"Dead Skunk" is a 1972 novelty song by Loudon Wainwright III.

The lyrics describe a dead skunk in the middle of a 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 in 15 minutes.

[2] 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.

[citation needed] In 1974, a Dutch version was issued called "Een witte eend op het midden van de weg" ("A white duck in the middle of the road").