Daisy Bell
| "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built For Two)" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song | |
| Released | 1892 |
| Genre | Music hall, standard |
| Songwriter(s) | Harry Dacre |
"Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)"is a song written in 1892 by British songwriterHarry Dacrewith the well-known chorus "Daisy, Daisy / Give me your answer, do. / I'm half crazy / all for the love of you", ending with the words "a bicycle built for two". The song is said to have been inspired byDaisy Greville, Countess of Warwick,one of the many mistresses of KingEdward VII.[1][2]It is the earliest song sung using computerspeech synthesisby theIBM 7094in 1961, a feat that was referenced in the film2001: A Space Odyssey(1968).
History
[edit]"Daisy Bell" was composed byHarry Dacrein 1892. As David Ewen writes inAmerican Popular Songs:[3]
When Dacre, an English popular composer, first came to the United States, he brought with him a bicycle, for which he was charged import duty. His friendWilliam Jerome,another songwriter, remarked lightly: "It's lucky you didn't bring abicycle built for two,otherwise you'd have to pay double duty. "Dacre was so taken with the phrase" bicycle built for two "that he soon used it in a song. That song, Daisy Bell, first became successful in a London music hall, in a performance byKatie Lawrence.Tony Pastorwas the first to sing it in the United States. Its success in America began when Jennie Lindsay brought down the house with it at theAtlantic Gardenson theBoweryearly in 1892.
The song was originally recorded and released byDan W. Quinnin 1893.[4]
There is a flower within my heart, Daisy, Daisy!
Planted one day by a glancing dart,
Planted by Daisy Bell!
Whether she loves me or loves me not,
Sometimes it's hard to tell;
Yet I am longing to share the lot
Of beautiful Daisy Bell!
Daisy, Daisy,
Give me your answer, do!
I'm half crazy,
All for the love of you!
It won't be a stylish marriage,
I can't afford a carriage,
But you'll look sweet upon the seat
Of a bicycle built for two!
We will go "tandem" as man and wife, Daisy, Daisy!
"pedaling" away down the road of life, I and my Daisy Bell!
When the road's dark we can both despise Policeman and "lamps" as well;
There are "bright lights" in the dazzling eyes Of beautiful Daisy Bell!
(Chorus)
I will stand by you in "wheel" or woe, Daisy, Daisy!
You'll be the bell(e) which I'll ring you know! Sweet little Daisy Bell!
You'll take the "lead" in each "trip" we take, Then if I don't do well;
I will permit you to use the brake, My beautiful Daisy Bell!
(Chorus)
In technology and popular culture
[edit]Computing and technology
[edit]
- In 1961, anIBM 7094atBell Labswas programmed to sing "Daisy Bell" in the earliest demonstration of computerspeech synthesis.This recording has been included in the United StatesNational Recording Registry.[5][6]
- In 1974,auditoryresearchers used the melody of "Daisy Bell" for the first demonstration of "pure dichotic"(two-ear only) perception: they encoded the melody in astereophonicsignal in such a way that it could be perceived when listening with both ears but not with either ear alone.[7]
- In 1975, Steve Dompier, member of Homebrew Computer Club, programmed an Altair 8800 computer to play Daisy as AM radio interference.[8]
- In 1985, Christopher C. Capon created aCommodore 64program named "Sing Song Serenade", which caused theCommodore 1541floppy disk drive to emit the tune of "Daisy Bell" directly from its hardware by rapidly moving the read/write head.[9]
- In 1999, a piece of computer software calledBonziBuddysang Daisy Bell if the user asked it to sing.[10]
- Microsoft's personal assistant,Cortana,may sing the first line of Daisy when asked to sing a song.[11][12]
Films
[edit]- In 1941 theEton Boysstarred in a short musical film performing the song including riding tandem bicycles[citation needed]
- Science-fiction authorArthur C. Clarkewitnessed the IBM 704 demonstration during a trip to Bell Labs in 1962 and referred to it in the 1968 novel and film2001: A Space Odyssey,in which theHAL 9000computer sings "Daisy Bell" during its gradual deactivation.[13]
- Oliver Reedsings the song "Daisy Bell" in the 1972 filmThe Triple Echo.[citation needed]
- InRevenge of the Nerds(1984), Takashi (Brian Tochi) sings a Japanese version of "Daisy Bell" during his tricycle race against the Alpha Betas.
- InRobots(2005), when Rodney fixes Bigweld during the slide scene, Bigweld sings "Daisy Bell"
- InThe Time Traveler's Wife(2009), Alba and her father Henry sing the song "Daisy Bell" in an attempt to stop him from traveling through time while he is still using a wheelchair from a recent accident.[citation needed]
TV
[edit]- In the English sitcomMind Your Language,season 1 episode 4 (All Through the Night), Mr. Brown and the students sing Daisy Bell whilst waiting for the caretaker Sid to unlock the classroom door.
- Bendersings "Daisy Bell" during a montage of him and the Planet Express ship inFuturama'sfourth-season episode,Love and Rocket,as an allusion to the film2001.[14]
- A student choir sings "Daisy Bell" (with minor lyric changes) at the beginning of a bicycle race in theMidsomer Murdersseries 12 episode, "The Glitch" (2009).
- InAmerican Horror Storyseason 8, episode 10 (2018), the android recreation of Ms. Mead sings “Daisy Bell” in a slurred and distorted voice.
Musical recordings
[edit]- Dan W. Quinnproduced a wax cylinder recording of "Daisy Bell" in 1893, the first recorded rendition of the song.
- SingerDinah Shorerecorded a version of the song forBluebird Recordsin 1941.
- SingerNat King Coleproduced the most well-known recording of "Daisy Bell" as part of hisThose Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of SummerLP forCapitol Recordsin 1961.
- On May 3, 2014, an album was released composed entirely of covers of "Daisy Bell" entitledThe Gay Nineties Old Tyme Music: Daisy Bell,in conjunction withMark Ryden's exhibit "The Gay 90s". The album features covers of "Daisy Bell" byKaty Perry,Tyler, the Creator,"Weird Al" Yankovic,Nick Cave,Kirk HammettofMetallica,Mark MothersbaughofDevo,Wall of Voodoo'sStan Ridgway,Danny Elfman,and others. Profits from the album went to the nonprofitLittle Kids Rock.[15]
Radio
[edit]- The tune was played as the lead-in toAunt Daisy's radio broadcasts inNew Zealand,which ran from 1930 until her death in 1963.[16]
Sport
[edit]- Supporters ofFeyenoord,the football club of Rotterdam, sing their chant "Wat gaan we doen vandaag?" to the tune of "Daisy Bell".[17]
References
[edit]- ^Carroll, Leslie (3 June 2008).Royal Affairs: A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy.Edward VII and Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick 1861–1938: NAL Trade.ISBN978-0-451-22398-2.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location (link) - ^"Local history: The socialist socialite".BBC.22 May 2009.
- ^Ewen, David (1966).American Popular Songs.Random House.ISBN0-394-41705-4.
- ^Whitburn, Joel(1986).Pop Memories 1890–1954.Record Research.ISBN0-89820-083-0.
- ^"The IBM 7094 is The First Computer to Sing".historyofinformation.com.Retrieved15 December2023.
- ^"Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)".Library of Congress.Retrieved3 March2024.
- ^Kubovy, M.; Cutting, J. E.; McGuire, R. M. (1974). "Hearing with the Third Ear: Dichotic Perception of a Melody without Monaural Familiarity Cues".Science.186(4160): 272–274.Bibcode:1974Sci...186..272K.doi:10.1126/science.186.4160.272.PMID4413641.S2CID8867839.
- ^"Play" Daisy (Bicycle Built for Two) "".30 May 2017.
- ^"[CSDb] - Sing Song Serenade by Christopher C. Capon (1985)".Commodore 64 Scene Database.Retrieved22 November2015.
- ^O’Dell, Cary.""Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)""(PDF).loc.gov.Library of Congress.Retrieved4 August2019.
- ^Martin, Jim."Amaze your friends with these 45 funny Cortana responses on Windows 10".Tech Advisor.Retrieved4 November2019.
- ^Sri San (7 August 2015),Daisy Daisy,archivedfrom the original on 13 December 2021,retrieved24 October2016
- ^"Background: Bell Labs Text-to-Speech Synthesis".bell-labs.com.Lucent Technologies. March 1997. Archived fromthe originalon 7 April 2000.
- ^"Love and Rocket".theinfosphere.org.March 2023. Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2023.
- ^Williams, Maxwell (2 May 2014)."Katy Perry Featured on Pop Artist Mark Ryden's $100 'Gay Nineties' Album (Exclusive)".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved20 January2017.
- ^"Basham, Maud Ruby – Biography".Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.Retrieved7 October2017.
- ^"Feyenoord, Feyenoord, wat gaan we doen vandaag? 🎻 CLASSIC EDITION".YouTube.13 May 2023.Retrieved14 May2023.
External links
[edit]
- Johns Hopkins University(30 March 2007)."Daisy Bell. Song".Levy Sheet Music Collection, Box 140, Item 090.Archived fromthe originalon 19 April 2014.Retrieved30 August2012.
- 1894 recording of "Daisy Bell" (MP3)
- Page featuring a recording of "Daisy Bell" sung and played by IBM computersat Bell Laboratories in the early 1960s (see last track on side 2 labeled "Synthesized computer speech demonstration (1963)" )
