"Daisy Bell" is a popular song with the well-known chorus "Daisy, Daisy/Give me your answer do/I'm half crazy/all for the love of you" as well as the line "...a bicycle built for two".

History

"Daisy Bell" was composed by Harry Dacre

Harry Dacre

Harry Dacre was an English songwriter.Dacre had a hit in 1892 with the song "Daisy Bell" , made famous by Katie Lawrence, and then in 1899 with the song "I'll Be Your Sweetheart"....

 in 1892. As David Ewen writes in American Popular Songs

When Dacre, an English popular composer, first came to the United States, he brought with him a bicycle, for which he was charged duty

Duty (economics)

In economics, a duty is a kind of tax, often associated with customs, a payment due to the revenue of a state, levied by force of law. It is a tax on certain items purchased abroad...

. His friend (songwriter William Jerome

William Jerome

William Jerome was an American songwriter, born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York of Irish immigrant parents, Mary Donnellan and Patrick Flannery...

) remarked lightly: 'It's lucky you didn't bring a bicycle built for two

Tandem bicycle

The tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement , not the number of riders. A bike with two riders side-by-side is called a sociable.-History:Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the late 19th...

, otherwise you'd have to pay double duty.' Dacre was so taken with the phrase 'bicycle built for two' that he decided to use it in a song. That song, Daisy Bell, first became successful in a London music hall, in a performance by Katie Lawrence

Katie Lawrence

Katie Lawrence was an English music-hall singer, best known for Harry Dacre's 1890s hit "Daisy Bell."-Appearances in other media:...

. Tony Pastor

Tony Pastor

Tony Pastor was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late nineteenth century...

 was the first one to sing it in the United States. Its success in America began when Jennie Lindsay brought down the house with it at the Atlantic Gardens on the Bowery

Bowery, Manhattan

Bowery , commonly called "the Bowery," is a street and a small neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan...

 early in 1892.

Memorable performances

In 1961, the IBM 7094 became the first computer to sing

Speech synthesis

Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...

, singing the song Daisy Bell. Vocals were programmed by John Kelly

John Larry Kelly, Jr

John Larry Kelly, Jr. , was a scientist who worked at Bell Labs. He is best known for formulating the Kelly criterion, an algorithm for maximally investing money....

 and Carol Lochbaum and the accompaniment was programmed by Max Mathews

Max Mathews

Max Vernon Mathews was a pioneer in the world of computer music.-Biography:...

. This performance was the inspiration for the famous scene in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey (film)

2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...

in which the HAL 9000 computer

HAL 9000

HAL 9000 is the antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's science fiction Space Odyssey saga. HAL is an artificial intelligence that interacts with the astronaut crew of the Discovery One spacecraft, usually represented as a red television-camera eye found throughout the ship...

 sings the song as it is deactivated.

Phoebe's old teacher Mr. Archibald Seedplot sings the song on his way to Walker Elementary while riding a bicycle in the Magic School Bus

The Magic School Bus (TV series)

The Magic School Bus is an American Saturday morning animated television series based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole. It is notable for its use of celebrity talent and combining entertainment with an educational show, according to an article in Animation World Magazine by...

 episode "Goes to Seed".

In the 1950 Disney

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

 animated short film "Crazy Over Daisy", Donald Duck

Donald Duck

Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...

 courts Daisy Duck

Daisy Duck

Daisy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1940 by Walt Disney Productions as the girlfriend of Donald Duck. Like Donald, Daisy is an anthropomorphic white duck, but has large eyelashes and ruffled tail feathers to suggest a skirt. She is often seen wearing a hair bow, blouse, and shoes...

 on a tandem bicycle

Tandem bicycle

The tandem bicycle or twin is a form of bicycle designed to be ridden by more than one person. The term tandem refers to the seating arrangement , not the number of riders. A bike with two riders side-by-side is called a sociable.-History:Patents related to tandem bicycles date from the late 19th...

 and sings part of the song.

In April 1975, the Homebrew Computer Club

Homebrew Computer Club

The Homebrew Computer Club was an early computer hobbyist users' group in Silicon Valley, which met from March 5, 1975 to December 1986...

 held their fourth meeting at the Peninsula School

Peninsula School

Peninsula School is a private school located on six acres of land in Menlo Park, California. It was founded in 1925 by two Stanford professors and provides education from nursery through eighth grade for both boys and girls. The Peninsula School assigns no tests in accordance with it's philosophy...

 in Menlo Park, California

Menlo Park, California

Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...

. Steve Dompier played "Fool on the Hill

The Fool on the Hill

"The Fool on the Hill" is a song by The Beatles. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and recorded in 1967...

" and "Daisy Bell" using an Altair 8800

Altair 8800

The MITS Altair 8800 was a microcomputer design from 1975 based on the Intel 8080 CPU and sold by mail order through advertisements in Popular Electronics, Radio-Electronics and other hobbyist magazines. The designers hoped to sell only a few hundred build-it-yourself kits to hobbyists, and were...

 and a radio.

Apple's iPhone

IPhone 4S

The iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, a device that combines a widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, mobile phone, and internet communicator. It retains the exterior design of its predecessor, iPhone 4, but is host to a range...

 assistant, Siri

Siri

Siri or SIRI may refer to:Given name* Sigrid, a female name commonly shortened as Siri* Siri, a common Hindu female name, meaning "Goddess Lakshmi, Wealth, God's gift of love."* Siri von Essen, Swedish actress married to writer August Strindberg...

, repeats part of the chorus when prompted to sing a song.

Lyrics

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,

And yet I am longing to share the lot

Of beautiful Daisy Bell.

Chorus:

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

Carriage

A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...

,

But you'd look sweet on the seat

Of a bicycle built for two.

We will go tandem

Tandem

Tandem is an arrangement where a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction....

 as man and wife,

Daisy, Daisy,

Ped'ling away down the road of life,

I and my Daisy Bell.

When the road's dark, we can both despise

P'licemen and lamps as well.

There are bright lights in the dazzling eyes

Of beautiful Daisy Bell.

(Chorus)

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do...

I will stand by you in wheel or woe

Daisy, Daisy,

You'll be the bell which I'll ring you know

Sweet little Daisy Bell

You'll take the lead on each trip we take

Then if I don't do well

I will permit you to use the brake

beautiful Daisy Bell

(Chorus)

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do...

Variations and "Answers-songs"

The song has entered the folk tradition, giving rise to a number of "answer-song" versions consisting of only two choruses—the original, then another in which Daisy refuses her suitor. The most common answer-song chorus appears to predate the advent of the motorcar, as it refers to a carriage. The rejected suitor's name varies but is often given as Harry—the name of the author of the original song.

The lyrics to the answer song are:

Harry, Harry

Here is my answer true.

I can't cycle, for I get black and blue.

If you can't afford a carriage

There won't be any marriage.

For I'll be switched if I'll be hitched

On a bicycle built for two.

Another variant is:

Michael, Michael

Here is my answer true.

I'm not crazy

All for the love of you.

If you cannot afford a carriage

There won't be any marriage.

'Cause I'll be damned

If I'll get crammed

On a bicycle built for two!

and another one:

Dear sir, Dear sir

Listen to my heart do!

I am crazy and deeply in love with you

I don't need a fancy carriage

only a formal marriage

Let us ride soon to the honeymoon

In our bycicle built for two

Additional answer-song versions circulate, some of which are clearly more modern.

(Below, ending of the Edward M. Favor

Edward M. Favor

Edward M. Favor was an American singer and vaudeville comedian. He was among the first recorded musicians.-References:...

version); This version, with music arranged for barbershop quartet, is available on the Internet.

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.

External links

• Lyrics with .midi on National Institutes of Health website
• The Daisy Bell Page (compiled by Chris Komuves)
• Works of Edward M. Favor, including an 1894 recording of "Daisy Bell" (MP3)
• Page featuring a recording of "Daisy Bell" sung and played by IBM computers at Bell Laboratories in the early 1960s
• The free score on www.traditional-songs.com