Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012-12-14
- Album Name: Reggae Anthology: Sweet Reggae Music (1979-84)
Song Meaning (Interpretation) of “Black Hen Chicken” by Barrington Levy
“Black Hen Chicken” by Barrington Levy is a song that speaks of the freedom of self-determination. The narrator is celebrating a hard-won freedom from an oppressive situation and compares his situation to that of a black hen chicken. The lyrics compare an oppressive situation to a hen whose wings are clipped, saying how the hen will never fly and that it will remain a prisoner in its own yard. However, the narrator is now free, much like a black hen that has just broken through a fence and is now free to roam the universe. The message of the song is that despite oppressive circumstances, one can eventually break free from the confinement they have been subject to and enjoy living in freedom and liberty.