More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About the Chicken Dance

April 1st, 2008 | View Comments

I’m looking for a recording of the chicken dance* song right now, and this is what I’ve discovered:

An iTunes search for “chicken dance” gets you 150 hits.
There is a Cree and/or Blackfoot tribal dance called the chicken dance. It is presumably not polka.
The chicken dance is included on albums titled The Complete Wedding Party CD, Oktoberfest, The Real Complete Jewish Kids Party, From Russia with Love, and Soltravieso Presenta Bailando Sin Parar
The chicken dance has been performed by Dora the Explorer, Hampton the Hampster from Hampsterdance the Album, and a group of beatboxing Marshmallow Peeps
One recording of the chicken dance has been classified as “New Age”
The chicken dance has LYRICS. Multiple versions!

Snap your feet
Flap your wings
Shake your backsides
Clap twice and sing

I wanna be a chicken
Wouldn’t wanna be a duck
Why quack quack quack
When you can cluck cluck cluck

Join hands and go ’round in circles
Around the circle you go
Join hands and go ’round in circles
All around the circle you go

And in Spanish too!

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*We do this in the bleachers at Badger football games. Yes, even the hook-arms-and-swing-round-and-round part. Given the average level of intoxication at the games, and the fact that bleachers aren’t exactly designed for bad polka, I’m surprised there weren’t more injuries.