Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens

"Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" is a jump blues song, written by Alex Kramer and Joan Whitney.[1] Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five recorded the song on June 26, 1946 and Decca Records released it on a 78 rpm record.[1] This recording was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013.[2]

"Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens"
Single by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five
B-side	"Let the Good Times Roll"
Released	1946 (1946)
Recorded	June 26, 1946[1]
Genre	Jump blues
Length	3:02
Label	Decca
Songwriter(s)	Joan Whitney Kramer, Alex Kramer

The single debuted on Billboard magazine's Rhythm and Blues Records Chart on December 14, 1946.[3] It reached number one and remained at the top position for seventeen weeks, longer than any other Jordan single.[3] It also reached number six on the broader Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[3] The B-side, "Let the Good Times Roll", peaked at number two on the R&B chart.[3]

Jordan's hit song popularized the expression "Nobody here but us chickens", but the phrase is older.[4] Its first known appearance was a joke published as a reader-submitted anecdote in Everybody's Magazine in 1908 regarding a chicken thief, formulated as, "'Deed, sah, dey ain't nobody hyah 'ceptin' us chickens."[5] From there, it was picked up by newspapers and reprinted far and wide.