A Pack of 3-Legged Dogs

Ten odes to tripod canines. Which is your favorite?

While compiling songs with the number three “3” in the title a few months ago, I noticed in my research several songs appear with the title “Three Legged Dog.” So I created a separate playlist of these songs, knowing I eventually wanted to write another post featuring multiple songs with the same title.

I’d previously done this with the song title “King For a Day” last year and it was a crowning achievement! (That goes out to you pun lovers.)

I'd only heard one of the below “3-Legged Dog” tracks before and recognized just a single artist. Say what you will about Spotify — it is the devil’s streamer — but it can’t be beaten for creating a playlist like this one.

I found close to 100 songs with the title “3-Legged Dog” and listened to at least 50 of them. A good number were awful/borderline unlistenable, and seven or eight were instrumentals, which I excluded simply because they seemed to have no discernible connection to the title.

That helped narrow it to about 20, which I trimmed to a more manageable 10.

Not every song is literally about a 3-legged dog, but at least half of them are and run the gamut from tearjerker to knee-slapper.

As a dog owner, professional dog walker/boarder, and person who generally prefers canines to humans, stories of dogs getting injured or dying can turn me into a blubbering mess. I’ve never had a 3-legged dog client (yet), but I’ve met a few, and have been amazed at how quickly they adapted to their reduction in limbs. There’s so much we can learn from the pups about how to navigate life!

You will notice that I’ve added an alternate track to the playlist (it’s song #10). I couldn’t leave cats out of this mix, so I ended it with a cute ditty by Red House Painters titled “Three-Legged Cat.”

I’ve also included one song, “Cinnamon Tree,” which is clearly not titled “3-Legged Dog.” But the lyrics tell the story of a 3-legged pup and since it’s better than most of the correctly titled songs, it made the final cut.

As always, I would love to know which of these three-legged pup tunes you like best and if I missed any essential songs that should make this list. I’ll add it to the playlist which I’m sharing below.

Note: several of the YouTube clips below are different versions of the songs in the playlist. I tried to include live takes when possible.

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1. Firewater — 3-Legged Dog

Firewater is/was a band formed by ex-Cop Shoot Cop guitarist/vocalist Todd A., back in 1995. I would describe Firewater’s music as political post-punk with a distinctive world-music vibe. Think The Clash but with more djembe and accordion. Maybe Gogol Bordello is a better comparison.

This is the one band and song that I knew ahead of time. The “3-Legged Dog” in Todd A.’s smartly written track (from the 2008 album The Golden Hour) is all metaphor, and perhaps a bit autobiographical.

I’m pretty sure the band is no more as they haven’t released any new music since 2012, but I can’t find any definitive confirmation online. Perhaps we will get new Firewater music again one day. I sure hope so.

2. Shawnee Kilgore — Three Legged Dog

From here forward, I’ll be sharing info I find on the internet about the bands and artists. Hopefully, it’s all accurate but I make no promises!

Shawnee Kilgore is a staple of the folk/singer-songwriter scene of Austin, Texas. She had a weekly Wednesday residency at the historic Threadgill’s Old Number One, where Janis Joplin used to spend her Wednesday nights singing with Kenneth Threadgill.

What Janis surely never did, though, was perform 5 brand-new songs every week for more than a year straight! On her website, Kilgore claims to have written and recorded more than 500 songs! That sort of creative discipline only serves to make insecure people like me feel like losers! Thanks a lot, Shawnee!

“Three Legged Dog” is apparently from an album Shawnee wrote with Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, many other TV shows and films) titled Back to Eden (2016). Take from that what you will.

This one is about a literal 3-legged dog. The last line is my favorite: “If you’ve got three when they’ve got four, everything’s a waltz.”

3. The Bengsons — Three Legged Dog

Get ready for something intense and powerful.

From their website:

Abigail and Shaun Bengson are a married composing and performing duo based in NYC and VT who have performed across the country and around the world. Their video for The Keep Going Song has been viewed over 4 million times.

That doesn’t begin to adequately describe The Bengsons sound. They write music for theater as well as for records. “Three Legged Dog” is from the Hundred Days (Original Cast Recording) for which they wrote and performed the music. Abigail’s voice is otherworldly, capturing a wide range of expression and tonality. At times she sounds possessed and even dips into Tuvan throat singing. The live version above doesn’t capture the backdrop of pulsating breaths that the studio version does, so check that one out too (in the playlist).

To learn more about The Bengsons, the NY Times published a fascinating article about them in 2018.

And check out their recent project, Sovereignty Hymns, which is linked from their website. It’s a series of songs/stories all related to reproductive liberty. Like “Three Legged Dog" the hymns are intense, powerful, and deeply emotional.

4. Wooster — Three Legged Dog

Wooster’s “Three Legged Dog” is a metaphor for how the narrator of the song feels after his long-term partner leaves him. He knows he’s not a catch and he describes himself thusly in this groovy, funky dual-vocal dynamic track:

Well I ain’t the kind of man to give advice/But if I were you I would just move on/I gotta heart like a three-legged dog/and it don’t sleep unless it’s laying in the street/on that cold concrete

This song is from their 2009 album The Heights of Things. I couldn’t find too much online about them but I did discover that they were from my alma mater’s city, Santa Cruz, California. Here’s a review of the band from the Santa Cruz Weekly (also in 2009):

"One of Santa Cruz' liveliest local acts, Wooster has become a crowd favorite in a relatively short period of time. The band kicks on a winning amalgam of blues, soul and reggae anchored by grooves played by crack players who know their way around some elastic funk. The band's secret weapon is vocalist Caroline Kuspa, whose singing chops and emotive power are undeniable. With the band gearing up for the impending release of its eagerly awaited full-length The Heights of Things, expect to hear a lot about Wooster in the months and years to come." - Paul M. Davis (Mule Train, Santa Cruz Weekly

5. Marty O’Reilly & the Old Soul Orchestra — Cinnamon Tree

This was a wonderful discovery, and to find a live version of “Cinnamon Tree” (the one alternate-titled song in this playlist), made me doubly happy.

Marty O’Reilly’s band might be called the Old Soul Orchestra, but my oh my, does his voice exude old-soulitude.

We’re back to a literal take on the three-legged dog for this one. It’s dark, but somehow uplifting as well. My favorite lyrics:

It’s not the body of the beast that holds her spirit

It’s her spirit in itself which I adore

6. Bindley Hardware Co. — Three-Legged Dog

Here’s a fun bluegrass tune that is about a literal dog (Charlie!) as well as a metaphor. I listen to this one and at the end, I want to yell, “Yee Haw!”

I found a cool live clip of Bindley Hardware Company (above) that is a great companion to the studio version.

In my research of the band, I discovered on Wikipedia that the Bindley Hardware Company Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s located in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

And this about the band, from the Purple Fiddle website:

Bindley Hardware Co. is a rust-belt Americana band from Pittsburgh, PA. They draw influence from classic country, folk, and modern alt-country, as well as from the original Bindley Hardware Co., its namesake hardware store owned and operated by frontman Jon’s family during Pittsburgh’s industrial boom in the early 20th century. “To be able to make music or have any kind of creative endeavor that identifies where you’re from is really important. Things in Pittsburgh inspire me every day. The Bindley Hardware Co. has such a rich history and I’m kind of making it my own,” Bindley said.

Bindley Hardware Co. is still going strong and just released their 3rd album in 2024, Bloomfield Sound.

7. Marisa Anderson — 3 Legged Dog

Marisa Anderson is probably the most recognizable name on this list, other than maybe Firewater. She was new to me but has been around for more than two decades, playing with the country-folk band, The Dolly Ranchers, before going solo.

She’s super-prolific and has written and performed in a wide variety of genres, including blues, gospel, country, folk, and jazz, to circus music, minimalism, electronic music, drone, 20th-century classical, and improvisation.

“3 Legged Dog” is from her debut solo album Holiday Motel (2005). Her latest album, Swallowtail, was released this year and is getting rave reviews.

I’m getting Lucinda Williams vibes in this song, with some excellent finger-picking guitar. Check out around the 2:30 mark when she speeds it up and shows off her amazing chops.

8. Lost Dogs — Three Legged Dog

Lost Dogs as described at allmusic.com:

Formed in the early '90s as a union of four other groups, the Lost Dogs released its debut album, Scenic Routes, in 1992. Mixing a style which was applauded by fans of alternative country as well as Christian music, the group maintained a low but growing profile.

Kind of vague and odd, but I can add that the band released six albums over a 10-year span, breaking up in 2002. Real Men Cry, released in 2001, was written in honor of bandmate Gene Eugene, who passed the year prior. The entire album is quite excellent; I played it as I wrote this post and it’s worth checking out.

“Three Legged Dog” is sweet, funny, and sad. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be about their recently deceased friend or a literal dog. Perhaps both.

He's still got a good bark, and his bite ain't soft
Yeah, he's still got heart and a line you don't cross
He's a cranky old fart who can show you who's boss
He's got a few miles left, knock on wood
He's a three legged dog, but he's still pretty good

9. Gene Burnett — Three Legged Dog

This one did not show up in my Spotify search, but instead appeared on the sidebar on YouTube when looking for a Lost Dogs video clip. I played it just to be thorough, thinking I was done with my list of 8 songs about 3-legged dogs (I found the next song right afterward).

The next thing I know, tears are streaming down my face. There’s something about Gene’s lived-in voice, the chords of his acoustic guitar, and the honesty in the lyrics, told from the POV of a dog without a 4th leg, that broke me. Sure, I’d been listening to legless dog songs for a few hours straight, so I was primed for a cry, but none of the others moved me quite as much as this song.

Here’s a bit from Gene’s website:

I first started writing songs and performing them publicly when I was a senior in high school back in 1975. Since then, at one time or another, it's been a career ambition, a serious hobby, a form of therapy, just plain fun, or some combination of these things. Now it's something I do mainly for pleasure, self-expression and to help supplement my income as a T'ai-Chi teacher. During the period between 1987 and 1996 I did a lot of performing and recording in Seattle, mostly with my friend and musical partner Victor Cummings.

Amazingly, he’s got 42 albums listed on his site, and they are all streamable! Check him out and support artists like Gene who write and record music because it’s what they love, what they must do, regardless of income.

10. Red House Painters — Three-Legged Cat

I hadn’t intended to add a “Three-Legged Cat” song to this list, but like a stray that wanders into your house, this Red House Painters tune showed up unexpectedly in my song search.

I’ve been a big fan of Mark Kozelek and his bandmates since I moved to San Francisco in 1992 and fell in love with their debut, Down Colorful Hill. Boy does that album capture a singular mood. What that mood is, I can’t pin down. Although the band was based in my new adopted city, I never did see them perform live.

I wasn’t familiar with this ode to a feline tripod but its inclusion felt like the perfect way to end this exploration of songs dedicated to dogs, cats, people, and all creatures great and small who struggle to get around on our limbs, present or absent.

• I know reading this one requires some extra time and energy, but I’m certain that you’ll find it worth it! It’s a great distraction from the election results. which I’m betting are not going the way most of you had hoped.

• I would love to know which of these 10 tracks resonated with you most. Any artists here you plan to seek out or dive deeper into?

• Do you know any additional 3-Legged Dog songs that I should have included here?

• And lastly, are you familiar with any of these artists? If so, can you fill me and the readers of EW&SL on what else to check out by them?

• As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my words and listen to the songs that move me.