Dead Skunk
"Dead Skunk" is a 1972 novelty song by Loudon Wainwright III. Released as a single in November 1972, it eventually peaked at number 16 on the "Billboard" charts on March 31, 1973. The song appears on Wainright's 1972 album "Album III". Background. The song is musically a simple folk song based on banjo, but accompanied by guitar, drums and fiddle. The lyrics describe a dead skunk in the middle of a busy road and the smell it produces for people as they drive by. Wainwright has said that the song came out of an actual accident involving  a skunk, and that he wrote it afterward in 15 minutes. ("Someone had already killed it, but I ran over it.") Although the single was released in November 1972, it was not until well into 1973 that it caught on with radio stations, and its number 16 peak on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart was not reached until the week ending 31 March 1973. It peaked at number 12 on the "Cashbox" charts on April 14. It was the only record to chart for Wainwright. "Dead Skunk" also reached number eight in Canada and number 12 in Australia. Dead Skunk