Almost put this in MPSIMS but then decided Cafe Society because it’s a song…
I’m sure many of you know the C-H-I-C-K-E-N song. Name of song? Not sure.
Anyway, I learned it as a camp song in Girl Scouts, and since then I’ve heard a few mildly different versions of the lyrics. I’m wondering if you know the song, and if so, how do your lyrics differ from these?
C- thats the way it begins
H - I’m the 2nd letter in
I - I am the third
and C - I’m the 4th letter in that bird
oh K - I’m fillin’ in
E - I’m near the N
oh C-H-I-C-K-E-N
That’s the way you spell
CHICKEN!
Oh Rufus, Ruffus, Johnson Brown
Whatcha gonna do when the rent comes 'round
Whatcha gonna say
Whatcha gonna pay
Whatcha gonna do on the judgment day
Oh you know
I know
Rent means dough
Landlord’s gonna throw you out in the snow
Oh Rufus, Ruffus, Johnson Brown
Whatcha gonna do when the rent comes round?
I learned this song in elementary school in Oregon in the 70s, pretty much exactly as the OP has it.
When I was teaching it to a group of children at a camp a few years ago one of my co-workers pulled me aside because she was concerned that this song was offensive to African-Americans. :rolleyes:
GS camp, California, early 80’s. His name is Rufus Rumfus Johnson Brown. Here’s my version, almost identical:
C- thats the way it begins
H - I’m the 2nd letter in
I - I am the third letter
and C - is the 4th letter in this word
oh K - I’m fillin’ in
E - I’m near the N
oh C-H-I-C-K-E-N
That’s the way you spell
CHICKEN!
Oh Rufus, Rumfus, Johnson Brown
Whatcha gonna do when the rent comes 'round
Whatcha gonna say
Whatcha gonna pay
Whatcha gonna do on the judgment day
Oh you know
I know
Rent means dough
Landlord’s gonna throw you out in the snow
Oh Rufus, Rumfus, Johnson Brown
Whatcha gonna do when the rent comes round?
You can find the words online too, I did a search a few years back. (Now, does anyone else know O G?)
I’m another one who has never heard of this song. I grew up mostly near Baltimore, but never was in Girl Scouts or went to camp (in the US) or anything.
The original version is “(Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown) What Ya Gonna Do When De Rent Come 'Round” (here a recording from 1905) and was a “coon song”, a/k/a a song done in blackface minstrel shows. So leafrog’s co-worker wasn’t all that far off the mark.
C is the way it begins
H is the next letter in
I is the middle of the word
C you have already heard
K is the next letter in
E we are nearing the end
C-H-I-C-K-E-N that’s the way you spell chicken
and a 1 and a 2 and a doodley-doo
Rufus Rofkis Johnson Brown
whatchta gonna do when the rent comes around
whatchta gonna do
whatchta gonna say
can’t pay the rent til the break of day
whatchta gonna do how’s it gonna go
can’t pay the rent if you don’t got the dough
and a 1 and 2 and a doodley-doo
(repeat)
Bah. This old zombie proves there ain’t no justice: The full collection has multiple recordings of “The Preacher and the Bear” and, yes “What You Going To Do When The Rent Comes 'Round” but only one of “Won’t You Fondle Me”!