When I was growing up one of my favorite times was when we went to my grandparents house. We spent a lot of weekends at their house, and one of the key elements of this family time was playing music together.
Grandpa would get out his guitar, and my dad would get out his tenor banjo Aaron would play the bass, and I would play the fiddle. We would spend a couple of hours playing all sorts of ragtime and old-time tunes. One of my Grandpa’s favorites was Five Foot Two. And when we played it, Grandma would sing along. I still hear Grandpa’s rhythm guitar, and Grandma’s singing when I play it.
And, today goes to show my dedication to Fiddle Tune a Day. I’m sick as a dog, and I’m recording a tune anyway. I hope you enjoy it. 😉
Five Foot Two According to Wikipedia
Origin
“Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue (Has Anybody Seen My Girl?)” was a popular song of the 1920s. The song title comes from the first and last lines of the chorus and causes some confusion: it can sometimes be referred to as “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” or “Has Anybody Seen My Girl?” but the 1925 title includes both of these.
Because early songs were often performed without being recorded, there are conflicting sources regarding who originally composed “Has Anybody Seen My Gal?”, as the song was often adjusted and had lyrics and verses added or removed several times. Some sources credit Percy Weinrich (music) and Jack Mahoney (lyrics) [1] as writing the song during 1914. But for the song in its most popular form, credit is given to Ray Henderson (music) and Sam M. Lewis and Joseph Widow Young (lyrics). It was this version that was recorded by The California Ramblers during 1925.[2]
Recordings
The song was first recorded by The California Ramblers in 1925 on their self-titled album The California Ramblers and has been covered by many other artists since, including Shane Fenton and The Fentones, Arthur Fields, Mitch Miller, Dean Martin and Freddy Cannon. Milla Jovovich covered the song as “Has Anybody Seen My Girl? [3],
Television
The song was used as the theme song for The Ina Ray Hutton Show during the 1950s.[4]. Lucille Ball performs this song in both I Love Lucy, as well as in The Lucy Show on the Episode titled “Lucy’s College Reunion”, in both shows playing a Ukulele.
Five Foot Two Lyrics
The Jack Mahoney lyrics (1914) are the same as the chorus used in the Sam M. Lewis & Joseph Widow Young version (1925). Minor variations exist in recorded versions: ‘pearls’ instead of ‘fur’, for example.
Five foot two, eyes of blue
But oh, what those five foot could do
Has anybody seen my girl?
Turned up nose, turned down hose,
All dressed up in fancy clothes,
Has anybody seen my girl?
Now if you run into a five foot two
Covered in fur,
Diamond rings and all those things,
Bet-cha life it isn’t her.
But could she love, could she woo?
Could she, could she, could she coo?
Has anybody seen my girl?
Five foot two, eyes of blue
But oh, what those five foot could do.
Has anybody seen my girl?
Turned up nose, turned down hose,
All dressed up in fancy clothes,
Has anybody seen my girl?
Now if you run into a five foot two
Covered in fur,
Diamond rings and all those things,
Bet-cha life it isn’t her.
But could she love, could she woo?
Could she, could she, could she coo?
Has anybody seen my…
Has anybody seen my…
Has anybody seen my girl?
When you are sick your playing sounds better than mine ever will! Get well soon.
Thanks Laura. That was definitely one of my stick to it days in Fiddle Tune a Day. Life frequently checks in with us to see if we are really committed…
I'm learning that one. Thanks. It was great, even with the sniffling. lol Feel better soon.
Thanks, Deborah! This was one of the days where Fiddle Tune a Day was a bit of a challenge. 😉
Lovely musical performance, even with that nasty cold of yours your musical performance is still fantastic !
Getting the sniffles made for extra fun on this recording. 🙂
Enjoyed it very much. What a trooper!
What a day this one was.
What a day this one was.
This was one of my favorites so far. Despite your far-out amazing skills, you’re actually human like the rest of us. Your simple tune on a bad day is still massively impressive. I love how you made that tune your own with lots of embellishment. The fiddle tune a day is awesome. Kudos to you for sticking with it.