDonald Had a Farm' |
12 Nov 05 - 11:57 AM (#1603079) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Susan B What about "The Bantam Cock" sung by Jake Thackray? Not certain whether this is one of his originals or a translation from a French song. |
02 Dec 05 - 11:07 AM (#1618551) Subject: Lyr Add: ME COCK'S ME OWN From: GEST Al, the Wee Little Drummer, mentioned the song Me Cock's Me Own, so I thought I'd add it a bit belatedly to this thread. GEST
Me Cock's Me Own
One Saturday afternoon I went out for a walk,
Is nothing to do with you, me cock's me own;
I put me cock under me coat and down the road I strolled,
Is nothing to do with you, me cock's me own;
I took me cock out for a row and the boat began to rock,
Is nothing to do with you, me cock's me own;
I took me cock home and then I put him in the pen,
Is nothing to do with you, me cock's me own;
Well, fellers, I got to go, I got to be on me way,
Is nothing to do with you, me cock's me own;
####.... Author unknown. Variant of a 19th century British traditional ....####
Recorded by Jenny and Josie Wilkinson of Point Rexton, Trinity Bay, NL (Now And Then, Ambassador Records, 1996). Also recorded by Chuck Simms from Grand Bank, NL (Campfire Songs, Atlantic Seabreeze Records, 2003)
Also recorded by Simon Ritchie and his So-Called Band (Melodeon Mania, X-Tradition TMM1911CD, 1998) who remembers this song being well known in country farrming pubs, but says it may have started life in the London music halls of the 1800s. Simon told GEST he learned it from Hubert 'Sugar' Bailey from Essex, England, who Simon recorded in the mid-1980s when 'Sugar' was in his sixties. Simon added bits from other singers such as the late Ted Chaplin of Suffolk and added a couple verses of his own through the folk process. Simon has heard the song referred to as The Comical Cock, but Me Cock's Me Own is his title for it. Simon and his band still sing it in the pub on a 'good' night (or day).
Archived at GEST Songs Of Newfoundland And Labrador |
02 Dec 05 - 11:34 AM (#1618590) Subject: Lyr Add: FAST FOOD SONG (Fast Food Rockers) From: Rasener Artist: Fast Food Rockers Song: FAST FOOD SONG Can I take your order please? Let's eat to the beat (Chorus) A Pizza Hut, a Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut. A Pizza Hut, a Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut. McDonalds, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut. McDonalds, McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut. You like it you love it You know you really want it The voices I hear Whenever you're around I want it I need it Nothing else can beat it Hot and spicy Whenever I'm in town (mm mm) Enticing exciting Aroma so inviting And when it hits Me, I wanna take you home Trust me you must see Just what you're doing to me Driving me crazy Hungry to the bone I think of you and lick my lips You've got the taste I can't resist Can't resist - can't resist Let's eat to the beat (Repeat Chorus) Would you like that to go? Any sauces? You're so sweet and you're neat You knock me off my two feet You're chunky and hunky I'm coming back for more (Hot Dog) Your taste all embraces I gotta sing your praises Just savor the flavors Waiting at your door I think of you and lick my lips You've got the taste I can't resist Can't resist - can't resist Let's eat to the beat (Repeat Chorus) Does anyone fancy a shake? Shake Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Shake it to the left - Shake it to the right - Let's shake Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh I think of you and lick my lips You've got the taste I can't resist Can't resist - can't resist Let's eat to the beat (Repeat Chorus) |
02 Dec 05 - 11:40 AM (#1618597) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Jack Campin There is also a pipe march "The Hen's March" (no relation to the "to the midden" one) and a pipe tune "The Cockerel in the Creel". The story behind that one is that when the composer was a boy, his strict Presyterian mother tried to stop their cockerel from making un-Christian noises on the Sabbath by caging it in a lobster creel. The cockerel didn't think much of this and said so, the resulting sounds being the basis of the tune. |
02 Dec 05 - 11:49 AM (#1618605) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: TheBigPinkLad There was a belter 12-bar from Stackridge, circa 1972, Keep on Cluckin' Can't remember all the words but some of them are: Way down on old Sam McGurky's spread Things are happenin' in his brand new shed He's sold his wife and seven kids And bought a thousand chickens instead. chorus It's a super[something], [something][something] Super market, super chicken time Give a booster to your rooster Have a hundred per cent potential diamond mine But you'd better keep on cluckin' Or you'll end up on the factory line! Six lonely bantems sitting on a wall Along came a farmer and now there's none at all One went to Tesco, one went to [Dell?] The rest are pushing daisies coz they wouldn't sell. So won't you listen all you L-brained dudes When you open up your barbecues Have the low-down at the ho-down and you ain't got nothin' to lose. chorus to fade ... plus much clucking Clucking good song. |
02 Dec 05 - 02:42 PM (#1618753) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: TonyK Parody of When a Man Loves a Woman, When a Man Loves a Chicken by Bob Rivers. Not suited for polite company, but good though. |
25 Apr 07 - 11:46 AM (#2035412) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,guest How about "How do you like your eggs in the morning?" - Dean Martin |
25 Oct 09 - 01:35 AM (#2752156) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,lyn Ozark Mountain Daredevils have a great song "Chicken Train" |
25 Oct 09 - 02:21 AM (#2752159) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Thompson Tá an coileach ag fogairt an lae |
25 Oct 09 - 06:46 AM (#2752242) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: eddie1 Another verse for "The Rooster" We had elephants, no tusks would they grow These goddam elephants, no tusks would they grow My wife said "Honey, we're losing money These goddam elephants, no tusks will they grow" Until that rooster came into our yard And caught them elephants right off their guard. They're laying eggs now, of solid ivory Ever since that rooster, came into our yard. Eddie |
25 Oct 09 - 07:58 AM (#2752273) Subject: Lyr Add: HERBERT From: Jerry Rasmussen I m surprised I didn't post this before. These are the lyrics to a song I wrote about a Banty Rooster I had as a teenager. He was a throw-in on the deal when I bought my friend Earl's Harley Davidson 125 when he went off to college in Oregon back in 1954. I had to give him to my Uncle when I went away to college the next year. I'll see if I can find the chapter I wrote about him, but these are the lyrics. HERBERT He came a' riding in to town in a great big Cadillac With the windows all rolled down, tied in a gunny sack But the sack was for potatoes, and not for Herbert's kind And with his spurs as sharp as razors, he cut the ties that bind CHORUS: And Herbert was the terror of the local countryside Sometimes he'd flag the neighbor's cat and he'd take him for a ride And there never was a man or beast who could make him miss a step And you can bet your bottom dollar, he hasn't met one yet When Herbert strolled the neighborhood, the squirrels stayed in their nests The dogs all looked the other way, and the cats would genuflect And the pigeons in my Dad's garage got up and barred the door For those who messed with Herbert were never seen no more We took him to my Uncle's farm when I had to move away The roosters met him at the gate, just to have a little play But when he rode them 'round the yard, their enthusiasm waned And I swear he'd jump them through a hoop, he had them so well trained … My Aunt Gladys told me that when she went out into the yard the first night that Herbert was there, all the roosters were settled down in the yard. Except for Herbert. He claimed the hen house all to himself, and was feeling mighty pleased about it. |
25 Oct 09 - 08:00 AM (#2752274) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Jerry Rasmussen This is the story: How Earl Got Herbert I got Herbert as a throw-in when I bought my friend Earl's Harley Davidson 125 for $90. Herbert was a Banty rooster. How Earl came about getting Herbert is an interesting story. Actually, it's two interesting stories, each of them kinda true. Back in 1953, when Earl and I graduated from High School, Earl headed out to go to college at the University of Oregon, and because they frowned on Banty roosters in their dormitories, Earl reluctantly gave Herbert to me as a going away present. This is the way I remember Earl telling me how he came to have Herbert in the first place. Over the last fifty-some years, the story has become much more ornate. According to what I remember, Earl was out in his front yard one Summer's day, when a car drove by and a Banty rooster came flying out of the rear window. The rooster immediately made a bee-line toward Earl's house and the man jumped out of the car and hit the road, running. The rooster, later to be named Herbert, was running, Hell Bent for Leather when he spotted an unsuspecting squirrel running across the yard. Even though Herbert was running for dear life, he couldn't ignore the challenge of the squirrel, and took off after it. As Herbert came skidding around the corner in hot pursuit of the squirrel, he almost ran into Earl and Earl, being quick of mind and sure-handed reached down and caught the rooster. When the man came around the corner puffing like a steam engine and saw Earl, he hit the brakes and asked Earl for his rooster. Now Earl, being a real slick talker, managed to convince the man that what he really wanted to do was give the rooster to Earl. So, Earl kept the rooster and named him Herbert and when he went away to college in the Fall, he gave Herbert to me. As I said, that's the way I remember Earl telling it. Here is what actually happened, according to Earl in 2006. The rooster did indeed escape from a passing car, but it was someone else who lived across the street who caught it. When he couldn't keep it, he gave it to Earl. Earl has no idea how the rooster came to be called Herbert. There was no hot pursuit of a squirrel, or any slick-talking done by Earl. As I tell Earl, he remembers what happened. I remember how it should have happened. I like my story a lot better. I even had Herbert riding in a Cadillac when I wrote a song about him. Nothing was too good for Herbert. "He came a' riding in to town in a great big Cadillac With the windows all rolled down, tied in a gunny sack But the sack was for potatoes, and not for Herbert's kind And with his spurs as sharp as razors, he cut the ties that bind" So, how did the squirrel get in the story? When I owned Herbert, he was one of the first "Free-range" chickens in the country. Earl kept him tied to a pole with a stout string around one leg. I let Herbert have the run of the yard, and because it wasn't fenced in, he had the run of the whole neighborhood. "When Herbert strolled the neighborhood, the squirrels stayed in their nests The dogs all looked the other way, and the cats would genuflect" Herbert found squirrels to be a personal affront, and he made life Hell for the neighbor's cat and the pigeons I raised in our garage. Early on, the cat made the mistake of stalking Herbert, and when he pounced for the attack, Herbert had mysteriously disappeared. He reappeared just as mysteriously on the cat's back with his spurs dug in as firmly as a rodeo cowboy. Herbert took the cat for a little ride, and it was the last time the cat came within one hundred yards of him. "And Herbert was the terror of the local countryside Sometimes he'd flag the neighbor's cat and he'd take him for a ride And the pigeons in my Dad's garage got up to bar the door For those who messed with Herbert, were never seen no more" So you see, my memory of how Earl got Herbert was about 90% wrong, but it was 100% Herbert. If Earl HAD been the one to catch Herbert, he WOULD have smooth-talked the guy out of his rooster. For something that never happened, I got the story just about right. The next year, when I went away to college, I took Herbert out to my Uncle Jim's farm. But the song tells the rest of the story. |
25 Oct 09 - 01:03 PM (#2752429) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKENS FOR PEACE (Peter Alsop) From: open mike http://www.peteralsop.com/TakeMeWithYou.htm#Chickens here are the lyrics to the song i mentioned earlier:
CHICKENS FOR PEACE Written by Peter Alsop, ©1985, Moose School Music (BMI) |
27 Oct 09 - 11:18 AM (#2753643) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: muppett Deep Fried Chicken to the tune of honky tonk woman (made famous by the Rolling Stones) |
27 Oct 09 - 11:46 AM (#2753665) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: bobad The Felice Brothers Run Chicken Run on YouTube. |
27 Oct 09 - 02:13 PM (#2753762) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Roger in Baltimore Mississippi John Hurt did a Chicken Song, just spelling out the word CHICKEN. I don't remember all of it. It starts out: "C", that's the way it begins, "H", the first letter in. etc. Roger in Baltimore |
27 Oct 09 - 03:56 PM (#2753835) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Barnacle Babe The one that came to my mind was about a Rooster...[MY ROOSTER] by Bradley Kincaid. My mom used to sing it to me. I love my rooster, my rooster loves me I play with my rooster neath the green bay tree. My little rooster goes cockledoodle doo de doodle le doodle doodle do I love my cat, my cat loves me I play with my cat neath the green bay tree My little cat goes meow, meow, meow, My little rooster goes cockledoodle doo de doodle le doodle doodle do. I love my dog.... and so on and so on. |
27 Oct 09 - 04:04 PM (#2753844) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Songbob Corrections: A Yardbird isn't a chicken. From Wickipedia: 1 : a soldier assigned to a menial task or restricted to a limited area as a disciplinary measure 2 : an untrained or inept enlisted man Charlie Parker (the sax Charlie, not the banjo one) was nicknamed "Yardbird," though I don't recall why. And "Chickasay" is "Chickasaw" (an Indian tribe) in local dialect. That is all. Bob |
28 Oct 09 - 12:53 PM (#2754203) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,RickS Haven't waded thru the whole thread, but Frank Stokes' 'Chicken You Can Roost Behind The Moon' is one I like. |
29 Oct 09 - 04:30 AM (#2754648) Subject: Lyr Add: DELANEY'S CHICKEN From: Jim Carroll This from the singing of Mikey Kelleher - fisherman and curragh maker originally from Quilty, West Clare, but when recorded in the 1970s, a retired building worker then living in Deptford, South East London. Jim Carroll DELANEY'S CHICKEN Now Delaney, from the market bought a fowl a month ago, If he find the man that sold it he'll kill him with a blow; Delaney bought this chicken, being of a tender breed And of a more deceitful bird you never heard agreed. So when they sought to pluck it, their efforts was in vain, Their hands were torn and blistered and their muscles they were strained, And resting of this chicken, they put him down to stew, If you want to see Delaney crack, cry cock-a-doodle-doo. So Delaney bought this chicken for to give us all a spread And after they arriving home they tried to pull off his head, They ordered picks and shovels, they got twisted up like tin, They tried to carve the chicken but they couldn't break the skin. So this bird must have been crowing since they built the Tower of Abel (Babel) He was fed by Cain and Abel and he lived in Noah's Stable, All the shots and shells was fired in the field of Waterloo, Could not penetrate or dislocate the tilugated, armour-plated, double-breasted, iron-chested cock-a-doodle-doo. So they borrowed Daley's rammer, by which he rammed the stones, Thinking that when tapped, would break the tender chicken's bones, But the first one has rebounded like an India-rubber ball, And knocked twelve yards of coping out of Muligan's garden wall. So this bird must have been crowing since.....etc. Oh the Dundee Extra Gunners came to excavate the thing, And the sword he carved the Russian with while light three yards of string (???) Old Tim brought the Davey Miner, through him they showed daylight, While blowing up himself and the chicken with a pound of dynamite. So to scrape the walls for chicken, it wasn't easy work, It wasn't easy to know which was chicken or which was Burke, But they found a leg of chicken on a friendly blacksmith's head, And a pair of everlasting heels upon my boots it made. So this bird it must have been crowing since....etc. |
29 Oct 09 - 12:45 PM (#2754927) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: open mike has this one in Spanish been mentioned? Los Pollitos dicen pio pio pio cuando tienen hambre, cuando tienen frio La gallina busca el maiz y el trigo y hasta un otro dia duermen los pollitos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTApI_rUZ2E&NR=1 |
30 Oct 09 - 12:36 PM (#2755760) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST Did anyone mention Spike Jones' "I Ain't Gonna Take it Sittin' Down"? I only remember a couple of verses: I've heard it said while on the loose You make the rounds with Sarah Goose From all reports of how it looked You tell that goose her goose is cooked Oh, by the way, while you were out I met a movie talent scout He loves my walk, he loves my cluck, He's starrin' me with Donald Duck. I ain't gonna take it sittin' down, I ain't gonna take it sittin' down, You needn't stand around and plead, Quit handin' me that chicken feed, I ain't gonna take it sittin' down! |
30 Oct 09 - 01:49 PM (#2755843) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Dave the Gnome Gallo de Ciello - or the Mexican Chicken Song as we used to ask of the late great Jim Couza. Then there is always Sam Cooke's Twisting the night away - He's dancing with the chicken slacks... ...or is that some sort of mondegreen? DeG |
02 Nov 09 - 07:04 AM (#2757819) Subject: Lyr Add: WILL THERE BE CHICKENS IN PARADISE From: cetmst The Mill Run Dulcimer Band on the album "We Shall Meet" record "Will There Be Chickens In Paradise?" attributed to Emily Luertzing and Neal Walters. "This song, straight from Vineland NJ, the egg basket of America, poses the profound philosophical question that haunts us all. With a special guest appearance from the Sister Cluckers". Will there be chickens in Paradise, In that sweet bye and bye, Any roosters and hens all freed of their sins, In that great chicken coop in the sky? Cho: Will there be chickens in Paradise Perched on the throne of our Lord, Hatchin'and layin' and peckin' and prayin', Crowin' a heavenly chord? Will I see my old friends in Paradise, Henrietta and old Chanticleer? I'd be so lonely in Paradise If those sweet little pluckers weren't there. Cho: Will the Colonel be thrown from his heavenly home? Only the future will tell, For the chicken he's et, I'm sure it's a pet. He'll be deep fat fryin' in Hell. Cho: Will there be chickens in Paradise Roostin' in clouds in God's sky? They'll be the only angels in Paradise Too dumb to learn how to fly. Cho: (accompanied by the Sister Cluckers) |
02 Nov 09 - 11:41 AM (#2757974) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: PHJim Here's Hayes Carll's chicken song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luTnYj9d2os [Lyrics posted here: CHICKENS.] |
02 Nov 09 - 12:41 PM (#2758018) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Bill D Well, you'll have to decide whether this is about chickens or not. Tex Ritter, "Chicken My Chicken" |
03 Nov 09 - 05:19 PM (#2758947) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Bill D refresh...for those who really need another 'chicken' song... |
05 Apr 11 - 04:37 AM (#3128786) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,doubleoseddon Evidently Chicken Town - John Cooper Clark Chicken Skin Planet - Graham Massey and Dave Prescott |
05 Apr 11 - 06:04 PM (#3129383) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: CupOfTea Tim Wallace of the Smoking Fez Monkeys penned a song "Sacred Chickens" that details exactly WHY There ain't no such things as sacred chickens, Ain't nobody ever thought there should be Cause God don't want no sacred chickens Or else He wouldn't have made them taste So finger -licking good Tim has explained lots of the universe in his songs, but his is the closest he gets to sacred, even if it's in the negative! Joanne |
06 Apr 11 - 12:58 AM (#3129580) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Crowhugger My favourite chicken song is here in the DT: FARM OUT WEST. I learned it from my mother who sang it regularly though my childhood and IIRC it was one of the first songs learned to play & sing when I took up guitar in my teens. And I still sing it for myself and for anyone who'll listen. |
06 Apr 11 - 07:44 PM (#3130181) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: SammySkillet Pork Fat Makes My Chicken Tan! unless someone said it already. |
07 Apr 11 - 01:26 AM (#3130285) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: reggie miles There's a 1947 Merle Travis song that I picked up from a 45rpm by The Green River Boys (featuring Glen Campbell) called, "Kentucky Means Paradise". There's a wonderful verse in there that goes... "Take a K and an E N and a T U and a C-K-Y That spells Kentucky And it means paradise Take a chicken and ya kill it Then ya put it in a skillet And ya fry it up golden brown That's southern cookin' and it's mighty nice" |
07 Apr 11 - 04:30 PM (#3130807) Subject: Lyr Add: T'OWD BRAHN HEN From: Rank T'owd brahn hen, written by Gerald Short and recorded on Map of Derbyshire by Mckram Wakes (sung by John Tams) T'OWD BRAHN HEN Gerald Short Ee sez me mother, to me and me brother, Will you kill that owd brahn hen? For she eats more oats than Jackson's goats, And she'll not lay again. For times is hard and we've not much cash, So we'll have her in the pot. So off to find that owd brahn hen, Me and me brother shot. Well we chased her together, but we couldn't catch a feather, For she were a wily bod. She hopped around upon the ground, Like fleas on our owd dog. Well we catched her in the yard at last, My how she scrat and fought, You'd have thought it were an eagle not, An owd brahn hen we'd caught. Well all in a dither I says how shall we kill her, And me brother says, I knows. Me mates I saw kill fowls before, And this is how it goes. So he grabs her by the neck and turns, A couple of times or three, Then tweaks it hard and turns and smiles, As if to say now see. Now all in a hurry and feathers in a flurry, He's dropped her to the ground, Where to our surprise, before our eyes, The funniest thing we found. This fowl stood up, unscrewed her neck, And gave a strangled cry, Then blinkin' 'ard ran down the yard, And out of sight did fly. Now it's strange to relate and I know it's right, Next morning in our shed, That bald necked hen has laid again, And waited to be fed. So if your old bod won't do her job, You mun heed now what I say. Just tweak her neck and then by heck, You'll get fresh eggs each day. |
07 Jul 11 - 12:23 AM (#3182840) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: MorwenEdhelwen1 What about "Sly Mongoose"? The first verse has the mongoose stealing chickens: "Mongoose go eena Bedward kitchen, Tek out one a 'im righteous chicken. Put it eena 'im wescut pocket, Sly mongoose." |
11 Jul 11 - 01:53 PM (#3185556) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: phinque More "Rooster" verses There was a monastery and it was empty (2x) One day that rooster came into the yard He caught that monastery right off its guard It's filled with friars....etc. There was a jukebox, no rock would it play One day that rooster...... It's playin HENdrix...etc |
11 Jul 11 - 02:52 PM (#3185586) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Joe_F Mama killed a chicken, thought it was a duck, Put it on the table with its legs stickin' up. |
01 Aug 11 - 05:06 AM (#3199517) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: MGM·Lion Didn't find "The Chickens They Are Crowing" anywhere above ~~or did I miss it? ~Michael~ |
01 Aug 11 - 12:02 PM (#3199768) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,josepp Look an ol' rockabilly guy called Hazil Adkins who did songs like "Chicken Flop" and once did a whole album about chickens called "Poultry in Motion." |
11 Aug 14 - 10:39 AM (#3650084) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Sa york We just heard a duet sing a song in New Orleans but don't know if there is a version on line we could get it. Chicken in a box, mashed potatoes..... Is all I remember. Sounded old. Does anyone know this one? |
11 Aug 14 - 12:21 PM (#3650113) Subject: RE: T'Owd Brawn Hen / The Old Brown Hen From: Artful Codger The Old Brown Hen (T'Owd Brawn Hen), as sung by Nigel & Christine Owen of the group Tinker's Bag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BmGV_yPxfg Written by Gerald Short, lyrics posted above. |
12 Aug 14 - 03:07 AM (#3650294) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST Ghost Chickens in the Sky is excellent and was sung mos4 excellently by Terry Gilder. It should be on youtube. |
12 Aug 14 - 10:26 AM (#3650400) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Gealt How about Kris Kristofferson's Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down? Then I walked across the street And caught the Sunday smell of someone fryin' chicken And oh it took me back to somethin' That I'd lost somewhere, somehow along the way |
12 Aug 14 - 11:39 AM (#3650426) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,gillymor Crow Black Chicken |
12 Aug 14 - 11:42 AM (#3650428) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Musket Just about any banjo tune played by a friend of mine (who looks in on Mudcat so no names no pack drill.) If the tune doesn't have "chicken" in the title, he doesn't play it.... Or at least that is my take on it. "I've got the Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack, John Mayall, Can't Fail blues...." |
12 Aug 14 - 12:20 PM (#3650440) Subject: Lyr Add: KERRY COCK From: Jim Carroll From County Clare, in the West of Ireland Jim Carroll Kerry Cock, (Roud 544) Jamesie McCatthy, Mountscott, Mullagh, Recorded at the Willie Clancy Summer School, July 1976 Spoken: Tisn't so long now; you'll have to laugh at a lot of it Oh, as I was walking down the road one day I met one cock under a tree. Oh, sure, I love my cock and my cock love me. My cock, Kerry cock crew; Every woman loves her cock and I love my cock too. As I was walking down the road one day I met one hen under a tree. Ah, sure, I love my hen and my hen love me. My hen chuck-a-chuck, My cock Kerry cock crew. Every woman loves her hen and I love my hen too. As I was walking down the road one day I met one duck under a tree. Ah, sure, I love my duck and my duck love me. My duck wicky-wak, My hen chuck-a-chuck, My cock Kerry cock crew. Every woman loves her duck and I love my duck too. As I was walking down the road one day I met one goose under a tree. Ah, sure, I love my goose and my goose love me. My goose guggle-gug, My duck wicky-wack, My hen chuck-a-chuck, My cock Kerry cock crew. Every woman loves her goose and I love my goose too. Ah, as I was walking down the road one day I met one goat under a tree. Ah, sure, I love my goat and my goat love me. My goat meggle-meg, My goose guggle-gug, My duck wicky-wack, My hen chuck-a-chuck, My cock Kerry cock crew. Every woman loves her goat and I love my goat too. As I was walking down the road one day I met one sheep under a tree. Ah, sure, I love my sheep and my sheep love me. My sheep maa, My goat meggle-meg, My goose guggle-gug, My duck wicky-wack, My hen chuck-a-chuck, My cock Kerry cock crew. Every woman loves her sheep and I love my sheep too. As I was walking down the road one day I met one cow under a tree. Ah, sure, I love my cow and my cow love me. My cow moo, My sheep maa, My goat meggle-meg, My goose guggle-gug, My duck wicky-wack, My hen chuck-a-chuck, My cock Kerry cock crew. Every woman loves her cow and I love my cow too. As I was walking down the road one day I met one big bull under a tree. Ah, sure, I love my bull and my bull love me. My bull mm-ooo, My cow maa, My sheep maa, My goat meggle-meg, My goose guggle-gug, My duck wicky-wack, My hen chuck-a-chuck, My cock Kerry cock crew. Every man loves his bull and I love my bull too. "This has been found extensively, both among children and adults, the former type being associated with a selection game and the adult's as a test of vocal dexterity and breath control. William Wells Newell described it as having been widely distributed throughout Europe and dating back to a remote past. Nowadays it is probably best known in its re-written form as 'Old MacDonald's Farm'. Ref: 'Games and Songs of American Children', William Wells Newell, Pub. Harper and Brothers 1883. Other recordings: George Blackman; Wisborough Green, Sussex, 'Songs of Animals, Folk Songs of Britain', Topic 12T198; John Curtis, Newfoundland, 'Songs from the Newfoundland Outports', Folkways FE 4075" The above commentary, lyrics and recording are taken from 'Around the Hills of Clare: Songs and Recitations from the Jim Carroll and Pat Mackenzie Collection' (2004) Musical Traditions Records MTCD331-2/Góilín Records |
12 Aug 14 - 11:48 PM (#3650572) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: LadyJean Stephen Collins Foster wrote a song called "Don't Bet Your Money on de Shanghai" about a fighting rooster. I don't have the words. But I've heard it. |
13 Aug 14 - 11:39 AM (#3650700) Subject: Lyr Add: UNDER THE CHICKEN TREE (Jones/Mills) From: GUEST,Arkie I did not see "Under the Chicken Tree" in the list. UNDER THE CHICKEN TREE Words by Irving Jones; music by Kerry Mills; ©1908. As recorded by Earl McDonald Louisville Jug Band, Columbia 14206D, 3/30/27. VERSE: I had a dream last night. It almost turned me white.* I dreamt that hens and roosters growed on trees. I dreamt I owned a great big ranch. On every hen-tree branch, The eggs was just as thick as bumblebees. I stepped out in the yard And shook one tree right hard, And about one hundred fowls come tumblin' down. Just as soon as they had died, I had them quickly fried With the gravy oozing out all nice and brown. CHORUS: It was under the chicken tree, Under the big fricassee. Eggs was droppin' from every blossom. I lost all my taste for the meat they call possum. Cows, hogs, ever' little thing Looked like feather, chicken, and wing. Eggs was droppin'. Wings were floppin', Under the chicken tree. |
13 Aug 14 - 12:01 PM (#3650706) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Artful Codger Oh, How Chicken Play a Ukulele |
14 Aug 14 - 12:29 AM (#3650845) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Frank From: Jim Carroll Date: 29 Oct 09 - 04:30 AM My Mother, now 96, used to recite Delany's Chicken to us some 90 years ago. She had some variations which make more sense to my ears. I am not sure, but I believe Mum learnt it at school. I still recite it myself from time to time |
14 Aug 14 - 03:10 AM (#3650871) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Jim Carroll "My Mother, now 96, used to recite Delany's Chicken to us some 90 years ago" We recorded the version I gave from an elderly Irish singer back in the 1980s in London - It's the only version I've come across, though I did manage to trace some information on it for a note I have written for it. Our recording is due to go up on line on the Clare County Library website in the next couple of months, along with another 4000 songs from County Clare (West of Ireland) Jim Carroll This is the Note to it - would appreciate any further information, particularly the nationality of Sweeney and Barrett (English or Irish?). "*** Davy Miner – Miner's lamp invented by Sir Humphrey Davy This music hall song was composed in 1896 by Lester Barrett and P. Sweeney; Barrett wrote a similar piece, 'Hooligan's Mule', around the same time. Songs such as this, of creatures possessing wonderful attributes, abound in the song tradition, among the most popular being 'The Herring', 'The Derby Ram' and 'The Wonderful Crocodile'. Mikey's seems to be the only recorded version of this from a traditional singer." |
15 Aug 14 - 01:43 AM (#3651120) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Haruo IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE The fish, it never cackles 'bout it's million eggs or so, The hen is quite a different bird, one egg-and hear her crow. The fish we spurn, but crown the hen, which leads me to surmise: Don't hide your light, but blow your horn. it pays to advertise. Tune: PLENARY aka "The Miller's Daughter", "The Miller's Wedding", "I Fee'd a Lad at Michaelmas", "Auld Lang Syne"... DigiTrad / MIDI I learned this from the 1954 ed. of Song Fest, from (I'm pretty sure) the same page as "On Mules We Find" to the same tune. |
19 Aug 14 - 12:03 AM (#3651924) Subject: Lyr Add: AUNTIE SKINNER'S CHICKEN DINNER From: Jim Dixon Nobody said these songs had to be about live chickens, did they? From the sheet music at Mississippi State University: AUNTIE SKINNER'S CHICKEN DINNER "As introduced by Ruth Roye, Princess of Ragtime" Words by Arthur Fields and Earl Carroll; music by Theodore Morse. ©1915. 1. I got an invitation To see the celebration Down at Auntie Skinner's big jubilee. The picks from each plantation Will give her some ovation When they see the possum pie and fricassee. Just smell them onions cookin'. Just watch them darkies lookin' In the pot to see what old Auntie's got. Grab your best gal. Invite another pal. Ev'rybody's welcome there. CHORUS: Come along (come along, come along) to Auntie Skinner's chicken dinner. The pick who picks the wishbone will be the lucky winner Of a grand new pair of homespun panties. No other spinner spins a pair of panties like our Auntie's. Come along (come along, come along), you little cotton pickers, Picky picks from ev'rywhere. Down at Auntie Skinner's chicken dinner, ev'rybody will be there. 2. Come on you folks, meander In back of Alexander. He will lead the marching and show the way. They're down by Auntie's cabin, And Lordy, how they're havin' Such a time, 'cause it's Auntie's feedin' day. Oh, what is that I'm smellin'? It must be watermelon, Or the ham that's sizzlin' in Auntie's pan. Take your mother, Sister and brother, 'Cause ev'rybody's welcome there. [This song was recorded by Arthur Collins & Byron Harlan in 1915. It has become popular with New Orleans traditional jazz bands, who sometimes perform it as a tune without words.] |
19 Aug 14 - 12:10 PM (#3652096) Subject: Lyr Add: JIMMY (Mike & Tawmmie Campbell) From: Alaska Mike Here's one I wrote with a littyle help from my lovely wofe.... Jimmy by Mike & Tawmmie Campbell 2012 Jimmy was a Barred Rock rooster, He lived outside in the yard, In any kind of weather Jimmy had a pretty feather, But living with Jimmy was hard. He was always great with the chickens, Seemed to have a pretty good head, But every morning at 4 am, Jimmy would wake us out of bed. There's a whole lot of squawking and a whole lot of talking, There's a whole lot of stinky chicken poo. But the worst thing about having chickens in the yard, Is Jimmy's old cock-a-doodle-doo. Doodle doo, doodle doo, doodle doo, doodle doo, doodle-doodle-doodle-doodle doo. Now the neighbor on the right was William, And the neighbor on the left was Vi, And the neighbors in the back were Jill and Jack, And they all wanted Jimmy to die. For he woke them up every morning, They were not very happy you see, And Vi and Bill and Jack and Jill, Were getting pretty mad at me. There's a whole lot of squawking and a whole lot of talking, There's a whole lot of stinky chicken poo. But the worst thing about having chickens in the yard, Is Jimmy's old cock-a-doodle-doo. Doodle doo, doodle doo, doodle doo, doodle doo, doodle-doodle-doodle-doodle doo. I tried to be a good neighbor, invited them over for a keg, I mowed their lawns and every week, I gave them each a dozen fresh eggs. Next year under my Christmas tree, Much to my surprise, I got a hatchet from old Jack and Jill, I got a roasting pan from Vi.. I got a summons from the city, That was Williams work you see, Cause he don't like noise and he don't like Jimmy, And he sure as hell don't like me.. Now there's still a lot of squawking and there's still a lot of talking, And there's still a lot of stinky chicken poo. But thanks to all of my neighbors, There's no more cock-a-doodle-doo. Doodle doo, doodle doo, doodle doo, doodle doo, doodle-doodle-doodle-doodle doo. |
19 Aug 14 - 11:07 PM (#3652268) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKEN REEL (Mittenthal/Daly) From: Jim Dixon Lyrics below are from the sheet music at Mississippi State University. (There is also an instrumental version CHICKEN REEL, or PERFORMER'S BUCK, by Daly, published in 1910). The tune will be familiar. Spotify has over 100 recordings. I listened to several, and to parts of many, but I couldn't find a vocal recording. CHICKEN REEL Words by Joseph Mittenthal; music by Joseph M. Daly; ©1911. 1. Way down in Carolina where the sweet potatoes grow, There lives a dusky maiden by the name of Liza Snow. She used to go to parties where they'd always make her sing, But say! you ought to see that baby do the pigeon wing. They held a dancing contest and were goin' to give a prize. They all had on their finest and it now was up to Lize. Just who was goin' to win it ev'rybody there could feel When Liza hollered to the band to play the Chicken Reel: CHORUS: Clear the crowd away. Tell the band to play When yer hear me say "Go," my honey. Oh, you Chicken Reel! How you make me feel! Say, it's really so entrancin', Who could ever keep from dancin'? That's the music sweet Like the chicken meat. Give it to me with the dressin'. I don't need no dancin' lesson. Put all the other fine selections right away. That is the only tune I want to hear you play. When I get married, if there's music, I will say: "Hey, boss, keep a-playin' Chicken Reel all day." 2. One night when from a party she was walkin' home with Bill— Now he's her steady feller and the night was dark and still— It seems he stole a chicken, and when Liza looked at that, She said: "I'm goin' to wear it on my go-to-meetin' hat." "I guess you're goin' crazy," answered William with a smile, But Liza said: "Go on! You haven't heard the latest style." When first she wore it out, the people asked her to explain, But Liza simply said: "Why, I have chicken on the brain." |
20 Aug 14 - 10:48 AM (#3652388) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Felipa Cearc agus Coilleach a song in Irish Gaelic, hen's lament for cock who was killed by meat-eating humans |
20 Aug 14 - 10:51 AM (#3652390) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Felipa another song in Irish, though more commonly known as a dance tune Tá'n coilleach ag fogairt an lae |
20 Aug 14 - 11:13 AM (#3652398) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,henryp Which came first - songs about chickens or songs about eggs? |
23 Aug 14 - 03:30 AM (#3653181) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Haruo King Herod and the Cock |
06 Oct 14 - 12:25 AM (#3666488) Subject: Lyr Add: UNDER THE CHICKEN TREE (Jones/Mills) From: Jim Dixon From the sheet music at York University: UNDER THE CHICKEN TREE Words by Irving Jones; music by Kerry Mills; ©1908. 1. I had a dream last night That almost turned me white. I dreamed that hens and roosters grew on trees. I owned a great big ranch. On every hen-tree branch, The chickens were as thick as bumblebees. I went out in the yard And shook one tree right hard, And about a hundred chickens tumbled down. As soon as they had died, Why, they were quickly fried With gravy oozing out so nice and brown. CHORUS: Under the chicken tree, Under that big fricassee, Hens were poppin' out of ev'ry blossom. Lost all my love for the bird they call possum. All kinds of money and ev'ry other thing Looked like chicken feathers to me. Eggs were droppin'. Wings were floppin', Under the chicken tree. 2. The eggs came budding first, And soon as they would burst, A tiny little chicken sprouted out. Chickens were so free, It certainly seemed to me, That I would surely die soon with the gout. Then suddenly I woke And found it all a joke. How sad then ev'rything to me did seem! Don't care how long I live, Myself I'll not forgive For waking up out of that lovely dream. |
06 Oct 14 - 06:15 AM (#3666539) Subject: Lyr Add: THAT CHICK'S TOO YOUNG TO FRY (L Jordan) From: Jim Dixon Not literally about chickens--more an extended metaphor: THAT CHICK'S TOO YOUNG TO FRY As sung by Louis Jordan and His Tympani Five, 1946. Say, boy, don't you harm that bird; don't you dare to try. Start releasin' that chicken or you'll get a lickin'; that chick's too young to fry. Hey, boy, better take my word; here's the reason why: Gotta feed her steady till she gets ready; that chick's too young to fry. [§] Take her back in the barnyard, then let her go; just turn her loose, Way out there in the barnyard, where she'll grow up for better use. Hey, boy, there will come a time, someday by and by, She'll be ready for fryin', so stop your cryin'; that chick's too young to fry. [Repeat from §.] Get away; stay away; come back another day; that chick's too young to fry. |
06 Oct 14 - 07:17 AM (#3666557) Subject: Lyr Add: COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO (Louis Jordan) From: Jim Dixon Several of these phrases are questionable. I'm not sure they're even intended to make sense. COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO As sung by Louis Jordan, 1951. Tune: Turkey in the Straw. 1. It's a trick to pick a chicken when the cackle's in the coop. Some are layin'; some are lyin'; some are labeled chicken soup. Take a Dominicker rooster or a Dominicker hen For some ricky-ticky chicken pickin' right from the pen. CHORUS: Coo-whack-a-do: fricassee or new, Who-whack-a-doodle, yams and apple strudel, Out in the country, that's the style, Sweet as the kisses from a honey chile. 2. When you wake up in the mornin' to the cock-a-doodle-doo, And you sneak into the chicken shack and pick a chick or two, Fill the kettle full o' vittles and your griddle papa view(?), For the fricassee of chickasee, it's only chicken stew. CHORUS 3. Now the farmer's got a gobbler and a gander and a goose, And a mighty pretty daughter but he'll never turn her loose. If you like the farmer's daughter, she's a chicken you can steal. You swing 'er while the fiddle plays a real chicken reel. CHORUS Cock-a-doodle-doo! |
06 Oct 14 - 09:01 AM (#3666582) Subject: Lyr Add: HEY LITTLE HEN (Ralph Butler & Noel Gay) From: Jim Dixon HEY LITTLE HEN Words & music by Ralph Butler & Noel Gay, ©1941 As sung by Joe Loss on "The Warring 40s: 19 Songs from Wartime Britain" and "Comic Songs of the 1940s" and "The Great Songwriters: Noel Gay" I had a lot of chickens, a large chicken run, But owing to conditions, I'm now down to one. I give her all the tit-bits, the dear little thing, And just to keep her up to scratch, I go to her and sing: §. Hey, little hen, When, when, when Will you lay me an egg for my tea? Hey, little hen, When, when, when Will you try to supply one for me? Get into your nest. Do your little best. Get it off your chest. I can do the rest. Hey, little hen, When, when, when Will you lay me an egg for my tea? [Repeat from §.] |
14 Oct 14 - 09:54 PM (#3669204) Subject: Lyr Add: ME COCK'S ME OWN (Simon Ritchie) From: Jim Dixon ME COCK'S ME OWN (THE COMICAL COCK) As sung by Simon Ritchie on "Melodeon Mania" (2011) 1. Ladies and gentlemen, I'll tell to you this song: Of when I went to market; I will not keep you long. I met this fella selling birds; he had such a rare old stock. I handed him a half-a-crown; he handed back his— CHORUS: Cock-a-doodle-doo! It's nothing to do with you. Me cock's me own, So leave it alone, Me cock-a-doodle-doo. 2. Well, I took me cock under me coat, and off I went again. I gave me cock a poke, and it began to croak. This lady passing by, she gave me such a shock. She stuck one arm around me waist, the other one round me—CHORUS 3. Well, I put me cock in a pen along with the railroad men. Oh, what a hell of a do; oh, what a hell of a do! Well, I came back up the garden path, to separate the flock. I tried me best to pull 'em apart but she kept on pecking me—CHORUS 4. Well, me cock got into a fight; it only went in one. A policeman who was passing by said: "Come with me, my son" You know it's ... they stood me in the dock. The judge says: "What's your name?" I said: "Are you talking to me, or me—CHORUS 5. Well, they gave me seven years; to dartmoor I did go, And then they found at great big rocks, well, I was rather slow; So they put me in charge of the prison farm, but kept me under lock, But I fooled them all when I sneaked out right under the governor's—CHORUS 6. Well, it's time for me to go; I can no longer stay, But before I go, there's something I must know: Well. I cannot hang around; I should be in by twelve o'clock, But are there any young ladies here who'd like to see me—CHORUS |
24 Nov 16 - 09:31 PM (#3822565) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Rick Wyman My wife's second great uncle, Ezra Harrison was a singer and performed around St. Joseph Missouri. He was a member of The Natural Quartet and they performed on the radio. Ezra wrote and published a song called "Dat Chicken B'longs To Me" sometime between 1905 and 1915. We would sure like to find that sheet music. |
25 Nov 16 - 05:17 PM (#3822715) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Gda Music Trinidad "old school" - 1961 *Missing Frozen Chicken* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0Wa7KnOLBA One of Lord Melody`s more intriguing titles. From MONOGRAM 854 LP - "Calypsos for Adam and Eve. GJ |
11 Dec 16 - 09:04 PM (#3825893) Subject: Lyr Add: STAY AWAY FROM MY CHICKEN HOUSE (G Autry) From: Jim Dixon STAY AWAY FROM MY CHICKEN HOUSE Words and music by Frankie Marvin As recorded by Gene Autry, 1929. 1. I don't mind tellin' this whole wide world someone's doin' me wrong. I ain't been able to catch 'em yet, but they gonna get catched 'fore long. Now whoever this someone may be, Take a little tip from me: CHORUS: Stay away from my chicken house, boy, if you figger your life's worthwhile. Stay away from my chicken house, boy, or I'll cut you down Mexican style. I've got a long keen razor, a bulldog too. You'll never look like nothin' when I get through with you. Now you're not invisible or still as a mouse, So stay away from my chicken house. Now I mean it! Stay away from my chicken house. 2. You stole my horse. [horse sounds] You stole my cow. [cow sounds] You took hay from my barn. You killed my hog for meat last fall; you even stole my corn. Now for all this, boys, I won't complain, But I'm stickin' with them chickens through sunshine an' rain. CHORUS |
31 Jan 17 - 06:43 PM (#3836003) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKEN SHACK BOOGIE (Amos Milburn) From: Jim Dixon CHICKEN SHACK BOOGIE As recorded by Amos Milburn, 1947. Hello, cat; I just got back, And I'm lookin' for that place they call the Chicken Shack. They say it's fine as wine and it's really on the ball. No windows, no doors, it's just a hole in the wall. Did you say it was located down by the creek, Where you can get a whole gob(?) of good things to eat?— All good parts of the chicken; what's more, it's a cinch You can even get the last part that went over the fence. Yes, they say it's the place where all the bad cats meet. You better be mighty careful where you take a seat. Oh, there's a place where the light's comin' through the wall. You better be mighty careful; let's have a ball. Come on, all you fellas, and take a drink from my pack, 'Cause the party's ready to start down at the Chicken Shack. [Other early recordings were made by The Five Scamps and The Lionel Hampton Sextet.] |
31 Jan 17 - 07:37 PM (#3836009) Subject: Lyr Add: PICKIN' ON THE CHICKEN (Ray Stevens) From: Jim Dixon PICKIN' ON THE CHICKEN As recorded by Ray Stevens on "Here We Go Again" (2015). You know, if a chicken could talk, he might say somethin' like this: Why's ev'rybody pickin' on the chicken? What did a chicken ever do to you? Why's ev'rybody pickin' on the chicken? What a crock o' cock-a-doodle-doo! Now I'm not the kind o' bird to squawk, But seems like these days folks can't talk Without somehow slanderin' the chicken's name. But bigotry and discrimination Dominate the syntax o' this whole nation. It's enough to drive a dumb dominicker insane. Folks say "flew the coop" when the thief's departed, And if he's lackin' courage, he's chicken-hearted, And if he messes up, he's got egg on his face. You work for chicken feed, or had to scheme. Somethin's stuck in his craw—see what I mean? The many references to chickens are commonplace. Bird brain, dumb cluck, No spring chicken, strut your stuff, Nest egg, bad egg, Shake your tail feather, cocky an' such, Laid an egg, in a stew, I don't know what a chicken can do. You know, bein' a chicken in this environment is nothin' to crow about. I mean, a chicken's life is not all it's cracked up to be. No, and stop questioning my motives about crossin' the road! I don't know why I did it. Hey, I'm a chicken! Yeah! Maybe I did it to show the possum it could be done! Or sing a duet with Willie Nelson. What diff'rence does it make? I crossed the road, okay? Get over it! And it's time to stop pickin' on the chicken. I mean, what did a chicken ever do to you? It's time to stop pickin' on the chicken. What a crock of cock-a-doodle-doo! Don't count your chickens 'fore they hatch. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Dont put up a squawk, or all your chickens might come home to roost. People get up with the chickens, go to bed with the chickens, And are concerned about the pecking order. He's the cock o' the walk; he rules the roost, Broods over problems like empty nest syndrome. You know what makes me madder than a wet hen? What does ev'ry strange thing from frog legs to rattlesnake taste like? That's right—chicken! Now some sort o' reference that doesn't include a chicken is rare as hen's teeth. Now you got me doin' it! I'll be so upset, before long, I'll be runnin' around like a chi— A chicken with his head cut off, okay? Somebody stop me! What came first: the chicken, or the egg? Oh, I feel like I'm walkin' on eggs. I feel henpecked. Why did the punk rocker cross the road? He was stapled to the chicken! You know it ain't over till the fat chicken sings! And that's me! Is this any good or did I just lay an egg? |
01 Feb 17 - 01:43 PM (#3836124) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Joe_F Mrs Morales has chickens in her yard. If you want to get one, it is not very hard. Smile for the senora, you'll get a chicken free -- If Danny feels like smiling nicely, maybe two or three. -- Ay, Paisano |
21 Mar 17 - 07:16 PM (#3846056) Subject: Lyr Add: DIXIE CHICKEN (from Little Feat) From: Jim Dixon OK, it has "chicken" in the title but it's not really about a chicken. Suggested by ranger1 back on 30-Oct-2005. He said he hated it, but I don't. DIXIE CHICKEN Written by Lowell George and Martin Kibbee (a.k.a. Fred Martin) As recorded by Little Feat on "Dixie Chicken" (1973) I seen the bright lights of Memphis and the Commodore Hotel, And underneath a street lamp, I met a southern belle. She took me to the river where she cast her spell, And in that southern moonlight she sang a song so well: If you'll be my Dixie chicken, I'll be your Tennessee lamb, And we can walk together down in Dixie land, Down in Dixie land. Well we made all the hot spots; my money flowed like wine, And that low-down southern whiskey began to fog my mind, And I don't remember church bells or the money I put down On the white picket fence and boardwalk, of the house on the edge of town; But, boy, do I remember the strain of her refrain, And the nights we spent together and the way she called my name: If you'll be my Dixie chicken, I'll be your Tennessee lamb, And we can walk together down in Dixie land, Down in Dixie land. It's been a year since she ran away. I guess that guitar player sure could play. She always liked to sing along. He was always handy with a song. Then one night in the lobby of the Commodore Hotel, I chanced to meet a bartender who said he knew her well, And as he handed me a drink, he began to hum a song, And all the boys down at the bar began to sing along: If you'll be my Dixie chicken, I'll be your Tennessee lamb, And we can walk together down in Dixie land, Down in Dixie land. |
21 Mar 17 - 08:13 PM (#3846064) Subject: Lyr Add: GOT TROUBLE IN THE HENHOUSE (T Hambridge) From: Jim Dixon GOT TROUBLE IN THE HENHOUSE* Written by Tom Hambridge As recorded by Tom Hambridge and the Rattlesnakes on "Tom Hambridge and the Rattlesnakes – Live" (2007) I got trouble down at my henhouse; the rooster left town. The chicks are goin' crazy; they won't settle down. They chased me 'round the barnyard so I put 'em in the coop, But next thing I know, they want the cock-a-doodle-doo. I got trouble in the henhouse, Trouble at the henhouse, Trouble, trouble, trouble, I got chicks all over me. Trouble in the henhouse; I don't know what to do. Nothin' but cluckin' since my rooster flew. Trouble in the barnyard, it's got me so uptight. The chicks they drive me crazy; they need layin' ev'ry night. I got trouble in the henhouse, Trouble in the henhouse. Trouble, trouble, trouble, I got chicks all over me. They won't let me be, no, no, no, no, no, no. Chicks all around me layin' ev'ry night. Ev'ry time I turn around, I'm breakin' up a fight. I'm damned if I don't; I'm damned if I do. Mornin' noon an' night they want the cock-a-doodle-do. * it appears on the album as "Trouble in the Henhouse" but it's listed at ASCAP as "Got Trouble in the Henhouse." I decided to list it here as "Got..." to help distinguish it from another song called "Trouble in the Henhouse" written by Billy Briggs & Kathering Briggs. |
22 Mar 17 - 11:32 AM (#3846151) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Folked69 If you like a bit of acid folk... Sunforest - Old Cluck (up on Youtube) |
22 Mar 17 - 11:34 PM (#3846221) Subject: Lyr Add: THE CHICKEN AND THE HAWK (from Joe Turner From: Jim Dixon THE CHICKEN AND THE HAWK (UP, UP, AND AWAY) Written by Leiber & Stoller. As recorded by Joe Turner and His Blues Kings, 1955. 1. Well, a curly-head chicken fell in love with a chicken hawk, (2x) Fell head over heels for that hawk's sweet talk. 2. [She] said: "Take me up, Hawky; take me up in the sky. (2x) [I'm] just a little bitty chicken and I don't now how to fly." CHORUS: [He said] up, up, and away. We gon' fly all day. Up, up, and away. We gon' fly all day. Up, up, up, up, and away. 3. He met a bald-headed eagle flyin' up there in the blue. (2x) Well, the eagle told the hawk: "I'm gonna steal that chicken from you." 4. Well, the hawk started flyin' like a P-8 single jet. (2x) He said: "Cool down, chicken; the eagle ain't got us yet." CHORUS 5. "Well, you asked him for the sun; did you ask him for the moon?" (2x) Said: "Cool down, baby; we're gonna be there soon." CHORUS |
27 Mar 17 - 11:03 PM (#3847059) Subject: Lyr Add: ALL BIRDS LOOK LIKE CHICKENS TO ME From: Jim Dixon From YouTube: ALL BIRDS LOOK LIKE CHICKENS TO ME Words and music by Irving Jones, ©1899. As recorded by Will F. Denny on an Edison cylinder, ca. 1902. [1] Sam Green's an educated fowlist, well versed in chickenhood. When he can eat a chicken meal, his appetite is good. He eats fried chicken ev'ry meal, has chicken salad for lunch. He never buys a solitary hen, for he gets them by the bunch. And when he sees a mockingbird, that coon will loud exclaim: "That bird is a talkin' hen, although she's changed her name." He also says a canary bird is a chicken that's learned to sing, And if you contradict him, this argument he'll spring: [CHORUS] "All birds look like chickens to me. Crows look like black hens, you see. Some birds are raised up for a prize, But a knife and fork make 'em all one size. People say quails ain't chickens, you see, But they look like Lilliputian hens to me. They are eagles and owls and other fowls, But they look like chickens to me." [2] Sam Green went over to a bird show; all nations of birds he's seen, And when he spied a parrot, he said: "That hen's painted green!" And when he saw a wild duck, that coon's heart loud did beat. He said: "That hen has got bow legs and a pair of ragtime feet!" But when he saw a peacock, that coon could hardly talk. He says: "That is a coon-hen that's learned how to cakewalk." He also said that an ostrich was a chicken that's overgrown, And as he started homeward, these words he loud did moan: [CHORUS] [Another recording, also on YouTube was made by Sweet Papa Stovepipe (real name: McKinley Peebles) in 1926. The chorus is clearly derived from the above, but the verses are quite different. Parts are barely decipherable.] |
28 Mar 17 - 10:03 PM (#3847265) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Bobby Lee Cude Chicken Songs ...is it! O.K. , you want to hear a cleaver, funny and entertaining CHICKEN SONG ? Then go to CD BABY and punch in I LIKE CHICKEN ! Yep! Tis REAL LIVE CHICKENS , singing, well for the high-lights of the NEW song which, I am proud to be the co-writer, publisher & producer of the recording. |
29 Mar 17 - 01:22 AM (#3847270) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Jim Dixon Charley Nobel, back on 30-Oct-2005, mentioned a poem about a chicken swept off the deck of a ship. This probably isn't the same poem, but it's the closest I could find. From The Wanderers by Sea and Land, with Other Tales by Peter Parley (pseud.) (London: James Blackwood, 1850), page 21: THE BALLAD OF BIDDY AT SEA. Come, all ye boys and girls And hear a woful strain, Of one who went to sea And never came back again. Alas! if ye have tears, Prepare to shed them free; For poor old Biddy's fate Was sad as sad can be. An honest hen she was As any in the yard, Yet she was torn away, Albeit she cackled hard. They did not heed her cries For pity and for quarter. They put her in a coop And bore her o'er the water. For many days and nights Poor Bid in prison sighed; But she got out one day And o'er the deck she hied. But, ah! the cruel Cook Came forth and sought to catch her: And Biddy knew, forsooth, That he would fain dispatch her. She ran, she cackled shrill, And then, hard pressed, she flew— Over the side she went And fell in the ocean blue! Cold, cold was the briny flood, But Biddy's heart was brave— She did the best she could, And paddled along the wave. She rose and fell with the tide. And wistfully looked about— Alas! no hand was near, To help poor Biddy out! Ah! faint and fainter she grew, For she struggled now with, pain— And then her head it sank, Never to rise again! She sank in the briny deep, With one faint dying tone: The ship passed proudly on And left her there alone! |
29 Mar 17 - 05:14 PM (#3847448) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKEN SONG (I AIN'T GONNA TAKE IT...) From: Jim Dixon A guest quoted from this back on 30-Oct-2009. I found it on YouTube and transcribed it. THE CHICKEN SONG (I AIN'T GONNA TAKE IT SETTIN' DOWN) Words & music by Terry Shand & Bob Merrill, ©1951. As recorded by Red Foley and Ernest Tubb [1] Cock-a-doodle-do! Bless our old hen. She lays eggs the best she can: Sometimes nine and sometimes ten. Cock-a-doodle-do! Bless our old hen. [2] Our old red hen was upon her nest. She tried to sleep but couldn't rest. The rooster came home baggy-eyed, And our old hen stood up and cried: [CHORUS] "I ain't gonna take it settin' down. I ain't gonna take it settin' down. While I'm here hatchin' white an' brown, You're out scratchin' 'round the town, And I ain't gonna take it settin' down." [3] She said: "Don't say you've been alone. Them ain't my feathers in your comb. If you don't have an alibi, You're gonna see some feathers fly. [4] "I've heard it said while on the loose, You made the spots with Clara Goose. From all reports of how it looked, You tell that goose her goose is cooked." [CHORUS] [5] She said: "If I weren't such a stupe, I'd have a mink-lined chicken coop. Why, ev'rything I own's in hock. I should 'a' went with Plymouth Rock. [6] "You know one night while you were out, I met a move talent scout. He loved my walk; he loved my cluck. He's starrin' me with Donald Duck." [CHORUS] [7] You roosters out there don't you laugh. You just can't fool your better half. You mark my words; you'll see the day When your old hen will up and say: [CHORUS] "I ain't gonna take it settin' down. I ain't gonna take it settin' down. You needn't hang around an' plead. Stop handin' me that chicken feed. I ain't gonna take it settin' down." [TAG] Cock-a-doodle-do! Bless our old hen. |
29 Mar 17 - 08:44 PM (#3847467) Subject: Lyr Add: DON'T BET YOUR MONEY ON DE SHANGHAI From: Jim Dixon LadyJean mentioned this back on 12-Aug-2014. I found the sheet music at Johns Hopkins University: DON'T BET YOUR MONEY ON DE SHANGHAI Words and music by Stephen C. Foster, 1861. 1. De Shanghai chicken, when you put him in de pit, He'll eat a loaf of bread up, but he can't fight a bit. De Shanghai fiddle is a funny little thing, And ebry time you tune him up he goes "ching-ching." CHORUS: Oh! de Shanghai! Don't bet your money on de Shanghai. Take de little chicken in de middle ob the ring, But don't bet your money on de Shanghai. 2. I go to de fair for to see de funny fowls: De double-headed pigeon and de one-eyed owls, De old lame goose wid no web between his toes— He kills himself a-laughing when de Shanghai crows. 3. De Shanghai's tall but his appetite is small. He'll only swallow ebrything that he can overhaul: Four bags of wheat just as certain as you're born, A bushel of potatoes and a tub full of corn. |
02 Apr 17 - 01:18 PM (#3848196) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKEN GUMBOOGIE From: Jim Dixon Parts of this song sound like the familiar "Chicken Reel" reworked to have a boogie-woogie beat. CHICKEN GUMBOOGIE Written by Leonard Whitney As recorded by Will Bradley & His Orchestra (with Ray McKinley, vocalist), 1941. The farmers have a dance that they all like to do. It really is a killer though it never was new. They got it in a barnyard away before the Greeks From the chickens that were grubbin' and a-peckin' with their beaks. Peck corn! You better loosen up your collar. Latch on with your tail feathers out. Dig it till it makes you want to holler. The chicken gumboogie man'll get you if you don't spread out. It's a funny little lick with a boogie-woogie base [or "bass"?]. Any hep chick can put fever in your place. You can strut like a rooster, scratch with your feet, But whatever you do, don't you lose the beat. |
02 Apr 17 - 03:53 PM (#3848226) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKEN ROOST BLUES (Cliff Carlisle) From: Jim Dixon CHICKEN ROOST BLUES As recorded by Cliff Carlisle, 1934. Late last night I went down to get me a chicken or two. When I heard the old shotgun, I sure did skiddoo. Grabbed my sack and I made for the door but I didn't get away in time. As I went around the corner of the barn, boy, I sure got mine. [Yodel] The chicken roost blues. The guy that shot at me last night must 'a' been a hard-boiled old squirt, For when the buckshot hit the seat o' my pants, boy, they sure did hurt! When I got home, I went to bed, but I couldn't sleep at all. For ev'ry time I would close my eyes, I could hear that rooster squall. [Yodel] The rooster squall. I got up; I was sittin' by the fire, and I heard someone outside. They come in the gate and up on the porch; I like to jumped out o' my hide. The sheriff come up and he knocked on the door 'long about half-past two. I said: "Mister Sheriff, what do you want?" He says: "I've come for you. [Yodel] I've come for you." Grabbed my pants; I jumped out the window, and I started off to run. 'Bout that time, he grabbed me by the collar, said: "I've got you, son of a gun." Here in the jail for ninety days and it's home sweet home to me. I'll get me another sack o' chickens the day that I get free. [Yodel] The jailhouse blues. |
03 Apr 17 - 12:27 AM (#3848270) Subject: Lyr Add: WHERE IS THE CHICKEN IN THE CHICKEN CHOW… From: Jim Dixon WHERE IS THE CHICKEN IN THE CHICKEN CHOW MEIN? As recorded by Al Trace and His Musicians, 1944. I walked into a restaurant And told the waiter what I want, And what I wanted was a dish of chicken chow mein. The waiter brought it on a tray. I started eatin' right away, And right away I started to complain: Hey! Where is the chicken in the chicken chow mein, Chick-chicken chow mein, chick-chicken chow mein? Can't find the chicken in the chicken chow mein. Chick-chicken, where can you be? There's oodles of noodles and there's plenty of rice, Yes plenty of rice, whoa, plenty of rice. The onions and celery are tasty and nice, But chicken, where can you be? I've looked high; I've looked low. Can't be found, no, no, no. I've looked here; I've looked there, But the dog-gone chicken isn't anywhere! Where is the chicken in the chicken chow mein, Chick-chicken chow mein, chick-chicken chow mein? Where is the chicken? I am goin' insane. Chick-chicken where can you be? Where is the chicken in the chicken chow mein, Chick-chicken chow mein, chick-chicken chow mein? I keep on lookin' all in vain. Waiter, can't you hear me kickin'? Don't you serve a little chicken When a fellow orders chicken chow mein? |
05 Apr 17 - 09:53 AM (#3848808) Subject: Lyr Add: A CHICKEN CAN WALTZ THE GRAVY AROUND From: Jim Dixon A CHICKEN CAN WALTZ THE GRAVY AROUND As recorded by Stovepipe* on Okeh 8543, 1927. My wife she called me to breakfast; I walked right to the gate. She set me down to table to chicken on my plate. I grabbed my knapsack on my shoulder, said: "Honey, you be too late." In fifteen minutes by any man's watch, there's a chicken on my plate. CHORUS: Oh, chicken, oh, chicken, you can fry 'em nice and brown. Oh, chicken, oh, chicken, you can waltz the gravy around. Oh, chicken, oh, chicken, I don't mean no fault** to that. For chicken grow in this town, and their wings can't get too fat. Oh, when I come to a neighborhood, chickens know just what I mean. Chickens skippin' and dodgin'; no chickens can't be seen. The hen she said to the rooster: "Lord, there ain't no use to hide. Got a shotgun and it hurts to run and our wings can't roost too high." * Not much is known about this performer. He is not the same person as Daddy Stovepipe. On this recording, when he is not singing, he seems to be blowing into a jug, or something similar, and playing guitar at the same time. The song sounds like a reworking of "Chicken You Can Roost Behind the Moon" recorded by The Beale Street Sheiks. By the way, I Googled "by any man's watch," thinking it sounded like a folk saying, and the only instance I found, besides this song, is in a Fenimore Cooper novel. Maybe Stovepipe was a literate man! For more information about Stovepipe, see Going to Cincinnati: A History of the Blues in the Queen City by Steven C. Tracy. My transcription is based on one in that book, but I made some corrections based on my own hearing. **In the second chorus, he sings "I find no fault." |
06 Apr 17 - 11:20 PM (#3849185) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKEN BLUES (York Brothers) From: Jim Dixon This is a rockabilly song: CHICKEN BLUES As recorded by The York Brothers, 1951. If you don't like chicken, leave that hen alone. Well, if you don't like chicken, leave that hen alone. She'll give you so much chicken, you can't do a thing but moan. She'll give you chicken with your coffee, chicken with your wine, Chicken, chicken, chicken till you lose your mind. If you don't like chicken, leave that hen alone. She'll give you so much chicken, you can't do a thing but moan. You're a big red rooster, but that don't mean a thing. Well, you're a big red rooster, but that don't mean a thing. If you mess around with her, she surely will clip your wing. She'll give you chicken in the mornin', chicken after noon, Chicken, chicken, chicken 'neath the harvest moon. Well, if you don't like chicken, leave that hen alone. She'll give you so much chicken, you can't do a thing but moan. She'll give chicken in the mornin', chicken after noon, Chicken, chicken, chicken 'neath the harvest moon. Well, if you don't like chicken, leave that hen alone. She'll give you so much chicken, you can't do a thing but moan. |
11 Apr 17 - 09:57 AM (#3850016) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,john blues song I heard on the radio, but cant find online, can you help? lyrics were the following: "couple with a chicken in a gunny sack, walk a mile to the market down an old dirt track, couple with a chicken in a gunny sack, the three went out, but only two came back." |
11 Apr 17 - 01:44 PM (#3850039) Subject: Lyr Add: I GET THE NECK OF THE CHICKEN From: Jim Dixon I GET THE NECK OF THE CHICKEN Words by Frank Loesser; music by Jimmy McHugh, 1942. Sung by Marcy McGuire in the film "Seven Days' Leave" (1942). I suspect Loesser did not actually write all the following lyrics. Several bands have recorded this as a jazz piece with lots of instrumental improvisation and scat singing. [A] As recorded by Cab Calloway in July, 1942.
I get the neck of the chicken; I get the rumble-seat ride. [B] As sung by Phil Harris in an archived radio program: "The Jack Benny Program: Jack and Phil Go Target Shooting," from Nov. 1, 1942, which you can hear at The Internet Archive. The song begins at 7:46.
I get the neck of that chicken; I get the burnt piece o' toast.
Yes, I get the neck of that chicken; seems like I'm under a curse. [C] From Bob Dorough on "Right on My Way Home" (1997):
I get the wing and the tailbone; I get a hair in my plate. *These 2 lines are sung or recited very free-form, not matching the rhythm of the tune. [D] From Paul Cohen & Friends on "I Want You Back" (2011):
I get the neck of the chicken; that's how they give me the bird; [E] From Jeff Sanford's Cartoon Jazz Band on "Cartoon Logic" (2013):
I get the neck of the chicken; I get the rumble-seat ride.
Yeah, I get the neck of the chicken; I get the worst jobs at work, |
12 Apr 17 - 04:22 AM (#3850125) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: eftifino may have been mentioned already, but: The Moron Brothers'The Rooster Song' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvb5NSQ8s7Q |
12 Apr 17 - 08:25 AM (#3850170) Subject: Lyr Add: I LIKE MY CHICKEN FRYIN' SIZE (M Travis) From: Jim Dixon I LIKE MY CHICKEN FRYIN' SIZE Written by Merle Travis [A] As recorded by Johnny Bond, 1947: 1. I like my chicken fryin' size hangin' aroun' my pen: Young an' tender an' not so wise, like some ol' stewin' hen, 'Cause she's done seen a lot Of ever' rooster in the flock, So I like my chickens fryin' size when I get my skillet hot. 2. Well, I like my chickens fryin' size, an' I betcha that you'll agree That a purty little pullet flyin' by sure looks heavenly. From the day that I was born Till Gabri'l blows his horn, If I don't like my chickens fryin' size, then roastin' ears ain't corn. 3. Well, I like my chickens fryin' size just when they're good an' grown. I know it would be oh-so nice to have a chicken all my own, So I'll resist as long as I can, Not to steal from another man, But I must have chickens fryin' size when I put 'em in the fryin' pan. 4. REPEAT VERSE 1. [B] Additional verse recorded by Merle Travis, 1947: Well, I like my chicken fryin' size; chicken just can't be beat. Nothin' in the world can satisfy like that good ol' chicken meat. Now the south has brought the fame [To] that fryin' chicken's name, But any little chicken fryin' size is purty well near the same. |
13 Apr 17 - 03:26 AM (#3850284) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: eftifino Neil Diamond Hot August night : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiaY8ONMc4g |
14 Apr 17 - 08:07 AM (#3850473) Subject: Lyr Add: THERE'S A TRICK IN PICKIN' A ... CHICKEN From: Jim Dixon 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.] |
24 Apr 17 - 02:10 PM (#3852200) Subject: Lyr Add: IT TAKES THE OLD HEN TO DELIVER THE GOODS From: Jim Dixon IT TAKES THE OLD HEN TO DELIVER THE GOODS As recorded by Cliff Carlisle, 1936. My shanghai rooster he's a wonderful chick. There's never a rooster than he cannot lick. He struts and he cackles way down in the woods, But it takes the old hen to deliver the goods. The old shanghai crows; he does it for fun. He puts the old dominecker hen on the run. They go for a walk way down in the woods, And there the old hen delivers the goods. The old dominecker delivers the goods For the old shanghai way down in the woods. The shanghai can crow while down in the woods, But it takes the old hen to deliver the goods. The old rooster crows way down in the woods, And wishes that he could deliver the goods. He stands back and watches way down in the woods While the old dominecker delivers the goods. [The tune resembles "The Man on the Flying Trapeze."] |
24 Apr 17 - 06:44 PM (#3852251) Subject: Lyr Add: SINCE WE PUT A RADIO OUT IN THE HENHOUSE From: Jim Dixon SINCE WE PUT A RADIO OUT IN THE HENHOUSE Words and music by Chester Finley and Russ Hull, 1940. As recorded by the Hoosier Hot Shots, 1941. Since we put a radio out in the henhouse, There's more cock-a-doodle in the rooster's crow. Hens all sing like blue canaries, Fill their nest with cackle-berries, And they're twice as big as farmer brown's, I know. (I know.) How the handles off the market basket saw hay(?) and groan, And the crank has fallen off the telephone, When the eggs begin to hatchin', Ev'ry chicken comes out scratchin' Since our henhouse has got a radio (Since our henhouse has got a radio). Now that radio we put out in the henhouse Was the smartest thing we ever did, by Joe! When they hear "cock-a-doodle" Why, the hens all skiddoodle, Cluckin' "When ya gotta go, ya gotta go!" We was worried as could be; we had a mortgage due, And we thought our farmin' days were nearly through (nearly through). Now are troubles are over, And we're ridin' in clover Since the henhouse has got a radio (Since our henhouse has got a radio). [Also recorded by the Cass County Boys.] |
25 Apr 17 - 12:35 PM (#3852376) Subject: Lyr Add: FIGHTIN' LITTLE ROOSTER (Big Bill Broonzy From: Jim Dixon FIGHTIN' LITTLE ROOSTER As recorded by Big Bill Broonzy, 1939. Folks had a church on a chicken ranch. The rooster spurred the dog on the mourner's bench. CHORUS: He was a spurrin' little rooster, don't you know. Oh, what a spurrin' little rooster, don't you know. Yes, he was a spurrin' little rooster from that black hen's nest. Rooster was scratchin corn in a tub. Bull come out an' tried to take his grub. Flopped his wings, made a pass, Spurred that ol' bull in his yas, yas, yas. CHORUS Barnum an' Bailey had come to town. My brother taken the rooster to the circus groun'. The rooster told the monkey: "Doggone your soul!" Made that monkey climb a eight-foot pole, CHORUS: He was a fightin' little rooster, don't you know. Oh, what a fightin' little rooster, don't you know. Yes, he was a fightin' little rooster from that black hen's nest. He flopped his wings, started to crow, Said: "I can whup any animal on this show." The tiger come out from under the tent. He spurred that tiger and away he went. CHORUS: He was a spurrin' little rooster, don't you know. Oh, what a fightin' little rooster, don't you know. Yes, he was a fightin' little rooster from that black hen's nest. |
25 Apr 17 - 04:48 PM (#3852413) Subject: Lyr Add: IF YOU SEE MY ROOSTER (Memphis Minnie) From: Jim Dixon IF YOU SEE MY ROOSTER As recorded by Memphis Minnie, 1936. If you see my rooster, please run him on back home. (2x) I have found no eggs in my basket since my rooster been gone. I heard my rooster crowin' this mornin' just about the break o' day. (2x) I guess that was the time he was makin' his getaway. I just found out how come my hens won't lay. (2x) Ev'ry time I look around, my rooster have done gone away. I've got too many hens for not to have no roosters on my yard. (2x) And I don't know what's the matter; something have done got him barred(?). Now, Bob, if you see my rooster, please run him on back home. (2x) I have found no eggs in my basket since my rooster been gone. [I just realized this seems to be a source for Willie Dixon's LITTLE RED ROOSTER, recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1961.] |
25 Apr 17 - 05:48 PM (#3852425) Subject: Lyr Add: RED ROOSTER BLUES (Sonny Scott) From: Jim Dixon RED ROOSTER BLUES As recorded by Sonny Scott, 1933. I got a rooster in my back yard, been crowin' all day long. (2x) I believe to my soul in my chicken wants some corn. I went out last night tryin' to get myself two hens. Lord, I went out last night; I [de]cide to get myself two hens. Lord, to put with my rooster, 'cause I wants to hear him crow again. Lord, he crowed this mornin', crowed 'fore the break o' day. (2x) And it puts me on the wonder when my rooster crows that way. I went out in my henhouse; I did not make a sound. Lord, I went out in my henhouse; did not make a sound. By that time my rooster is crowin' an' there weren't no hens around. If my rooster don't stop crowin', baby, I don't what I'd do. If my rooster don't stop crowin', don't what I'd do. Because he wants one hen, baby; b'lieve I wants one too. |
25 Apr 17 - 06:16 PM (#3852432) Subject: Lyr Add: ROOSTER (The Ravens) From: Jim Dixon ROOSTER As recorded by The Ravens, 1947. I got a great big rooster [that] runs in my back yard. (2x) I bought that rooster when the times was hard. Says, during the depression when you couldn't get eggs, He kept me safer(?); didn't have to beg. I got a great big rooster that runs in my back yard. (2x) I bought that rooster when the times was hard. He's a big red rooster; he's mixed with stripéd green. (2x) He's a pretty old thing, but he's oh, so doggone mean. I bought that rooster when the times was hard. (2x) In fact, I stole him out o' Clem Williams' yard. [This recording includes lots of patter that I have omitted.] |
28 May 17 - 01:29 PM (#3857590) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: GUEST,Nipper Seaturtle I can't believe NON of the songs I know bout chickens are here! Chicken Farm - Dead Kennedys Don't Count Your Chickens - Honey Cone How Funky is Your Chicken? - Jackson 5 Chicken - The Cramps Chicken Little Was Right - The Turtles Rooster - Alice in Chains Drunken Blue Rooster - Todd Rundgren Chicken Sqwuak - M.D.C. Chicken - Toad The Wet Sprocket Little Red Rooster - Cherry Vanilla |
13 Mar 19 - 12:18 AM (#3981772) Subject: Lyr Add: PICKIN' A CHICKEN (Eve Boswell) From: Jim Dixon PICKIN' A CHICKEN Words by Paddy Roberts, music by Derek Bernfield & Garfield De Mortimer. As recorded by Eve Boswell, 1955. Come to the barbecue and sit by my side. We couldn't choose a better night if we tried. Can't you imagine what a thrill it will be, Pickin' a chicken with me? [§] It's so romantic; the moon up above Is extra bright on a night such as this. Pulling a wishbone with someone you love Is almost certain to end with a kiss. So come to the barbecue, my darling, my dear. I'm so in love with you and when you are near I get a feeling that forever you'll be Pickin' a chicken with me. REPEAT FROM §. |
13 Mar 19 - 10:29 AM (#3981789) Subject: Lyr Add: DARS A LOCK ON DE CHICKEN COOP DOOR From: Jim Dixon Lyrics below are from the sheet music at the Library of Congress. You can hear a 1920 recording by Harry C. Browne and The Harmonizers at The Internet Archive: [This is presented for historical interest only; I don't recommend singing it, due to its blatant racism. The tune is nice, though.] DARS A LOCK ON DE CHICKEN COOP DOOR Words and music by Sam Lucas, ©1885. 1. Dis kintry's gwine to de dogs at last when de farmer sets a watch And a big bull dog and a big steel trap in de watermillion patch; An' wus dan all dat's happened yet dat makes us all feel sore, Whenebber you trabbel around, you'll find dar's a lock on de chicken coop door. CHORUS: Oh! Aunt Susan! Did you eber hear ob dat before? Wharebber you trabbel around, you'll find dar's a lock on de chicken coop door. 2. De pullets dey flop dar wings and crow when a darkey passes by. Dey seem to say dat dey can't be cotched and it ain't no use to try. Oh! Gabriel blow de mighty horn! We can't stay here no more, For if we do, we will starve to death; dar's a lock on de chicken coop door. 3. And when we've a wedding party now, oh! what am we a-gwine to do? Oh! whar am de pullets a-comin' from for to put dat party froo? Oh! hang up de banjo on de wall; we'll rattle de bones no more. Dis kintry's gwine to de dogs at last; dar's a lock on de chicken coop door. [The following verse is sung in the linked recording, but does not appear in the sheet music:] 4. Oh, what is a darky gwine to do when the parson's asked to eat And there ain't no fowl to feed him with as he sits there in his seat? The good Lord knows it isn't right to tease a darky so. It's just enough to break his heart; there's a lock on the chicken coop door. |
13 Mar 19 - 07:16 PM (#3981893) Subject: Lyr Add: CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP (Happy Johnson) From: Jim Dixon My transcription from the recording at the Internet Archive: CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP Words and music by Jack Hoffman & Bert Pellish. As recorded by Happy Johnson and his International Jive Five, ©1947. [SPOKEN:] Although you may beg, You've laid your last egg, 'Cause tonight you belong to me. [SUNG:] Here, chicky, chicky, chicky! Here, chicky, chicky, chicky! Won't you try some corn today? Nice chicky, chicky, chicky! Nice chicky, chicky! We're groomin' you for consommé. Pick the feathers one by one, boy. Let me know when you are done, boy. A feathered friend from a chicken coop Makes delicious chicken noodle soup. Do you dig me, what I said, boy? What a fine dish you'll be fed, boy! A feathered friend from a chicken coop Makes delicious chicken noodle soup. Now, you stir the mixture with precision. Let the fire warm the pot. Man! You better get ready for your nutrition, 'Cause chicken soup and noodles always hit the spot. Need I mention what to do, boy? Have another plate or two, boy A feathered friend from a chicken coop Makes delicious chicken noodle soup. [SPOKEN:] Oh, shucks, man! You let that bird get away! Now we can't make no chicken noodle soup! |
11 Apr 21 - 04:42 AM (#4101821) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: Joe Offer When you stay up late in online Zoom sessions, people get to talking. So, we got talking about things we'd listen to on the radio Way Back When. I was born in Detroit, but I moved to Southeast Wisconsin when I was nine, and I thought it was cool to listen to Chicago radio stations. My favorite radio personality was Dick Biondi on WLS, but I really liked the Chickenman radio series on WCFL (named after the Chicago Federation of Labor). "He's Everywhere! He's Everywhere!" |
11 Apr 21 - 05:38 PM (#4101911) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: BrooklynJay On our weekly Zoom session, a couple started singing a song about chickens, and it sort of...ah...took flight. One week, I rewrote a verse to Seven Drunken Nights as follows: I came home on Saturday night, Drunk as drunk can be, I saw a chicken with my wife, A-cackling with glee, Well, I called to my wife and I said to her, Now will you tell to me, Why you've left me for a chicken? Now, explain yourself to me. You're drunk, you're drunk, you silly old fool, So drunk you cannot see, He's just the lad from Grub Hub And he's brought me KFC Well, I have traveled near and far, A hundred miles or more... But, after this I think I'm going vegan, That's for sure! Chicken? Nah... Duck and Cover! Jay |
12 Apr 21 - 04:28 AM (#4101947) Subject: RE: Songs about chickens From: John C. Bunnell Surely any compilation of chicken songs must include the iconic introductory number for Super Chicken's animated adventures: SUPER CHICKEN THEME SONG When you find yourself in danger, When you're threatened by a stranger, When it looks like you will take a lickin', (buk-buk-buk-buk) There is someone waiting who Will hurry up and rescue you, Just squaw-awk for Super Chicken! (buk-ack!) Fred, if you're afraid you'll have to overlook it, Besides you knew the job was dangerous when you took it! (buk-ack!) He will drink his super sauce And throw the bad guys for a loss And he will bring them in alive and kickin' (buk-buk-buk-buk) There is one thing you should learn When there is no one else to turn to Squaw-awk for Super Chicken! (buk-buk-buk-buk) Squaw-awk for Super Chicken! (buk-ack!) I don't have formal credits to hand, but one assumes that Jay Ward probably wrote these lyrics, together with those for George of the Jungle and Tom Slick (Tom and Super Chicken were the backup segments on George's TV series back in the day). |