Chicken In The Barnyard (Cluck Old Hen)

Chicken In The Barnyard

Old-Time, Breakdown USA; Arkansas, West Virginia

ARTIST: Clark Kessinger CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: Early 1900's

RECORDING INFO: County 733, "The Legend of Clark Kessinger."

OTHER NAMES: "Cluck Old Hen," "Cackling Hen," "Old Hen Cackled"

SOURCES: Glines Bowden (Arkanses) [Thede]; Clark Kessinger (West Virginia) [Phillips, Reiner & Anick]. Phillips (Traditional American Fiddle Tunes, Vol.1), 1994; pg. 47. Reiner & Anick (Old-Time Fiddling Across America), 1989; pg. 80. Thede (The Fiddle Book), 1967; pg. 124; Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc;

NOTES: "G Major. Standard. AABB (Phillips): AABBCC (Thede): AA'BB'CD. The tune is perhaps best known under the titles "Cackling Hen," "Old Hen Cackled." The tune features accented notes meant to imitate a chicken's squawk." (Kuntz, Fiddler's Companion, http://www.ceolas.org/tunes/fc). Part of the “Cluck Old Hen” group which has floating lyrics from “Granny will you Dog Bite?” and the “Hog-eye Man” songs.

LYRICS:

Old hen she cackled, cackled in the lot,
Next time she cackled, cackled in the pot.