Dana Lyons is known around the globe for outrageous songs like “;Cows With Guns,”; a catchy tune that landed in the No. 1 spot on Dr. Demento (and stayed there for one year) and No. 2 on the Australian country charts, and spent six months on Ireland's Top 40. He has toured 46 states and traveled internationally to Australia, Ireland, England, New Zealand, Mexico, Kazakhstan and Siberia.

Inspired by a strange dream he had in 1994 where bovine revolutionaries had just taken over Omaha, Neb., the song is a simple tune with an overabundance of forced rhymes and low-blow puns. Lyons scribbled down a bunch of verses he remembered from the dream, he recalled, but the ending was the hardest because he wanted it to be positive and “;not too sad.”;

A quadruple rhyme that involved whoppers, coppers, shoppers and choppers made the final cut, and a YouTube video featuring the track has received more than a million hits to date.

“;A group of Australian high-schoolers randomly created the video,”; Lyons explained.

After getting a note with the subject line “;lawsuit?”; from a friend, he decided to simply give them permission to run their elaborate claymation video—as long as he was included in the credits. Another animated video also has received more than a million hits since being posted online.

Lyons performed a few shows on Maui and Kauai earlier this week before arriving in Honolulu for a performance at McCoy Pavilion this weekend. Some of the songs will be vegetable-oriented since his concert is sponsored by the Vegetarian Society of Honolulu.

Two of his songs have been transformed into award-winning illustrated books, including “;Cows With Guns,”; published by Penguin, and “;The Tree,”; published by Illumination Arts.

“;I asked Jane Goodall to write a quote for my book,”; he said. “;We became good friends, and now I sing for her youth activist group, Roots and Shoots.”;

Lyons also collaborated with Goodall on “;Circle the World,”; a mix of Goodall telling stories of chimpanzees and working for peace and environmental justice and Lyons' ballads. Many of his melodic tunes blend serious politics with over-the-top humor.

Lyons has been surrounded by music throughout his life and always was involved in environmental and social justice causes, so it's no wonder that he combined the two.

“;When I was 10 years old, I organized an Earth Day activity and had a bunch of kids pick up garbage,”; he said. “;As a teen I was in a rock band, writing songs. My fifth song was about developers digging up apple orchards. I was pretty in tune to this kind of stuff straight away.”;

Lyons recently released an album titled “;Three-Legged Coyote.”;

“;My albums are a good mix of comedy, love songs and songs about social issues,”; he said. “;The show will be great for the entire family. (And) I'll definitely sing 'Cows With Guns.'”;