A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor

The Sound of Chickens lyrics
Saturday, March 08, 2008

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Hello chickens, my old friend
It's the joke show once again
And I'm wondering, turning, tossing,
Why the chickens make their crossing
Is it due to some complex internal code
They cross the road
I hear the sound of chickens

(CHICKENS)

I feel sorry for the blondes
Somehow the public still responds
To the jokes about a low IQ
Among people who are blonde and blue
But I wonder even though I am Norwegian
Should I be vegan
I hear the cries of chickens.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Wondering where the birds had flown
Were they crossing roads with ganders
To escape from Colonel Sanders
And perverts who are twisted and obsessed
With chicken's breasts
I hear the sound of chickens.

(SFX)
And in the naked light I saw,
Ten thousand chickens maybe more.
Chickens crossing every highway,
Avenue and road and byway
Chickens crossing roads that have no crossing guards
And hit by cars
And that's the sound of silence

(SFX)

And the people bowed and prayed
For the eggs that would be laid
But the chickens galloped at top speed
They did not want to be fricasseed
Or boiled with celery and carrots
They couldn't bear it
I heard the sounds of chickens

(SFX)

"Chicks", said I, "You do not know
You should cross a highway slow
If you do not look around both ways
You could be run down by Chevrolets
And if you should be flattened by a Chev
Chicken Kiev
I hear the sounds of chickens.