View source for Shave and a Haircut

{{Short description|Seven-note rhythm and melody}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2025}}
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\addlyrics { Shave and a hair -- cut, two bits. }
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{{listen|filename= Shave and a Haircut Door Knock.ogg|title= As a door knock|format=[[Ogg]]
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"'''Shave and a Haircut'''" and the associated response "'''two bits'''" is a seven-note musical [[call and response (music)|call-and-response]] [[couplet]], [[riff]] or [[fanfare]] popularly used at the end of a musical performance, usually for comedic effect. It is used melodically or rhythmically, for example as a [[door knocker]].

"[[Bit (money)|Two bits]]" is a term in the United States and Canada for 25 [[Cent (currency)|cents]], equivalent to a [[Quarter (United States coin)|U.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|date=October 2019}} or some other facetious expression. In the UK, it was often said as "five bob" (slang for five [[shilling]]s), although words are now rarely used to accompany the rhythm or the tune.

==History==
An early occurrence of the tune is from the introduction of the 1899 Charles Hale [[Minstrel show|minstrel]] song "At a Darktown [[Cakewalk|Cake Walk]]".<ref>{{multiref2|{{cite book|first1=James|last1=Fuld|title=The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk|edition=5th|location=New York|publisher=Dover Publications|year=2000|page=495|ref=none}}|{{YouTube|cs1e4cjC8Z0|"At a Darktown Cake Walk", animated score}}}}</ref> Other songs from the same period also used the tune. The same notes form the [[bridge (music)|bridge]] in the "Hot Scotch Rag", written by H. A. Fischler in 1911.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG-pXfWZDR8 |title=Hot Scotch Rag by Harry Fischler (1911, Ragtime piano) |date=2018-03-13 |last=RagtimeDorianHenry |access-date=2025-06-13 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

An early recording used the seven-note tune at both the beginning and the ending of a humorous 1915 song, by [[Billy Murray (singer)|Billy Murray]] and the American Quartet, called "[[On the 5:15]]".

The tune features in part of the instrumental accompaniment to the 1925 Buster Keaton film ''[[Battling 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sayre|first1=Joel|title=Hizzoner the Mayor: A Novel|date=1933|publisher=John Day Company|location=New York|pages=28–29|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m9QIAQAAIAAJ&q=%22shave+and+a+haircut%22}}</ref>

In 1939, Dan Shapiro, Lestor Lee and [[Milton Berle]] released "Shave and a Haircut – Shampoo",<ref>"[http://members.multimania.nl/catchytune/samples.html Catchy Tune Central]"; {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612111115/http://members.multimania.nl/catchytune/samples.html |date=2010-06-12 }}, ''Members.MultiMania.NL''.</ref> which used the tune in the closing bars. In the same year, Rosalind Rosenthal and Herbert Halpert recorded "Shave and a Haircut, Bay Rum".<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/03/magazine/on-language-pray-why-me.html
 |title=On Language; Pray, Why Me?
 |last=Safire
 |first=William|author-link=William Safire
 |date=April 3, 1983
 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
 |access-date=May 21, 2019
 |quote=''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.}}</ref>

==Popularity==

The tune can be heard on customized [[car horn]]s,<ref name="Guide">{{cite book |last1 = Franz |first1 = Carl |last2 = Havens |first2 = Lorena |title = The People's Guide to Mexico |publisher = Avalon Travel Publishing |year = 2006 |isbn = 1-56691-711-5 |page=319}}</ref><ref name="Ask">{{cite book |last = Arellano |first = Gustavo |author-link = Gustavo Arellano |title = Ask a Mexican |publisher = [[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner]] |year = 2008 |isbn = 978-1-4165-4003-8 |page = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781416540021/page/26 26] |url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781416540021/page/26 }}</ref> while the rhythm may be tapped as a door knock<ref>{{cite book |last = Thompson |first = Chuck |title = To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism |publisher = Holt Paperbacks |year = 2009 |isbn = 978-0-8050-8788-8 |page = [https://archive.org/details/tohellholesbackb00thom/page/220 220] |url = https://archive.org/details/tohellholesbackb00thom/page/220 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last = Stanton |first = John |date = September 20, 1948 |title = In Mexico City Traffic Is Terrific |magazine = [[Life (magazine)|LIFE]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = Keenan |first = Joseph John |title = Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish |url = https://archive.org/details/breakingoutofbeg0000keen |url-access = registration |publisher = University of Texas Press |year = 2004 |isbn = 0-292-74322-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1 = Axtell |first1 = Roger E. |last2 = Fornwald |first2 = Mike |title = Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of Body Language Around the World |publisher = Wiley |year = 1998 |isbn = 0-471-18342-3 |page = [https://archive.org/details/gesturesdostaboo00axte/page/101 101] |url = https://archive.org/details/gesturesdostaboo00axte/page/101 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = Axtell |first = Roger E. |title = Do's and Taboos of Humor Around the World |publisher = Wiley |year = 1998 |isbn = 0-471-25403-7 |url = https://archive.org/details/dostaboosofhumor00axte }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1 = Ruiz Fornells |first1 = Enrique |last2 = Ruiz-Fornells |first2 = Cynthia Y. |title = The United States and the Spanish World |publisher = Sociedad General Española de Librería |year = 1979 |isbn = 84-7143-192-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1 = Wilder |first1 = Cora Sarjeant |last2 = Sherrier |first2 = James |title = Celebrating Diversity |publisher = Ginn Press |year = 1992 |isbn = 0-536-58133-9}}</ref><ref>Partridge, Eric; Dalzell, Tom; and Victor, Terry (2007). ''The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English'', p. 571. {{ISBN|978-0-415-21259-5}}.</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=December 2024}} or as a [[Morse code]] "dah-dit-dit-dah-dit, dit&nbsp;dit" ( {{mono|–··–·&nbsp;·&nbsp;·}}) <ref>{{cite book |last = King |first = Thomas W. |title = Modern Morse Code in Rehabilitation and Education |publisher = Allyn & Bacon |year = 1999 |isbn = 0-205-28751-4 |page=77}}</ref> at the end of an [[amateur radio]] [[contact (amateur radio)|contact]].

The former [[prisoner of war]] and U.S. Navy seaman [[Doug 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 a [[shibboleth]], 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 a [[tap code]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.johnmccain.com//Informing/News/NewsReleases/3168f3a2-e59b-433f-94ea-fb1641323507.htm |title=Messages from John|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|last=Brace|first=Ernest C.|author-link=Ernest C. Brace|date=May 2, 2008|via=JohnMcCain.com |access-date=2008-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201165511/http://www.johnmccain.com//Informing/News/NewsReleases/3168f3a2-e59b-433f-94ea-fb1641323507.htm |archive-date=December 1, 2008 }}</ref>

The tune has been used many times as a [[Coda (music)|coda]] or [[cadence|ending]] in musical pieces. It is strongly associated with the stringed instruments of [[bluegrass music]], particularly the 5-string [[banjo]]. [[Earl Scruggs]] often ended a song with this [[phrase (music)|phrase]] or a variation of it. On the television show ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'', musical cues signifying the coming of a commercial break (cues which were in [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] style) frequently ended with "Shave and a Haircut". It is the second most popular bluegrass [[run (music)|run]], after the [[G run]].<ref>Traum, Happy (1974). ''Bluegrass Guitar'', p. 26. {{ISBN|0-8256-0153-3}}.</ref>

"Shave and a Haircut" was used in many early [[cartoon]]s, particularly ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoons and 1929 [[Mickey Mouse (film series)|Mickey 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 by [[Judge Doom]] in the film ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'', the idea being that [[Animated cartoon|toons]] cannot resist finishing with the "two bits" when they hear the opening rhythm.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096438/quotes?qt=qt0406091 |title = Quotes from ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit''| website=[[IMDb]]}}{{better source needed|date=December 2024}}</ref> The tune was also featured in early [[Nokia]] phones, like the [[Nokia 3310|3310 model]], as the "That's it!" ringtone.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2KF6QyUgwA |title = NOKIA 3310 ringtone That's it!| website=[[YouTube]] | date=29 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgqP97caQsA |title = Shave and a Haircut (Nokia "That's it!" ringtone) – Piano Quickie| website=[[YouTube]] | date=27 November 2020 }}</ref>

Music journalist [[Nardwuar]] ends each interview ends with "doot doola doot doo ..." (to the tune of "Shave and a Haircut"), to which the interviewee is expected to reply "doot doo!".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Madden |first1=Emma |title=Nardwuar on His Best and Most Uncomfortable Interviews |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/nardwuar-best-worst-interviews.html |website=Vulture |access-date=31 May 2025 |language=en |date=25 September 2024}}</ref>

== Usage ==
The phrase has been incorporated into many recordings and performances. Notable examples include:

* "That's a Lot of Bunk", a 1920s novelty song composed by Al Wilson, James A. Brennan and Mack Henshaw, and performed by [[Billy Jones (singer, born 1889)|Billy Jones]] and [[Ernie Hare|Ernest Hare]], known as "The Happiness Boys", closes with the riff.<ref>{{cite web |title='That's A Lot of Bunk' – Billy Jones & Ernest Hare (1923 Edison) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W3cPSntmBk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/4W3cPSntmBk |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=YouTube | date=25 October 2019 |access-date=4 July 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* The [[Crazy Gang (comedy group)|Crazy Gang]] sang "How's your father? Goodbye!" to the same tune at the end of their 1937 movie ''[[O-Kay for Sound]]''.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/O-kayForSound ''O-Kay for Sound'']. {{Retrieved|access-date=2019-02-02}}</ref>
*[[Les Paul]] and [[Mary Ford]]'s [[Capitol Records|Capitol]] recording of "Magic Melody" concluded with the phrase minus the last two notes ("two bits"). Responding to complaints from [[disc jockey]]s, Capitol in 1955 released "Magic Melody Part 2"&mdash;consisting solely of the missing notes&mdash;on a 45, said to be the shortest tune on record.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://onstagemag.com/ar/performance_happened_month_11/index.htm |title=It Happened This Month |last=Cleveland|first=Barry |date=September 1, 2002 |work=OnStageMag.com |access-date=2008-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527060656/http://onstagemag.com/ar/performance_happened_month_11/index.htm |archive-date=May 27, 2009}}</ref>
*[[P. D. Q. Bach]] ends his "[[Black Forest Bluegrass|Blaues Gras]]" ("bluegrass") [[aria]] with "Shave and a Haircut", sung in [[Denglisch]] (mangled German and English): "Rasieren und Haarschneiden, zwei bitte" ("Shave and haircut, two please", ungrammatical in either language). "Zwei bitte" is a Denglisch pun, sounding like "two bits" to a speaker of both languages.<ref name="PDQ_Bach">{{cite web |url=http://www.schickele.com/composition/blauesgras.htm |title=Cantata 'Blaus Gras' |work=The Peter Schickele/P.D.Q. Bach Web Site |date=July 3, 2011 |access-date=2012-12-07}}</ref> The melody is also used in ''[[The Short-Tempered Clavier and other dysfunctional works for keyboard|The Short-Tempered Clavier]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mcgath.com/pdq.html#3.14159265 |title=The Key of P. D. Q}}</ref>
*In a 1960s television comedy sketch called "The Time Window", [[Mike Wallace]] interviews [[Victor Borge]] who is portraying composer and pianist [[Franz Liszt]]. During the segment, Borge (Liszt) states that his very first composition were two notes; which he plays on the piano. He next demonstrates that without these two notes "we would never have had this", and he plays "Shave and a Haircut".<ref>{{YouTube|title=Victor Borge – As 'Franz Liszt' with Mike Wallace c.1960|id=5bWeSr04Wzs}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-08-22-ca-5071-story.html |title=TV Reviews: Borge's ''Then & Now'' Is Mostly Now on PBS |last=Hencken |first=John |date= 22 August 1992|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=December 26, 2021}}</ref>

== Uses in other countries ==

The tune is used in [[Catalan language|Catalan]] with a different lyric: "Nas de barraca ... [[Sant Boi de Llobregat|Sant Boi]]" ("Shack nose ... Sant Boi"). It is also tapped, as a door knock. The Catalan lyrics may come from [[Blanes]], where it was sung twice with ''Nas de barraca. Sant Boi. Cinc de carmelos pel noi'' (Shack nose. Sant Boi. Five candies for the boy).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blanes.cat/oiapdocs.nsf/a50fa5b68f16871cc12566ff0056d21b/a88903545a9aaaaac12578cc004da7ad/$FILE/Proverbis,%20dites%20i%20frases%20fetes%20de%20Blanes.pdf|title=Proverbis, dites i frases fetes de Blanes|last=Sola i Ramos|first=Elisa|date=December 1999|publisher=Servei de Català de Blanes (CPNL)|access-date=19 March 2016}}</ref>

In [[Irish pub|Irish 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).<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.irish-folk-songs.com/finnegans-wake-lyrics-and-chords.html|title=Finnegan's Wake lyrics and chords |author=Martin Dardis |website=Irish Folk Songs |access-date=16 February 2019 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Banjo roll]]
*[[Oriental riff]]
*[[Bo Diddley beat]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050310195336/http://www.dataflo.net/~mpurintun/Tabs/OldTimeTabs/shave_and_a_haircut.htm Description]
* [http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inharmony/detail.do?action=detail&fullItemID=/lilly/devincent/LL-SDV-201006&queryNumber=1 Sheet music for "At a Darktown Cakewalk" from the IN Harmony system at Indiana University]

[[Category:Rhythm and meter]]
[[Category:Riffs]]