Hank Thompson
"Gotta Sell Them Chickens" lyrics

Gotta Sell Them Chickens

(With Junior Brown)

Well, my pappy told me
As I sit on his knee
About the birds
And the bees and such
"You can do right proud
In a college crowd
But you ain't gonna learn that much

Get your degree
In the ABC's
And dig out the cold hard facts
You've got to sell them chickens
Before they die
And the eggs before they hatch"

Now I was told
At the Super Bowl
When the crowd let out a roar
A big old back
With a ball and a jack
And went on in to score

The coach recalled
When he spiked the ball
Said, "Forget the old cotton patch
I wanna sell them chickens
Before they die
And the eggs before they hatch"

Old slugger's ball
Was a-heading to the wall
With what looked
Like a home run clout
But the fielder's glove
Went high above
And caught it for the final out

On the sporting page
He was all the rage
When they asked him
How he made that catch
"Well, I sold them chickens
Before they died
And the eggs before they hatch"

Now the boxing king
Climbed into the ring
To fight for the title bout
But a right to the jaw
Was all he saw
As the ref was a counting him out

The manager said
As he shook his head
"Son, you done lost this match
You gotta sell them chickens
Before they die
And the eggs before they hatch"

Now a friend I know
Searched high and low
For the secrets to success
And he didn't stop
Till he got to the top
Of old Mount Everest

An old guru
Told him all he knew
As he thumbed through his artifacts
"You gotta sell them chickens
Before they die
And the eggs before they hatch"

Now the moral here
Should be clear
And it's one I'd like to share
Just be yourself
Like nobody else
And you might become a millionaire

Your reply
When they wonder why
How'd you make all that scratch
"Well, you sold them chickens
Before they died
And the eggs before they hatch"

Yeah, want to know
How you made that dough
Just tell them how to make a batch
"Just sell them chickens
Before they die
And the eggs before they hatch"

Authors: Hank Thompson