"Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)" is a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the "King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scotl ...

. Released as a single in 1959, it entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 6 February 1959 and peaked at number three. It was also Donegan's greatest chart success in the United States, reaching number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1961. The song is a cover version of "Does the Spearmint Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?" written by

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with sh ...

, Ernest Breuer, and Marty Bloom and first released in 1924 by

The Happiness Boys ''The Happiness Boys'' was a popular radio program of the early 1920s. It featured the vocal duo of tenor Billy Jones (1889-1940) and bass/baritone Ernie Hare (1883-1939), who sang novelty songs. Career Jones and Hare were already established as ...

(

Ernie Hare Thomas Ernest Hare (March 16, 1883 – March 9, 1939) was an American singer who recorded prolifically during the 1920s and 1930s, finding fame as a radio star on ''the Happiness Boys'' radio program. Career Hare's recording career began in 1 ...

and Billy Jones), and later a hit for

Lulu Belle and Scotty Myrtle Eleanor Cooper (December 24, 1913 – February 8, 1999) and Scott Greene Wiseman (November 8, 1909 – January 31, 1981), known professionally as Lulu Belle and Scotty, were one of the major country music acts of the 1930s and 1940s, dubbe ...

and The Two Gilberts. The song is humorous in content, the verses each describing a dramatic or urgent scenario leading up to the asking of the titular question. An even earlier version of the song under the title "Will Chewing Gum Hold Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?" appeared in 1913, interpolated by burlesque and vaudeville entertainer Billy Arlington in his sketch ''The Golden Crook.'' The title and lyrics of the Donegan version were changed in the UK because "

Spearmint Spearmint, also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is a species of mint, ''Mentha spicata'' (, native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is nat ...

" is a registered

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

there, and the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

would not play songs that mentioned trademarks. Donegan's version of the song was recorded live at the

New Theatre Oxford New Theatre Oxford (formerly the Apollo Theatre Oxford and The Apollo, from 1977–2003) is the main commercial theatre in Oxford, England. It has a capacity of 1,785 people; is on George Street, in the centre of the city; and puts on a wide v ...

in December 1958, and was released both as a single and as a track on the album ''

King of Skiffle ''King of Skiffle'' is an album by Lonnie Donegan. A CD version of the album was released in the United Kingdom on 18 February 1998 by Castle Music. The CD was also released by Pickwick under the title ''The Best of Lonnie Donegan''. The fir ...

''. An extended version with more banter was released on the live album ''The Last Tour''.

Recordings

Since Donegan's version was released, it has appeared as a

Smarties Smarties are colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé. Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of abou ...

jingle, a performance on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...

'', and re-worked into

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

Jiří Grossmann Jiří Grossmann (20 July 1941 – 5 December 1971) was a Czechoslovak theatre actor, poet, and composer. Life Grossmann was born in Prague. After his graduation, he started at the technical university ČVUT, but left in 1962 when he met Milo ...

. Additional versions of the song were recorded by

The Irish Rovers The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that originated in Toronto, Canada. Formed in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and na ...

and

Homer & Jethro Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry D. "Homer" Haynes (1920–1971) and Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (1920–1989), popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical version ...

. In 2010, Donegan's version was used as the background song for a satellite TV advertisement for

Savlon Savlon is a brand of antibacterial personal care products with the active ingredients of cetrimide and chlorhexidine gluconate. Commonly sold as a cream, the product range also includes antiseptic sprays, sticking plasters and other antiseptic pr ...

antiseptic cream. It has also been recorded by

Eric Nagler Eric Nagler (born June 1, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American musician and television personality known primarily for his work on Canadian children's television series such as ''The Elephant Show'' and ''Eric's World''. Biography Initi ...

(on his 1982 children's album ''Fiddle Up a Tune'');

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

covers the song as part of his 9-CD, 108 song box set ''The Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music'' (2012).

Popularity

"Does Your Chewing Gum..." has been a popular song on the

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

Show, appearing 54 times between the show's premiere and 2006 and selected for the ''

Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection is a release by radio disc jockey Dr. Demento to celebrate 20 years since the beginning of his radio career and novelty song show. It covers many of the novelty and comedy songs from the 1950s to the 1980s ...

'' double CD. In

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

's novel ''

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

'', the character

Randle Patrick McMurphy Randle Patrick "Mac" McMurphy (also known as R.P. McMurphy) is the protagonist of Ken Kesey's novel '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1962). He appears in the stage and film adaptations of the novel as well. Jack Nicholson portrayed Randle Pat ...

also sings a few lines of this song when he realizes the Chief is storing used gum under his bed. It was referred to on ''

Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation ''Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation'' is an Australian game show produced by Granada Productions which premiered on Network Ten on 5 May 2009. It is hosted by Shaun Micallef. History Original run The first series ran on Network Ten for 18 episode ...

''. It was also alluded to in the lyrics of "

Ahab the Arab "Ahab the Arab" (also written "Ahab, the Arab") is a novelty song written and recorded by Ray Stevens in 1962. Lyrics In the song, Arab is pronounced () to rhyme with Ahab. The hero of the story is Clyde the camel and Stevens has made referen ...

" by

, and the

Buchanan and Goodman Buchanan may refer to: People * Buchanan (surname) Places Africa * Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal town Antarctica * Buchanan Point, Laurie Island Australia * Buchanan, New South Wales * Buchanan, Northern Territory, a locality * Buchanan, ...

1961 novelty number, "Berlin Top Ten". It has made an appearances on children's television shows, such as ''Sharon, Lois, & Bram's Elephant Show'', ''

Kidsongs ''Kidsongs'' is an American children's media franchise that includes Kidsongs Music Video Stories on DVD and video, The Kidsongs TV Show, CDs of favorite children's songs, song books, sheet music, toys and an ecommerce website. It was created by ...

'' and ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomorp ...

''. The song "Does The Spearmint..." appears in one episode of HBO's series ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

''.

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

has described the song as having been one of his favorites as a child. A Swedish cover "En sak, som man ibland kan ligga vaken en hel natt och fundera på" ("Thoughts You Lie Awake Thinking All Night") was used in a variety 1968 named Lådan ("The box") by

Hasse & Tage Hasse & Tage ( sv, Hasse och Tage) were a popular Swedish comedy duo featuring Hans "Hasse" Alfredson and Tage Danielsson. They are sometimes known as ''Hasseåtage'', a spelling created by the Swedish press in the 1960s, but never used by the du ...

U.S. chart run

''Billboard'' Hot 100 (11 weeks, entered August 7, 1961): Reached #5 '' Cashbox'' (13 weeks, entered August 5, 1961): 100, 88, 35, 24, 11, 7, 6, 6, 11, 27, 53, 56, 64

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On The Bedpost Overnight) 1924 songs 1959 singles 1961 singles Novelty songs Comedy songs Songs with lyrics by Billy Rose Chewing gum Pye Records singles Dot Records singles