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"Shave and a Haircut" and the associated response "two bits" is a seven-note musicalcall-and-responsecouplet,riff orfanfare popularly used at the end of a musical performance, usually for comedic effect. It is used melodically or rhythmically, for example as adoor knocker.
"Two bits" is a term in the United States and Canada for 25cents, equivalent to aU.S. quarter. "Four bits" and "six bits" are also occasionally used, for example in the cheer "Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar." The final words may also be "get lost", "drop dead" (in Australia),[citation needed] or some other facetious expression. In the UK, it was often said as "five bob" (slang for fiveshillings), although words are now rarely used to accompany the rhythm or the tune.
An early occurrence of the tune is from the introduction of the 1899 Charles Haleminstrel song "At a DarktownCake Walk".[1] Other songs from the same period also used the tune. The same notes form thebridge in the "Hot Scotch Rag", written by H. A. Fischler in 1911.[citation needed]
An early recording used the seven-note tune at both the beginning and the ending of a humorous 1915 song, byBilly Murray and the American Quartet, called "On the 5:15".
The tune features in part of the instrumental accompaniment to the 1925 Buster Keaton filmBattling Butler.
In his 1933 novel,Hizzoner the Mayor,Joel Sayre wrote of boats "tooting the official Malta welcome blast to the tempo of 'Shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits, shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits, shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits'", which was soon taken up by every craft in the harbor that had a boiler.[2]
In 1939, Dan Shapiro, Lestor Lee andMilton Berle released "Shave and a Haircut – Shampoo",[3] which used the tune in the closing bars. In the same year, Rosalind Rosenthal and Herbert Halpert recorded "Shave and a Haircut, Bay Rum".[4]
The tune can be heard on customizedcar horns,[5][6] while the rhythm may be tapped as a door knock[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][excessive citations] or as aMorse code "dah-dit-dit-dah-dit, dit dit" (–··–· · ·)[15] at the end of anamateur radiocontact.
The formerprisoner of war and U.S. Navy seamanDoug Hegdahl reports fellow U.S. captives in the Vietnam War would authenticate a new prisoner's U.S. identity by using "Shave and a Haircut" as ashibboleth, tapping the first five notes against a cell wall and waiting for the appropriate response. U.S. POWs were then able to communicate securely with one another via atap code.[16]
The tune has been used many times as acoda orending in musical pieces. It is strongly associated with the stringed instruments ofbluegrass music, particularly the 5-stringbanjo.Earl Scruggs often ended a song with thisphrase or a variation of it. On the television showThe Beverly Hillbillies, musical cues signifying the coming of a commercial break (cues which were inbluegrass style) frequently ended with "Shave and a Haircut". It is the second most popular bluegrassrun, after theG run.[17]
"Shave and a Haircut" was used in many earlycartoons, particularlyLooney Tunes cartoons and 1929Mickey Mouse shorts. It was also used as an ending to many cartoon shows, just after the credits. Decades later, the couplet became a plot device to lure-out an intended victim, as used byJudge Doom in the filmWho Framed Roger Rabbit, the idea being thattoons cannot resist finishing with the "two bits" when they hear the opening rhythm.[18] The tune was also featured in earlyNokia phones, like the3310 model, as the "That's it!" ringtone.[19][20]
The phrase has been incorporated into many recordings and performances. Notable examples include:
The tune is used inCatalan with a different lyric: "Nas de barraca ...Sant Boi" ("Shack nose ... Sant Boi"). It is also tapped, as a door knock. The Catalan lyrics may come fromBlanes, where it was sung twice withNas de barraca. Sant Boi. Cinc de carmelos pel noi (Shack nose. Sant Boi. Five candies for the boy).[28]
InIrish barroom music, the tune is sometimes tagged at the end of a song. The performer sings the first part to the lyrics, "How is your aul' one?" (read: "old one", a slang term for mother), to which the audience replies, "Gameball!" (A slang term meaning ok).[29]
The Book of World-Famous Music, a 1966 work by James J. Fuld, which reveals a 1939 ditty, 'Shave and a Haircut—Shampoo', by Dan Shapiro, Lester Lee and Milton Berle, and a similar number in the same year, 'Shave and a Haircut, Bay Rum', recorded as a folk melody by Rosalind Rosenthal and Herbert Halpert.
