My grandson James recently created his own “cover” of an old novelty hit, Lonnie Donegan’s Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor (On The Bedpost Overnight)? That song is unknown today to most post-Boomers, many of whom might hear “The Bay of Pigs” and picture swimming pigs. But even they might find this tune catchy, as my two-year-old guy did.
These brief but energetic performances might be your only chance to ponder the song’s sticky question, first posed in Donegan’s 1959 UK recording. Here’s his 1961 American version of the Brit skiffle ditty:
And here is James’ percussion-based performance of the chorus:
This song struck me as glorious when I was 12 years old. Maybe I should I be concerned that it strikes me the same way today, or concerned that I’m not concerned.
A mutliculturally spirited version of this song was performed on Austrian TV in 1975. A Teutonic Dick Clark, sporting a Van Dyke mustache-beard that seems to have its own identity, introduces the Scot native with warm German regards. Beaming, banjo-strumming Lonnie propels the song in his Glasgow lilt, shifts to an American hillbilly high gear and races to the finish line. He’s backed by an energetic ensemble, highlighted by a very active pair of white pants. All that’s missing is a tap-dancing Martian, but your imagination could supply that . . . .