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Dat’s the Way to Spell Chicken/Chicken Don’t Roost Too High/Ragtime Chicken Joe/Chicken
Old-time Song with fiddle breaks; “Dat’s the way to Spell Chicken” by Sidney L. Perrin and Bob Slater, 1902
ARTIST: "Chicken" Mississippi John Hurt on "Avalon Blues" the tribute to Mississippi John Hurt, where children are contributing to the singing.
Listen: Mississippi John Hurt; "Chicken"
CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes
DATE: 1909 Bob Cole and J. Rosamund Johnson in 1899; (recording 1924, Henry Whitter) "There is No Chicken That Can Roost Too High For Me" by W.J. Simons, published in 1899. Fred. Lyons “Dem Chickens Roost Too High”c1887; Dat’s the way to Spell Chicken by Sidney L. Perrin and Bob Slater, 1902;
RECORDING INFO: Uncle Tom Collins, "Chicken, You Can't Roost Too High for Me" (OKeh 45140, 1927) Dixie String Band, "Chicken Don't Roost Too High for Me" (Puritan 9160, n.d. but prob. c. 1926) Georgia Potlickers, "Chicken, Don't Roost Too High" (Brunswick 595, 1932; rec. 1930) Earl Johnson & his Clodhoppers, "They Don't Roost Too High for Me" (OKeh 45223, 1928; on Cornshuckers2) Riley Puckett, "Chicken Don't Roost Too High for Me" (Columbia 150-D, 1924) Uncle Tom Collins, "Chicken Can't Roost Too High for Me" (OKeh 45140, 1927) Henry Whitter, "Chicken Don't Roost Too High for Me" (OKeh 40077, 1924) Jones, Grandpa. 24 Great Country Songs, King 967, LP (1975), trk# A.04 [1950] McClung Brothers. West Virginia Hills. Early Recordings from West Virginia, Old Homestead OHCS 141, LP (1982), 9 [1927/03/07] (Chicken, [Oh Chicken]) Webb, Bob; and Craig Edwards. Cluck Old Hen, Richmond Webb RWA 4303, CD (2004), trk# 13 (Mister Chicken) "Ragtime Chicken Joe" by "Fiddling Doc Roberts Trio" Conqueror 8566, McGee Brothers (1927), Kirk McGee (1927), Asa Martin (1933 under the title 'Ragtime Chicken Joe' and Tobacco Tags (1939 under the title 'De Way to Spell Chicken'.
RELATED TO: C-H-I-C-K-E-N; Dem Chickens Roost Too High
OTHER NAMES: Rooster Don't Roost to High for Me; Dem Chickens Roost Too High; There Is No Chicken That Can Roost Too High for Me; Ragtime Chicken Joe;
SOURCES: BrownIII 434, "Chicken" (1 short text) Roud #11777; E.C Perrow;
NOTES: “Dat’s the way to Spell Chicken” by Sidney L. Perrin and Bob Slater, 1902 is the source of Ragtime Chicken Joe/C-H-I-C-K-E-N versions. Many versions, like "Ragtime Chicken Joe" by "Fiddling Doc Roberts Trio" Conqueror 8566, add the “Chicken don’t roost too high” verse, combining the two songs. The McGee version was called "C-H-I-C-K-E-N Spells Chicken", and it appears on collection "Sam McGee Complete Works 1926-1934" CD Document 8036, 1999. It was also recorded by Mississippi John Hurt (as "C-H-I-C-K-E-N Blues" also with a verse from “Chicken don’t roost too high”), the Red Clay Ramblers, Tom Paxton, and Van Dyke Parks. One version by John Hurt includes the chorus only. The other recording that includes a verse ("Chicken, don't you roost too high for me") is played in the key of C.
Fred. Lyons wrote “Dem Chickens Roost Too High”c1887, which is a different song that introduces the “Chicken roost too high” lyrics.
“Chicken Don’t Roost Too High for Me,” is listed by Meade as written by Bob Cole and J. Rosamund Johnson in 1899. According to Saints and Songsters by Paul Oliver "There is No Chicken That Can Roost Too High For Me" by W.J. Simons, was published in 1899. To what extent the 1887 “Dem Chickens Roost Too High” version had an influence on these subsequent versions is unknown.
Here is "Chicken/Dat’s the way to Spell Chicken" by Mississippi John Hurt:
CHICKEN- Mississippi John Hurt; "Avalon Blues" the tribute to Mississippi John Hurt, where children are contributing to the singing. Listen: Mississippi John Hurt;
Chicken, chicken
You can't roost too high for me
Chicken, chicken
Come on out of that tree
Chicken, chicken, chicken
You can't roost too high for me
C is the way to begin
H the next letter in
I am the third
C For two C's in the bird
K is to fill him in
E I'm near the end
C-H-I-C-K-E-N
That's the way to spell chicken
C is the way to begin
H the next letter in
I am the third
C For two C's in the bird
K is to fill him in
E I'm near the end
C-H-I-C-K-E-N
That's the way to spell chicken
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