Annotation:Walk Chalk Chicken
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WALK, CHALK CHICKEN. AKA - "Walk Chalk Chicken with a Necktie On." Old-Time, Reel. A cross-tuned (AEae) piece related to the “Farewell to Whiskey/Young America Hornpipe/Duchess of Athol's Strathspey” family of tunes, from the playing of West Virginia fiddler Melvin Wine. He learned the tune from his father, who was the only person he ever heard play it. Comparisons with a similarly-titled rhyme from early 20th century collector Thomas Talley's 1922 collection (Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise and Otherwise) called "Walk, Talk, Chicken with Your Head Pecked," or with the early minstrel song "Ginger Blue" (which uses the words "walk, talk"), are speculative, and no direct connection has been established.
WALK, talk, chicken wid yo' head pecked!
You can crow w'en youse been dead.
Walk, talk, chicken wid yo' head pecked!
You can hoi' high yo' bloody head.
You's whooped dat Blue Hen's Chicken,
You's beat 'im at his game.
If dere's some fedders on him,
Fer dat you's not to blame.
Walk, talk, chicken wid yo' head pecked!
Source for notated version:
Printed sources:
Recorded sources: Poplar LPI 40290, Melvin Wine - "Cold Frosty Morning" (1976). Marimac AHS 6, Melvin Wine "Vintage Wine" (1993).
See also listing at:
Hear/see the tune played on youtube.com [1]
See Austin Rogers' standard notation transcription [2] [3]