Chickens are some of the common widespread domesticated animals and because of this, they are various composers with chicken-themed songs. These songs about chickens come from an artist’s perspective as they use the popular bird as either a metaphor or in the literal sense when making music.
Songs of this kind don’t belong to a particular genre but rather touch on a little bit of everything, as you can sing about chickens in any form. Most of the tracks are mostly to entertain rather than give meaning to life, so let loose and enjoy the compilation.
You will be pleasantly surprised at the number of well-known artists in this list that were too fascinated with this bird.
These are the best I found and arranged in ‘Pecking’ order. Enjoy.
1. Chicken In Black – Johnny Cash
It is a hilarious song by the famous Johnny Cash about how he could not live with his constant headaches. He went to the doctor, who prescribed a brain transplant to fix him up. When the transplant was done, he got a bank robber’s brain and lost his talent.
He started robbing banks uncontrollably and got caught; when he wanted to get his brain back, he was told that his brain was put on a chicken. As he remained a bank robber, the chicken got famous and made a fortune from it.
In this groovy piece, Rufus Thomas teaches the audience to do a funky version of the chicken dance. He calls it the funky chicken, and according to the lyrics, “Your knees start wiggling all over the place. You flap your arms and your feet start kicking”. If you want to feel clucky, this song is for you as it has everything.
3. Chicken Fried – Zac Brown Band
On the surface, this tune is all about fried chicken and the joy it brings us, but it also has a deeper meaning about enjoying life’s simple pleasures.
Zac Brown wrote the song while living with a friend and reminds us that life is more than luxury. We can also find joy in the mundane and the simple pleasures of sharing the Southern specialty, fried chicken, with friends and family.
4. Know Your Chicken – Cibo Matto
The narrator in this piece has literally translated an Italian idiomatic expression. “Conosco i miei poll” translated word for word is “Know your chicken”.
Actually, the true meaning of the expression is to know your peeps, to know who you’re dealing with. It’s an interesting choice from the artist.
5. Psycho Chicken – The Fool
The Fools are known for their satirical music that will get you all clucked up. It’s a funny song with numerous references to chickens in its lyrics.
Most songs about chickens don’t come better than this; I hope you enjoy listening to this piece as much as I did.
6. The Song of the One Legged Chicken – Tom T. Hall
This Tom Hall track is a country song about a one-legged chicken that lives in a barn with other animals. The piece takes us on a journey of the chicken’s life from birth to everything it goes through.
When you look at the song’s title, you may be forgiven to assume it’s a children’s tune, and you will be correct, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it nonetheless.
7. Chicken Train – Ozark Mountain Daredevils
This track is the trippiest piece on this compilation of songs about chickens, as it is about a dream with bizarre things. The dream has laser beams and weird things, including a train that seemingly runs all day and takes chickens away.
It is one of those “What did I just listen to” songs, but you still can’t help but listen to even more of it regularly.
8. Chicken and Biscuits – Colt Ford
I bet you did expect to encounter a love song in a list of songs about chickens, did you? Colt Ford compares the two most important things to him.
His love interest and how he can’t have enough of her while saying that’s exactly how he feels about eating chickens and biscuits. It doesn’t come much better than this when dealing with a Southern love story.
The title of this track is self-explanatory as it is a song about chickens. It is an EDM track with no words, leaving you to concentrate on the dancing chickens.
The chickens dance, sing, and even seem to be making the music themselves, according to the video. It’s a song not to be taken seriously, and so should you when listening to it, as you should just let go and get your groove on.
10. Sic’em on a Chicken – Zac Brown Band
Zac Brown Band is a Georgia music group that has already made the list, so we can assume they love chicken. It is a playful song meant to be lighthearted, as it is full of clever wordplay.
They sing about how much fun it is to chase chickens around as it is from the perspective of a chicken lover. If you are a country music fan, you will be left with a smile after listening to it.
11. The Chicken Song – Spitting Image
This catchy sing-along song is so bad it’s good as puppets perform it, and I still can’t get it out of my head. The lyrics warn you that you will still hear and love the song even if you are on Mars.
The song urges the audience to hold a chicken in the air, which is weird in itself. However, the rest of the lyrics isn’t good either, as most of the song doesn’t make any sense.
12. I move Chickens – Gucci Mane
For most of us, Gucci Mane is the most famous artist on this playlist of songs about chickens. As I have said some of the tracks on this compilation will use chickens metaphorically, this is great as he brags about his booming chicken business and how he is “in the kitchen cookin chicken tryin to pay my rent”.
Of course, he’s referring to selling drugs. Gucci Mane also talks about his childhood, and how he became a famous artist.
13. Chicken Dance – The Chickies
The Chickies are a group of friends that make fun and lighthearted music that will get you dancing and leave a smile for the whole family. It is no ‘egg-ception’ as it is a family-friendly piece that will get everyone jumping and dancing.
It’s filled with positive vibes and will leave you in a good mood. If you are having a bad day, I dare you to listen to it and not feel better.
14. Dixie Chicken – Little Feat
Lowell George, the leader of Little Feat, and Martin Kibb co-wrote this song about a hilarious heartbreak story. The piece is about a man who falls in love with a woman he meets at a hotel lobby and immediately promises to be with her forever.
He also promises her a beautiful house but she still leaves him. When he goes to console himself with a beer, he finds out all the guys there have been dumped by the same girl. They end up not being sad anymore, laugh, and have a great time.
15. Chicken Payback – The Bees
The bees are famous for their hilarious music, and they join our collection of songs about chickens with this piece. The song has a playful and cheerful tone as it encourages the listeners to do silly dances like the chicken and monkey dance.
Great music if you want a satirical song to dance and let go.
It is one of the songs that use chickens as a metaphor, but it takes a dark turn as it uses a chicken farm to mean a re-education camp. The re-education camp was used during the Vietnam war for those thought to be anti-government to teach them how to be more patriotic.
The metaphor is perfect for this sad instance, as the conditions of the camp were as horrible as some chicken farms and how they were treated inhumanely. It tells the sad stories of the Vietnam War.
17. Chick Chick – Wang Rong Rollin
Next on our list is simple and repetitive Chinese song that is very catchy as it has a childish nature that adds to the appeal. If you are not convinced about how catchy and memorable it is, maybe the over 40 million views on YouTube will change your mind.
18. Happy Like A Chicken With His Head Cut Off – Eric Hutchinson
Why be as happy as a clam when you can be happy like a chicken with its head cut off? Eric Hutchinson about the usage of an anti-depressant, and the chicken part is referencing how he may feel a little but he’s actually very disconnected.
It is a playful piece that might get you dancing and feeling thankful for what you have, as that’s all we have in this chaotic world.
19. Drunk Chicken / America – U2
This song is a cry for help for the degrading nature of America, as the country is obsessed with alcohol and violence. It’s also a cry for justice for all those that the government has harmed with what they consider as likely collateral damage.
It is the most profound piece of our list, as it got me thinking about where the country was and where it is going.
20. The Chicken Dance – Thomas Werner
Simplicity inspired this song by Thomas Werner, who says he was tired of complicated dances and just wanted to make his own simple one.
And ironically, he composed the piece with the help of his ducks, who usually greet him with a bit of dance when they see him. The song is as simple as it gets, with practical, no words and positive vibes.
21. Chicken Noodle Soup – J-Hope & Becky G
The track is a multilingual song that has it all and is perfect to end this compilation of songs about chickens. J-Hope raps his verse in Korean while Becky G mixes it up a little with a mixture of English and Spanish.
Chicken, in this instance, is used in a famous dish, chicken noodle soup.
Last Words
We come to the end of this chicken-filled journey as I introduced different types of songs that use chickens in various ways. The songs about chickens above are a reminder we can always find meaning in the seemingly mundane things in life.
I have enjoyed every piece on the playlist and hope you did the same. I also hope you found these songs funny and even educational. They can be excellent additions to your playlist as they can cheer anyone up when down.
Music is the lifeblood of my veins. I love to listen, play and write music. Being a music band manager is what I love to do mostly because I love working with artists on their personal branding and brand building while helping them find the next level of success.
