Even Superman had trouble comprehending the Mixolydian Mode. Glug, glug!
This song was sometimes known as "Chick in the Barnyard, Cluckin' Hen and Old Hen Cackle. A version of Cluck Old Hen appeared in a publication entitled "South Texas Work Songs" as far back as 1886. To tell the truth, however, I'm not real sure how this could be a work song, other than the mention of the "railroad men" in the first verse. Usually a work song has the leader call out, followed by a group response, which is the cue to hammer on a railroad tie or something like that ("Take this hammmer--WHOP, Take it to the Canyon---WHOP" being an obvious example). Cluck Old Hen does not follow that pattern.
More likely, this song is derived at least in part from African rhythms and melodies, and so "work songs" may be kind of a euphemism for "African songs."
It is often played using the Mixolydian Mode.
Although I am far from an expert in musical theory (in fact I'm just a hair above ignorant, to be honest), I have some simple notions about the different scales. It begins with realizing that the scale we were taught in kindergarden consists of seven notes (the Ionian Mode), even though if you look at any fretted instrument there are 12 half steps to make an octave. There's nothing magic about "our" scale, it's just seven tones, with five tones skipped. The Mixolydian mode is almost the same as the "normal" mode, with six of the seven tones the same as our scale, and one tone different. Specifically, the 7th note is a half step flat compared to the normal do-re-mi scale. The Mixolydian scale looks like this in the key of C:
Most of our "normal mode" songs are played with three chords: the I, IV and V chords. In the key of A, this would be A, D and E.
In the Mixolydian Mode, however, our ears seem to like to hear different chords, and in particular the VII chord, so Mixolydian A favors A, D and G. The Celtics, by the way, seemed to like the Mixolydian mode, so that's why a lot of Irish and Scotch tunes are played in these modes. The Mixolydian Mode is related to the Dorian mode (which basically uses A minor instead of A), and the Blues scale, which is a six note scale that comes from Africa. More about that in some future note.
For the moment, it may be enough to know that the chord structure is different from the expected (I, IV, V) structure of most folk songs, and the reason is that it uses a different scale than the one we are accustomed to.
Now, what about these lyrics? Well, it could be that this is just a song about some hungry folks thinking about eating chicken. But there are definitely some sexual overtones in the song that make you think that the hen might really be a prostitute who services the railroad men (see, for example, the discussion of this song in http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=61809 ).
Fiddlin' John Carson recorded an early version in the 1920's, followed soon after by Al Hopkins and the Hillbillies. Both of these are posted on youtube.com. But if you would like to play a version similar to what might be found in Morgantown, please check out this version from Clifftop, with Rachel Eddy hosting. Scott Phillips is on banjo, with Bob Shank on hammer dulcimer and I. B. Browning on trumpet, among others:
A Part (Mixylodian):
AG AD AG EA
B Part:
AC AG AC EA
Here's a compilation of lyrics, courtesy of http://vclvm54.isis.unc.edu/mediawiki/index.php/Talk:Cluck_Old_Hen_%281%29
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railroad men;
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes enough for the whole damn crew.
First time she cackled, she cackled in the lot,
Next time she cackled she cackled in the pot;
Cluck Old Hen, cluck and squall,
Ain't laid an egg since late last fall.
Cluck old hen, cackle and sing,
You ain't laid an egg since way last spring.
Cluck old hen, cackle and squall,
You ain't laid an egg since late last fall. (Johnson)
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railroad men;
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes three and sometimes four.
Sometimes five, sometimes six,
Sometimes seven and sometimes eight;
Sometimes nine, sometimes ten,
And thats enough for the railroad men.
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railroad men;
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes enough for the whole damn crew.
First time she cackled she cackled in the lot,
Next time she cackled she cackled in the pot;
Cluck Old Hen, cluck and sing,
Ain't laid and egg since late last spring.
My old hen, she won't do,
She lays eggs and 'taters too; (Frank Proffitt)
The old hen she cackled,
She cackled in the morn;
She cackled for the rooster
To come get his pecker warm. (Tom P. Smith, W.Va.)
Cluck old hen, cluck for your corn,
Cluck old hen, your winter's all gone.
Cluck old hen, cluck in a lot,
The next time you cluck, you'll cook in a pot.
I had a little hen, she had a wooden leg,
The best danged hen that ever laid eggs.
Laid more eggs than the hens around the barn,
Another little drink wouldn't do me no harm. (Tommy Jarrell)
Cluck Old Hen, cluck I tell you,
Don't lay an egg, I'm a-gonna sell you. (Joel Shimberg)
My old hen died, what'll I do,
Guess I'll have some chicken stew. (Neal Walters)
Cluck old hen, you'd better cluck,
Hawk's gonna eat your chickens up. (Ed Weaver)
Cluck old hen, cluck all night,
Soon you will be Chicken Delight
Probable, possible. my fat hen.
She lays eggs in the relative when.
She might lay eggs in the positive now,
If only she could postulate how.
Cluck old hen, cluck I say,
The Dow-Jones average is down today.
Cluck old hen, cluck six-ten,
The Dow-Jones average is down again. (Neil Rossi)
Possible, probable my black hen
She lays eggs in the relative when
She can't lay eggs in the positive now
For she's unable to postulate how. (Spark Gap Wonder Boys)
She lays eggs for the railroad men;
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes enough for the whole damn crew.
First time she cackled, she cackled in the lot,
Next time she cackled she cackled in the pot;
Cluck Old Hen, cluck and squall,
Ain't laid an egg since late last fall.
Cluck old hen, cackle and sing,
You ain't laid an egg since way last spring.
Cluck old hen, cackle and squall,
You ain't laid an egg since late last fall. (Johnson)
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railroad men;
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes three and sometimes four.
Sometimes five, sometimes six,
Sometimes seven and sometimes eight;
Sometimes nine, sometimes ten,
And thats enough for the railroad men.
My old hen's a good old hen,
She lays eggs for the railroad men;
Sometimes one, sometimes two,
Sometimes enough for the whole damn crew.
First time she cackled she cackled in the lot,
Next time she cackled she cackled in the pot;
Cluck Old Hen, cluck and sing,
Ain't laid and egg since late last spring.
My old hen, she won't do,
She lays eggs and 'taters too; (Frank Proffitt)
The old hen she cackled,
She cackled in the morn;
She cackled for the rooster
To come get his pecker warm. (Tom P. Smith, W.Va.)
Cluck old hen, cluck for your corn,
Cluck old hen, your winter's all gone.
Cluck old hen, cluck in a lot,
The next time you cluck, you'll cook in a pot.
I had a little hen, she had a wooden leg,
The best danged hen that ever laid eggs.
Laid more eggs than the hens around the barn,
Another little drink wouldn't do me no harm. (Tommy Jarrell)
Cluck Old Hen, cluck I tell you,
Don't lay an egg, I'm a-gonna sell you. (Joel Shimberg)
My old hen died, what'll I do,
Guess I'll have some chicken stew. (Neal Walters)
Cluck old hen, you'd better cluck,
Hawk's gonna eat your chickens up. (Ed Weaver)
Cluck old hen, cluck all night,
Soon you will be Chicken Delight
Probable, possible. my fat hen.
She lays eggs in the relative when.
She might lay eggs in the positive now,
If only she could postulate how.
Cluck old hen, cluck I say,
The Dow-Jones average is down today.
Cluck old hen, cluck six-ten,
The Dow-Jones average is down again. (Neil Rossi)
Possible, probable my black hen
She lays eggs in the relative when
She can't lay eggs in the positive now
For she's unable to postulate how. (Spark Gap Wonder Boys)
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