(Uncle Dave Macon used to sing this, dance, and play the banjo - all at once! Make this more difficult. Try handspelling “chicken” as you sing the chorus!)
In a little country schoolhouse where the children used to go
There lived a little feller by the name of Ragtime Joe.
One day the teacher called the class to spell a certain sort of bird
The bird it was a chicken and they could not spell the word.
So the teacher called on Ragtime Joe to spell that word for them.
He did not hesitate a bit; this is the way that he began:
chorus
C (that’s the way to begin)
H (that’s the second letter in)
I (that is the third)
C (is the fourth letter in this bird)
K (that’s a filling it in)
E (getting near the end)
C H I C K E N
That ‘ere’s the way to spell chicken!
Parson Johnson held a concert at the old schoolhouse one night
He hired a lot of talent that could sing and could recite.
But when they pulled the curtain back, everything went wrong,
Til one feller loudly called “Let’s hear it for Ragtime Joe!”
He sang them a ragtime jukin’ tune, but it did not go so well.
He said “I went acrost on that so I guess I’ll have to spell.”
And then he told the audience he’d composed this chicken song
And when he sang these words to them, he took the house by storm.
chorus
C (that’s the way to begin)
H (that’s the second letter in)
I (that is the third)
C (is the fourth letter in this bird)
K (that’s a filling it in)
E (getting near the end)
C H I C K E N
That ‘ere’s the way to spell chicken!