{{Short description|Musical composition by Euphemia Allan}} {{for|a different piece of piano music often called "Chopsticks" in the UK|Flohwalzer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Listen|type=music|filename=Chopsticks.mid|title="Chopsticks"|description=[[MIDI]] rendition|length=hide}} "'''Chopsticks'''" (original name "'''The Celebrated Chop Waltz'''") is a simple, widely known [[waltz]] for the [[piano]]. Written in 1877, it is the only published piece by the British composer Euphemia Allan (under the [[pen name]] Arthur de Lulli).{{sfn|Allan|1877}} Allan—whose brother, Mozart Allan, was a music publisher—was sixteen when she composed the piece, with arrangements for solo and duet.<ref name="Fuld">{{harvnb|Fuld|2000|pages=170–171}}</ref> The title "Chop Waltz" comes from Allan's specification that the [[melody]] be played in two-part harmony with both hands held in a vertical orientation, little fingers down and palms facing each other, striking the keys with a chopping motion.<ref name="Fuld" /> The similar "The Coteletten [[Polka]]" was also first heard in 1877, with the piano collection ''Paraphrases'' elaborating on the theme by 1879.<ref name="Fuld" />
== Tati-tati and ''Paraphrases'' == An equivalent of this rudimentary two-finger piano exercise was known in Russia in [[duple meter]] as "tati-tati" or the "Cutlet Polka". This version alternates the notes between the hands, rather than playing them at the same time in harmony.
In 1877, [[Alexander Borodin]]'s daughter Gania played "The Coteletten Polka", with four bars of music similar to the beginning of Allan's work, though there is no hard evidence of a common source between the two pieces.<ref name="Fuld" /> In 1878–1879, [[César Cui]], [[Anatoly Lyadov]], Borodin, [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]], and [[Nikolai Shcherbachov]] each wrote [[variation (music)|variation]]s for [[piano duet]] on the [[theme (music)|theme]], published together under the title ''Paraphrases''.{{sfn|Various|1879}} A supplementary paraphrase by [[Franz Liszt]] was later appended to the collection. In Borodin's version, the first four bars begin in a similar way to Allan's, but are nevertheless distinct. According to Fuld's book ''World-Famous Music'', no common origins for the "Chop Waltz" and the "Coteletten Polka" have yet been discovered.<ref name="Fuld" />
== In popular culture == {{More citations needed section|date=February 2025}} [[File:The Celebrated Chop Waltz (Solo), 1877, pp.1-2.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Score, as published in 1877]] * "Chopsticks" was used as the introductory music to [[Edgar Kennedy]]'s series of short comedies made at the [[RKO Studios]], from 1931 until his death in 1948. * American composer and educator [[John Sylvanus Thompson]] published a set of variations on "Chopsticks" in 1941.{{sfn|Thompson|1941}} * The first three [[Pooch the Pup]] cartoons used "Chopsticks" as their opening music. * In the 1946 [[William Wyler]] film ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]'', composer [[Hoagy Carmichael]] performs a duet of "Chopsticks" with [[Harold Russell]], a World War II Navy veteran who lost both of his hands in combat. He played the simple piece (including variations) with Hoagy taking the lower part. Mr. Russell's [[prosthetic hook|hooks]] that served as hands seemingly did not deter him from delivering a rendering of the tune, complete with a final [[glissando]] up the keyboard. * While the 1946 Bugs Bunny short cartoon ''[[Rhapsody Rabbit]]'' mostly features Liszt's "[[Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2]]", at one point a mouse briefly plays the opening bars of "Chopsticks". * [[Liberace]] plays a virtuoso "Chopsticks" accompanied by full orchestra early in the 1955 film ''[[Sincerely Yours (film)|Sincerely Yours]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048623/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 | title=Sincerely Yours | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> * The theme music for the television series ''[[My Three Sons]]'' (1960–1972), written by [[Frank De Vol]], was based on "Chopsticks", though key changes were added and the meter was changed to {{music|time|4|4}}. * In the 1955 [[Billy Wilder]] film ''[[The Seven Year Itch]]'', [[Tom Ewell]] played this together with [[Marilyn Monroe]] and tried to kiss her, only to fail. * In the 1955 season 4 episode of ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' "Ethel's Home Town", Fred Mertz ([[William Frawley]]) plays "Chopsticks". * In the 1972 ''[[Columbo]]'' episode "Etude in Black", [[Columbo (character)|Columbo]] plays "Chopsticks" as a way to get under the skin of the pompous murderer/conductor Alex Benedict ([[John Cassavetes]]).<ref>{{YouTube|F7ZeDtWLspY|"That's My Specialty, Homicide" – ''Columbo''}} {{Retrieved|access-date=2022-06-11}}</ref> * "Chopsticks" accompanied the sequence in the 1972 [[ABC Saturday Superstar Movie]] ''[[Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter]]'' in which [[Beetle Bailey]]'s comrade [[Sergeant Snorkel]] piles a variety of food on top of a secret message he planned to eat, [[Dagwood sandwich]] style.<ref>{{YouTube|id=jNg5au-TQKo|time=1133s|title=The Phantom in ''Popeye Meets The Man Who Hated Laughter'' (1972)}}</ref> * A simplified version of the tune is featured in the [[Manfred Mann's Earth Band]]’s [[The Roaring Silence|Album]] version of the song "[[Blinded by the Light]]" it was not included in the shortened single version,<ref>{{cite web |title=What is 'Chopsticks' – and why does it have so many variations? |url=https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/piano/history-of-chopsticks-music-euphemia-allen/ |website=Classic FM |access-date=9 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The story behind the song: Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/story-behind-song-blinded-by-the-light-by-manfred-mann-s-earth-band |website=Louder|date=12 February 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Meaning of "Blinded by the Light" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band |url=https://americansongwriter.com/meaning-of-blinded-by-the-light-by-manfred-manns-earth-band/ |website=American Songwriter |date=April 2022 |access-date=9 May 2023}}</ref> originally by [[Bruce Springsteen]]. The Springsteen version did not contain the tune. * In [[Ken Russell]]'s ''[[Lisztomania (film)|Lisztomania]]'', the audience of adolescent girls attending the first [[Franz Liszt]] concert demand that he play "Chopsticks", which he intersperses throughout a fantasia played on the piano based on themes from a [[Richard Wagner]] opera, which forces a disgusted Wagner to walk out. * "Chopsticks" is the second song played by [[Tom Hanks]] and [[Robert Loggia]] in the famous giant piano scene at [[FAO Schwarz]] in the 1988 film ''[[Big (film)|Big]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kring-Schreifels |first1=Jake |title=The Heart and Soul of the 'Big' Piano |url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2018/6/4/17423236/big-piano-tom-hanks-30th-anniversary |website=The Ringer |access-date=May 9, 2024 |date=June 4, 2018}}</ref> * In the stage musical adaption of ''[[The Lion King (musical)|The Lion King]]'', "Chopsticks" can be heard in the song "Lioness' Hunt". * In the episode "Blind Faith" (Season 2 Episode 5) of ''[[Quantum Leap (1989 TV series)|Quantum Leap]]'', first aired November 1, 1989, [[Scott Bakula]] leaps into a blind piano player on stage just in time for the encore performance. Bakula plays "Chopsticks" amusing the large audience in the music hall.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0681108/?ref_=ttep_ep5 | title="Quantum Leap" Blind Faith - February 6, 1964 (TV Episode 1989) - IMDb | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> * The character Ryan Sinclair plays "Chopsticks" in "[[The Haunting of Villa Diodati]]", an episode of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' anachronistically set in 1816. * The melody is quoted in [[Hoyt Curtin]]'s theme to the 1960s [[Hanna-Barbera]] [[animated sitcom]] ''[[The Jetsons]]''. * The melody is the basis of [[J-pop]] group [[NiziU]]'s 2021 single "Chopstick". * Singer-songwriter [[Liz Phair]] opens the song “Chopsticks”, from her 1994 album ''[[Whip-Smart]]'', with a variation of the waltz played on piano in {{music|time|4|4}} time, and the theme continues through the song. * The tune was played in the ''[[Laverne & Shirley]]'' episode "Breaking Up And Making Up". * The melody is played by [[Sean Penn]] in the 1984 film ''[[Racing with the Moon]]'' while he is teaching [[Elizabeth McGovern]] the piano in an old honky-tonk bar. * In Brazil the melody is known as "O Bife" (The Beef). An adaptation as a song has been used since the 80s by Danone for commercials for their children's [[petit suisse]] brand ''Danoninho'' even releasing an LP in 1989 under the name "O Bifinho".<ref>{{cite web|access-date=15 July 2021 |language=en |quote=its Portuguese version was written over the song "Chopsticks" (or "The Celebrated Chop Waltz"), composed by British composed Euphemia Allen (under the pseudonym Arthur de Lulli) in 1877 |title=Danoninho – O Bifinho (1990, Clear, Flexi-disc) |url=https://www.discogs.com/Danoninho-O-Bifinho/release/14047293 |work=DiscoGS|date=1990 }}<!-- auto-translated from Portuguese by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> * [[Peter Sellers]] plays it for [[Sinéad Cusack]] in the 1970 feature film ''[[Hoffman (film)|Hoffman]]''.
== See also == * "[[Heart and Soul (Frank Loesser and Hoagy Carmichael song)|Heart and Soul]]", 1938 song by [[Hoagy Carmichael]] with lyrics by [[Frank Loesser]] with a similarly simple fingering
== Notes == {{Reflist|30em}}
== References == * {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Allan|1877}}|reference=Allan, Euphemia (1877). {{IMSLP|work=The Celebrated Chop Waltz (Allen, Euphemia)|cname="The Celebrated Chop Waltz"}}}} * {{Cite book|last=Fuld|first=James J.|date=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVninY59ul0C&q=The+Celebrated+Chop+Waltz+Arthur+de+Lulli&pg=PA170|title=The Book of World-famous Music: Classical, Popular, and Folk|publisher=Courier Corporation|isbn=978-0-486-41475-1}} * {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Thompson|1941}}|reference=Thompson, John Sylvanus. {{IMSLP|work=Chopsticks with Variations (Thompson, John Sylvanus)|cname="Chopsticks with Variations"}}}} * {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Various|1879}}|reference=Various (1879). {{IMSLP|work=Paraphrases (Borodin, Alexander Porfirevich)|cname=''Paraphrases'', by Borodin, Cui, Liadov, Liszt, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Shcherbachov}}}}
==Further reading== * {{cite magazine|last=Frankenstein|first=Alfred V.|author-link=Alfred Frankenstein|title=Chopsticks; a musicological mystery|magazine=[[The American Mercury]]|date=March 1932|page=373|ref=none}}
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[[Category:1877 compositions]] [[Category:Compositions for solo piano]] [[Category:Compositions in C major]]