# The world's smallest violin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 11, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952 "2006-03-11T17:30:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/21 "2006-03-29T11:19:23Z")
[QUOTE=Case Sensitive] The cliched melancholy violin tune is a real one, and even has a name, [_Hearts And Flowers_](http://parlorsongs.com/issues/2002-1/thismonth/featurea.asp): it was originally written in 1893 as a piano piece by one Theodore Moses Tobiani, to which lyrics were later added. {scroll about halfway down - there’s even a sound clip}. Fascinating site, by the way. [/QUOTE] Just as a post-script, as a courtesy I sent a link to this thread to the administrator of the Parlor Songs site, and recieved the following rather nice reply: Dear Robert, Thanks for sharing that discussion link with us. Sometimes we never realise how far-reaching some of our material can be. I hope you’ll be able to use us again to “fight ignorance”. It’s a big job though, there is more than enough ignorance to go around these days! Regards, etc. So there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/22 "2006-03-29T12:07:20Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] My version is “Where’s my violin?” [/QUOTE] I hope you got that copyrighted, cuz they’re filming “Dude, where’s my violin?” as we speak. ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/23 "2006-03-29T13:13:10Z")
Since we’re talking about tunes used in catroons, I’ve got one: What’s the name of that music that Terrytoons used frequently when something (usually sad) was happening with a dog? You know; dog shivering in the rain or cold, dog separated from his master, that sort of thing? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/24 "2006-03-29T15:23:37Z")
I think that originally people would mimic playing a life sized violin when someone would complain. That led to many variations including the smallest violin. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/25 "2006-03-29T15:55:06Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] My version is “Where’s my violin?” [/QUOTE] Yes, or “Cue the violins!” ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/26 "2006-12-01T09:28:29Z")
Just bumping this one with a recently encountered quote from Kinky Friedman’s 1986 novel _Greenwich Killing Time_: “You know what this is?” I asked. I was moving the index finger of my left hand back and forth across the thumbnail of the same hand… …“Well, let me tell you, honey. It’s the smallest violin in the world, and it’s playing ‘Hearts and Flowers’”. So there, as they say, you go. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/27 "2006-12-01T12:18:10Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] I hope you got that copyrighted, cuz they’re filming “Dude, where’s my violin?” as we speak. [/QUOTE] I heard Clarence Clemons is doing the score; it’s full of sax and violins! ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/28 "2006-12-01T15:47:55Z")
[QUOTE=AtomicDog] Since we’re talking about tunes used in catroons, I’ve got one: What’s the name of that music that Terrytoons used frequently when something (usually sad) was happening with a dog? You know; dog shivering in the rain or cold, dog separated from his master, that sort of thing? [/QUOTE] Do you mean the one that goes: #dee-da-da-dee-dee, da-dee-da-dee-da-do-da-dum-di-di-di-di-diii.# That’s what I first thought of at the beginning of the thread, but it’s completely different from the posted link. ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/29 "2006-12-01T18:12:33Z")
I don’t know, but my grandfather HAS a tiny violin that actually plays. It’s something like an inch or two long. So cute! ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2006, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/30 "2006-12-01T22:27:40Z")
[QUOTE=Dead Cat] Do you mean the one that goes: #dee-da-da-dee-dee, da-dee-da-dee-da-do-da-dum-di-di-di-di-diii.# [/QUOTE] Skib-bip-do-pip-pap, dibba-dat-totat-bappa-rebap, man that is some really cool jazz! ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/31 "2006-12-02T02:25:08Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Skib-bip-do-pip-pap, dibba-dat-totat-bappa-rebap, man that is some really cool jazz! [/QUOTE] You have to listen to the notes he’s _not_ playing… ---
**Author:** ![bcullman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bcullman/32/8207_2.png) [@bcullman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcullman)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2006, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/32 "2006-12-02T11:44:00Z")
I vauguely recall seeing a crack about the worlds smallest violin in an episode of the honeymooners. That would predate all the other examples. ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Thin\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Ice)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/33 "2006-12-02T14:30:52Z")
When I was a kid we would rub a thumb in a tiny circle on the index finger and say it’s the world’s smallest record player playing “My Heart Bleeds for You.” ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952/34 "2006-12-02T17:11:37Z")
Just popping in to mention that, while watching an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, there was an episode where Spongebob was crying hysterically about something, and the violin music was playing. The scene cut to a sad looking Mr. Krabs rubbing the tips of one of his pinchers together in the “tiniest violin” pose, and then a close-up of his pincher revealed that he WAS playing a tiny violin. I LOL’d, my little brother needed the joke explained. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-smallest-violin/347952.md?page=1)