Little Red Rooster
Savoy Brown Lyrics
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Too lazy to crow for day
I got a little red rooster,
Too lazy to crow for day
He keeps everything in the barnyard,
Upset in every way
Dogs begin to bark,
Dogs begin to bark,
And the hounds begin to howl
Watch out all you kin folk,
My little red rooster's on the prowl
I tell you that he keeps all the hens
Fighting among themselves
Keeps all the hens
Fighting among themselves
He don't want no hen in the barnyard
Layin' eggs for nobody else
Let me tell everybody...
Now If you see my red rooster
Send him home
Said If you see my red rooster
Send him home
I ain't had no peace in the barnyard
Since my red rooster's been gone
The lyrics of "Little Red Rooster" by Savoy Brown present an intriguing depiction of a lazy rooster causing chaos in the barnyard instead of doing his job of crowing at dawn. The verses convey the image of the rooster being the boss of the place, with everything and everyone upset and disturbed in his absence. The rooster appears to be the source of trouble that awakens the dogs and hounds, disrupting the peace in the barnyard even before dawn. The lyrics tell us that the rooster excels at keeping the hens fighting among themselves, not allowing any of them to lay eggs for someone else.
The lyrics continue with a call for help to those who might encounter the rooster outside of the barnyard, urging them to send him home. The implication is that with the rooster gone, the barnyard will cease to be a place of constant disturbance and unrest. "Little Red Rooster" can be seen as a metaphor for someone who creates chaos and unrest wherever they go, but who also has an irresistible allure that keeps others fight among themselves in their absence.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a little red rooster,
Too lazy to crow for day
I have a rooster who is too lazy to crow in the morning.
He keeps everything in the barnyard,
Upset in every way
He is causing trouble for everything and everyone in the barnyard.
Dogs begin to bark,
And the hounds begin to howl
The dogs and hounds sense danger is near.
Watch out all you kin folk,
My little red rooster's on the prowl
Be careful, my rooster is roaming around and causing trouble.
I tell you that he keeps all the hens
Fighting among themselves
He instigates fights between the hens.
He don't want no hen in the barnyard
Layin' eggs for nobody else
He wants all the hens to lay eggs for him and not for anyone else.
Now If you see my red rooster
Send him home
If you see my rooster, please send him back home.
I ain't had no peace in the barnyard
Since my red rooster's been gone
There has been no peace in the barnyard since my rooster left.
Contributed by Sarah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
clrok
don't know where this recording came from, but if it's from the album the song was on: Slow Train – 1986, then here's the lineup per Savoybrown.com - (no idea if this was on other records or not)
1986-1988
Kim Simmonds – guitars, keyboards, harmonica, vocals
Jimmy Dagnesi – bass
Al Macomber – drums
(Guest) Les Baker – keyboards
(Guest) Robert Martin – keyboards
(Guest) Bobby Sexton – keyboards
Shmutza-Hideous – percussion
Dave Walker – vocals
Mike Ervin
this version is absolutely astonishing!!
John Muddle
from the album the blues keeps me hanging on, saw them do this live at the Laffyyette tap room in Buffalo, the Black bass player on vocals was amazing!, played it for about 20 min....completely blown away
Donna Stachowski
@John Muddle That would be my Hometown!! So sorry I missed that one for I practically lived at the Tap Room for their Blues Night's. Do you happen to recall what year you saw them there.......early "70's I assume, yeah? I do know they Played at The Hardrock Quarry often in the Summer here in Akron, outside of Buffalo also .....and dirt cheap ticket prices. Those were the days!! These guys are still great, aren't they?
Mike Bockey
wow boom just no words to describe how much talent is being presented here
simples assim
bom demais! lembra minha adolescência!
Scott McGrew
Best rendition of Little Red Rooster that I have heard. Mick Taylor's rendition is also right up there.
777jinxie
The Best Blues Band ever...
Us and Them
Savoy Brown- Little Red Rooster - precise, concise, excellent in every way, imo
Listened to many versions on U-tube, they all seem to over play it, play all over themselves, mostly terribly.
Charron Sikorovsky
Pure, unadulterated — thrills & chills💫⭐️😍😘🤣😆❤️💙❤️💙❣️💟☮️‼️
Roy Elmo
that's how you use your fingers to play guitar. no effects, no pedals, no autotune.