Shave and a Haircut

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Sheet music for Shave and a Haircut.

Shave and a Haircut, and the associated response, "two bits", is a simple (7 or 8 note) musical couplet sometimes used at the end of a musical performance (or, much less often, at the beginning). The seven-note variant is often called the world's shortest complete song, having an introduction (one note), a question (two notes), a response (two more notes), and a conclusion (the final two notes). The generic and oft-used two-note fanfare known colloquially as "TA-DAAAA" is shorter, but arguably not a complete song.

The first known occurrence of the tune is from a 1899 Charles Hale song, "At a Darktown Cakewalk." Other songs from the same period also used the tune. In 1939 Dan Shapiro, Lestor Lee and Milton Berle released "Shave and a Haircut—Shampoo" which featured the tune in the closing bars, and is thought to be the origin of the lyrics. Over time the phrase has permutated through several variations.

At some point, the tune became associated with a profane insult in some Latin American countries, particularly Mexico. Whistling the tune or using a car horn to play it is considered highly offensive. The insult is "chinga a tu puta madre" ("go fuck your whore of a mother") ^{[citation needed]}; as a result, only the first 5 notes are usually played in Mexico, and are referenced to as "ta tata ta ta".

[edit] References

There are endless references. The tune has been used as a "wrapup" countless times on various numbers performed through the years. One variant was postulated in a Far Side cartoon. A conductor is leading a rehearsal of a symphony orchestra, and he makes the following announcement:

"All right, I don't know who's doing it, but in the concert we will NOT be concluding the symphony with Shave and a Haircut!"

The external link expresses the notes this way, although for some reason the article asserts there are only 6 notes. There are either 7 or 8 depending on whether the 3rd note, the F-sharp, is used. When it is used, notes 2 and 3 each become half the value of note 4. Also included are the notes based on the sheet music shown above:

7 6 6 -6B 6 | R -7 567 R

C G G Ab G | R B C R

"Shave and a hair-cut, two bits"

7 6 -5# 6 -6B 6 | R -7 567 R

C G F# G Ab G | R B C R

"Gee, Off-i-cer Krup-ke, Krup you!" (from West Side Story)

Reference to "Shave and a Haircut" was an important plot device at one point in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the idea being that Toons, when presented with the first five beats of the phrase ("Shave and a hair-cut..."), cannot resist finishing it off aloud. This is a reference to the fact that many early cartoons featured the couplet, played on things varying from car horns to window shutters banging in the wind. Judge Doom uses this tactic to lure Roger Rabbit out of hiding at the Terminal Bar, circling the room and tapping out the five beats on the walls. The scene mainly uses the non-musical variant, simply knocking on a solid surface, employing the rhythm but not the melody of the tune, though on the last of Doom's repetitions, he softly sings the words to the beat, and Roger, at the limit of his self-control, bursts through the wall and sings (nearly shouting) "...TWOOO BIIITTS!" in response.

In the film What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Gilbert sings the tune to his mentally handicapped brother to calm him down, using the words, "Match in the gas tank" (to which his brother replies, "Boom boom").

An old Volkswagen advertising slogan used the tune with the words, "Volkswagen Does It...Again".

"Six bits" is a variation on the famous ditty, likely a regional preference.

The Canadian comedian Nardwuar the Human Serviette will always end interviews with "Keep on rockin' in the free world, and the "doot doola doot doo..." of "Shave and a Haircut", to which the interviewee must respond with the final "doot doo!" before Nardwuar will let them go.

Early computer games often featured the tune when the player lost a life. The most famous of these games must surely be the classic Head Over Heels.^{[citation needed]}

An early recording used the 7-note tune at both the beginning and the ending of a humorous 1915 song, by Billy Murray and the American Quartet, called "On the 5:15".

The comic song "A Transport of Delight" by Flanders and Swann (about a London double-decker bus) contains several instances of the tune sung to the words "Ninety-seven 'orsepower om-ni-bus!" and concludes with the phrase played on the piano, followed by the spoken words "Hold very tight please!" and two discordant piano stabs.

Canadian sportscaster Don Taylor includes the tune in highlights featuring former Toronto Blue Jays and current Texas Rangers outfielder Frank Catalanotto. Examples of this include, "Frank Catalanotto...base hit," and "Frank Catalanotto...homerun."