The "Chicken Dance", also known and recorded as Der Ententanz, Tchip Tchip,
Vogerltanz, the Bird Song, the Chicken Song, the Birdie Song, the Bird Dance, Danse des Canards, the Duck Dance, El Baile de los Pajaritos, Il Ballo del Qua Qua, Check Out the Chicken, or Dance Little Bird, is an
oom-pah
Oom-pah, Oompah or Umpapa is an onomatopoeic term describing the rhythmical sound of a deep brass instrument in combination with the response of other instruments or registers in a band, a form of background ostinato.
The oom-pah sound is us ...
song; its associated
fad dance
A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period.
Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short-l ...
is now a contemporary dance throughout the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. . The song was composed by
accordion player
Werner Thomas
Werner Thomas is an accordionist from Davos, Switzerland credited with composing a tune popularly known as the "Chicken Dance
The "Chicken Dance", also known and recorded as Der Ententanz, Tchip Tchip, Vogerltanz, the Bird Song, the Chicken ...
from
Davos, Switzerland, in the 1950s.
The Chicken Dance is a well-known drinking and dancing song at American
Oktoberfest
The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...
events. It is also a popular dance at weddings, particularly in the regions of Texas that were settled by German and Czech immigrants, and who retain a strong love of
polka music. Over 140 versions have been recorded worldwide, including some that were released by
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its ...
, together making an estimated 40,000,000 records or more pressed.
Composer credits and publishing rights
The original name of the song was "Der Ententanz" (The Duck Dance), by the Swiss accordionist Werner Thomas. He played it in restaurants and hotels from the 1950s through the 1960s.
During one of Thomas' performances, the Belgian
music producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Louis van Rymenant heard the song. Van Rymenant had some lyrics created and in 1970 released it to the public through his publishing company Intervox Music (later co-publishing with his other company Eurovox Music) without much success. It first became a world-wide hit from 1980 through 1982, and was recorded in many countries.
On some recorded releases of the music Werner Thomas is listed as the sole composer, while on others other composers are listed, e.g., as "Thomas/Rendall/Hoes." The name Renell refers to Van Rymenant, who was listed as co-author under the pen name of Terry Rendall. The name Hoes refers to the Dutch singer/producer Johnny Hoes, who re-arranged the song for the Electronicas recording (which was released on Hoes' own record label, Telstar Records).
Eurovox Music now manages the publishing rights worldwide, except for the US (September Music), UK (Valentine Music) and the Netherlands (Benelux Music), sub-publishers.
Description of the dance
The origin of the dance moves set to the music is not known.
The piece is often notated in
cut time
''Alla breve'' also known as cut time or cut common timeis a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol (a C with a vertical line through it), which is the equivalent of . The term is Italian for "on the breve", originally meaning th ...
and the key of
C major. It begins with repeated
dominant chords before moving into the main theme. The secondary theme features a contrasting rhythm. The two themes alternate. In some versions tempo shifts are introduced to confuse and amuse the dancers, and the final repetition of the main theme is often played as one continuous
accelerando
''Accelerando'' is a 2005 science fiction novel consisting of a series of interconnected short stories written by British author Charles Stross. As well as normal hardback and paperback editions, it was released as a free e-book under the CC ...
.
The dance step has five discrete moves. The first four moves are done in place and are repeated throughout each verse:
# The dancer lifts both hands into the air and opens and closes them as if operating a
hand puppet
A hand puppet is a type of puppet that is controlled by the hand or hands that occupies the interior of the puppet.Sinclair, A, ''The Puppetry Handbook'', p.15 A glove puppet is a variation of hand puppets. Rod puppets require one of the puppetee ...
(simulating a chicken's vocalizations) four times, twice on each beat;
# The dancer pulls their hands into their underarms and
flaps them like a chicken four times, twice on each beat;
# The dancer
wiggles their shoulders and/or hips (tail feathers) while descending downward for two beats;
# The dancer claps four times.
The fifth move persists throughout the refrain and involves the dancer and a partner.
# The pair may lock arms, facing opposite directions, and spin. They may switch arms and directions (and sometimes partners) halfway through the refrain.
# The pair may "swing out," by holding hands, leaning back, and rotating in place, first clockwise and then counterclockwise.
# If performed in a
circle dance
Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle, semicircle or a curved line to musical accompaniment, such as rhythm instruments and singing, and is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need of par ...
or
square dance formation, the entire group of participants may simply rotate the circle in one direction, then shift direction halfway through the refrain, or they may perform an allemande at the command of a
caller.
The performance of one or more dancers in bird costumes leading a crowd in the dance is quite common. A 1981 video recording of the Tweets performing the song before a live television audience in the UK shows all of the "musicians" in large, mascot-style bird costumes, miming to the recording, while a group of British teens perform the dance in a line behind them. Since then, many state fairs, Oktoberfests, German culture festivals, and even weddings feature at least one dancer in a bird costume. The live performances by Bob Kames throughout the upper Midwest during the 1980s and 1990s almost always featured bird-costumed dance leaders.
Lyrics
European versions of the song from the 1980s often have complete sets of lyrics, but British, Canadian, American, and Australian versions are generally instrumentals, although there may be very simple lyrics such as, ''With a little bit of this, And a little bit of that, You shake your tail, And then you clap.'' Alternative lyrics are "I don't want to be a chicken, I don't want to be a duck, So I wiggle my butt, Quack, quack, quack, quack!"
At American Oktoberfests that feature live band performances, the hand and body gestures are usually performed without lyrics, but the four hand-claps may be accompanied by the rowdily shouted words, "We want more beer!"
Notable recordings and title changes
* In 1981,
Henry Hadaway
Henry William Hadaway (born 31 May 1942), chairman and founder of HHO, is considered a pioneer of UK independent record labels, and most notably successful for his production of " The Birdie Song" which was a hit credited to The Tweets and p ...
produced a version of the song, which was released in the United Kingdom as an
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
novelty tune "The Birdie Song" by The Tweets. It peaked at number two on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
in October 1981, making it the most popular version.
A 1981 video shows bird-costumed dancers miming as instrumentalists while the recording plays and young people dance on stage. This may be the earliest recording of the dance and hand-clapping. In 2000, this version was voted "the most annoying song of all time" in a poll commissioned for the website
dotmusic
''Dotmusic'' was a music webzine that existed as a standalone website from 1 June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine ''Music Week'', the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a ...
.
* In 1981, the Spanish accordionist Maria Jesus Grados Ventura, better known as María Jesús y su Accordion, released the song as "El Baile de los Pajaritos." This version included Spanish lyrics in both the verses and refrain.
* In 1981, the song was recorded and released in Finland by Frederik under the name "Tralalala"
* In 1981 the Italian musicians Al Bano and Romina Power recorded it as "Il ballo del Qua Qua."
* In 1981 a French recording by René Simard and Nathalie Simard was released under the title "La Danse des Canards."
* In 1982, the
music producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
for the Milwaukee-based organist and polka composer
Bob Kames first heard "Dance Little Bird" at a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
music fair.
The producer sent Kames a copy, and Kames recorded his own version on the Hammond organ, as "Dance Little Bird" or "The Chicken Dance"
[ and released it that same year.] The Kames recording hit solid gold when it was released in 1983 in Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, selling 300,000 copies.[ Kames received 2 of the 35 cents from each sale.][ Since he could not take the money out of the country, he donated all of it to for a ]relief fund
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
.[ The success of the song stunned Kames. He commented in a 1995 ]interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
, "This stupid little thing, it's infectious. It has only two chords
Chord may refer to:
* Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously
** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning
* Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve
* Chord ( ...
, it doesn't even change for the bridge. It implants the melody in people's minds—it just sticks in there. That's gotta be the secret...It just keeps on going. People come up to me at jobs and tell me how happy it makes them. You get a song like this once in a lifetime."[ Kames became known as "The Chicken Dance King" and performed the song live at hundreds of festivals with fellow musicians like ]Lawrence Welk
Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...
and Frank Yankovic
Frank John Yankovic (July 28, 1915 – October 14, 1998) was an American accordion player and polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King", Yankovic was considered the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during his long career. H ...
, as well as his own children, Bob Jr. and Barbara Kames.[
* In 1982, the polka-themed cover band "The Emeralds", from ]Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Canada, released their version on K-Tel
K-tel International Ltd is a Canadian company which formerly specialized in selling consumer products through infomercials and live demonstration. Its products include compilation music albums, including ''The Super Hits'' series, ''The Dynamic ...
records. The album that included it, "Bird Dance," was advertised heavily on television, and the ad featured a bird-costumed dancer among a group performing the dance. The album went double-platinum in Canada, and gold in Australia. The song also contributed to the success of multiple gold albums for the Emeralds in 1983 and 1984.
* In 1990 an electronic remix was released by the Belgian band Brussels Sound Revolution
Brussels Sound Revolution was a Belgian new beat band who had a novelty song hit in their home country with the 45 tours single '' Qui...?'' (1989), which featured samples of the speech Belgian former Prime Minister Paul Vanden Boeynants gave afte ...
as "La Danse Des Canards / De Vogeltjesdans".
* In 1990, the Dutch band Grandmaster Chicken and DJ Duck released the song as "Check Out the Chicken", which peaked at number 16 in Australia.
Notable live performances
* In 1981, the song and its dance were performed during the Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
, Oklahoma Oktoberfest. A local television station provided a chicken costume for the use of a dancer at the festival, in keeping with the costumed performances by The Tweets in England, and this costume is said to have been what gave the "Chicken Dance" its American name.
* On 13 November 2009, CIHT-FM
CIHT-FM (89.9 FM, ''Hot 89.9'') is a radio station licensed to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Stingray Group, it broadcasts a CHR/Top 40 format. CIHT's studios are located on Antares Drive in Nepean, while its transmitter is located in Camp ...
played the Chicken Dance continuously until 389 tickets for the CHEO Dream of a Lifetime were purchased at CA$100 each, to support the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. This played for over 3 hours.
* On 23 April 2010, in a fund raiser for Helen DeVos Children's Hospital
The Helen DeVos Children's Hospital (HDCH) is a nationally ranked, freestanding, 241-bed, pediatric acute care children's hospital located in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is affiliated with the Michigan State University College of Human Me ...
, an attempt at the world's largest chicken dance record was held at Byron Center, Michigan
Byron Center is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census, which is a significant increase from a population of 5,822 at the 2010 cen ...
at Jake's restaurant, the site of a giant plastic chicken sculpture.
* During the 2015–16 season, NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
club Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
had the chicken dance played over the PA system at the Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to:
*Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California
*Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California
* Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California
* Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California
* Wells Fargo Cen ...
every time the Flyers scored four goals in that game. The Flyers had a partnership with Chick-Fil-A where customers could get free breakfast sandwiches from Chick-Fil-A the day after every game where the Flyers scored four goals or more.
In popular culture
* In 2001, the song was heard in the film '' Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius''.
See also
* Schuhplattler
The Schuhplattler is a traditional style of folk dance popular in the regions of Bavaria and Tyrol (southern Germany, Austria and the German speaking regions of northern Italy). In this dance, the performers stomp, clap and strike the soles of th ...
References
{{Authority control
Novelty songs
Songs about birds
Novelty and fad dances
Number-one singles in Germany
Line dances
1950s songs
Compositions in C major