Cackling Hen

Cackling Hen is distinguished by its characteristic ‘chicken squawk’ imitations and its numerous regional variations. This versatile piece has served as a fiddle contest standard for over a century, appearing in documented competitions as early as 1899 in Gallatin, Tennessee, where it was featured as a ‘category tune’ with fiddlers competing to play the best version of this specific melody. The tune’s enduring popularity was further demonstrated at the 1931 LaFollette, northeast Tennessee fiddlers’ contest, cementing its status as a cornerstone of contest repertoire. The tune exists in numerous melodically disparate variants that share little beyond their barnyard-inspired titles and the distinctive ‘cluck’ or ‘squawk’ sounds created through various fiddle techniques. These imitative elements are achieved through pizzicato ‘clucks’ on the strings, often combined with elaborate gestural performance. Notable fiddler Tommy Jarrell learned an intricate version from Tony Lowe, who ‘would swing the whole fiddle way out, and when he started back he’d pluck it in again and hit that with the bow, and all the while he’d never miss his time.’ The tune gained wider recognition through influential recordings, particularly the Skillet Lickers’ 1930 version ‘Cackling Hen and Rooster Too’ and their later 1934 adaptation ‘Old Man Depression Get on Your Way,’ which praised Roosevelt’s New Deal. Historical field recordings by Library of Congress collectors captured regional versions, including Edden Hammons’ 1947 West Virginia interpretation and Fonza Smith’s elaborate Alabama showpiece version from 1965. Distinguished from the similar ‘Cluck Old Hen’ (which is typically played in different keys and tunings), Cackling Hen is generally performed in G major with standard tuning. The tune has been in the repertoires of influential fiddlers across the South and Midwest, from Oklahoma to Arizona, demonstrating its nationwide distribution and adaptability across regional fiddle traditions.