# What Piano Ditty Uses Knuckles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 14, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390 "2009-05-14T05:57:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/1 "2009-05-14T05:57:29Z")
Someone asked me recently about a section of a piano piece that requires using the knuckles of the right hand. 1. The knuckles are rolled over F#, G# and A#. Then C# and D# above that are played together twice. 2. Repeat Step 1. 3. Then the reverse happens: A#, G# and F# are rolled by the knuckles and then the C# and D# below and played together twice. 4. Repeat Step 3. 5. Then the Step 1 is repeated twice. This is not the beginning or the end – just part of the little tune. What is this familiar piece? ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/2 "2009-05-14T06:03:56Z")
I know exactly what you’re talking about but never knew the name of that song. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/3 "2009-05-14T06:58:18Z")
Damn, my brother used to play that, about 55 years ago. I’d thought he had made it up. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/4 "2009-05-14T07:12:32Z")
Isn’t it actually called [The Knuckle Song](http://www.themadmusicarchive.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=96)? That link goes to a version by “Barry and the Bookbinders” from I think 1997… obviously not the original copyright holder, if there ever was one. But maybe hearing the tune will help jog the memory of someone who remembers the real name if that’s not it. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/5 "2009-05-14T11:49:48Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Isn’t it actually called [The Knuckle Song](http://www.themadmusicarchive.com/song_details.aspx?SongID=96)? That link goes to a version by “Barry and the Bookbinders” from I think 1997… obviously not the original copyright holder, if there ever was one. But maybe hearing the tune will help jog the memory of someone who remembers the real name if that’s not it. That’s the only part of the song I can remember off the top of my head, but I know I’ve heard someone play an extended version of it. I think the knuckle part might have just been the chorus or something. It was much less annoying in the context of the rest of the tune. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/6 "2009-05-14T11:57:46Z")
That song, Chopsticks and a two-finger song I wrote as a teen comprise the entirety of my piano repetoire. :o ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/7 "2009-05-14T13:15:08Z")
It’s used as an intro and outro to [“Southtown U.S.A.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA7vUzaR430) by The Dixiebelles (better known for their hit [“Down at Papa Joe’s”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4HD5dZkqaU)). ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mike\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Fun)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/8 "2009-05-14T15:03:28Z")
I always thought it was called “I’m going to slam the lid down on your goddamn hands if you keep playing that” in F# pentatonic. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/9 "2009-05-15T02:35:07Z")
bump ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/10 "2009-05-15T02:42:35Z")
“The Knuckle Son” that you linked to **BellRungBookShut** , is the right tune. I always played it as part of “Chopsticks.” I’m wondering if **Arky** played it that way. Anyone else? Thanks for the link! ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/11 "2009-05-15T05:40:35Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > “The Knuckle Son” that you linked to **BellRungBookShut** , is the right tune. I always played it as part of “Chopsticks.” I’m wondering if **Arky** played it that way. Anyone else? > > Thanks for the link! Wish I could take credit for the link 😃 I’m hoping that someone will know the “extended” version of the song I swear I heard someone play. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/12 "2009-05-15T07:58:25Z")
> [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > I’m hoping that someone will know the “extended” version of the song I swear I heard someone play. I think it was often played as an intro to, or segue between, several of the other pieces in every beginner pianist’s repertoire: Chopsticks as mentioned, [The Flea Waltz,](http://www.fjkastl.de/midis/floh.mid) and the pinnacle of early piano achievements, [Heart and Soul](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Heart_And_Soul.MID). Maybe one of these is what you remember hearing played in conjunction with The Knuckle Song. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/13 "2009-05-15T12:04:19Z")
Thanks, **Crazyhorse**! The bass in “The Flea Waltz” sounds very familiar. I may have worked that into “Chopsticks” too. “Heart and Soul” I’m very familiar with. The bass on that was a traditional blues progression. Some male vocal group made a recording of it in the late Fifties or early Sixties too. Piano duets taught to you by a friend were required learning when I was a kid. “Blue Moon” was another of those. I don’t suppose any of you ever learned “I Dropped My Dolly In the Dirt,” did you? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/14 "2009-05-15T12:14:39Z")
No, not as part of chopsticks for me. However, the three songs I knew pretty much ran together, anyway. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/15 "2009-05-15T18:08:34Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Thanks, **Crazyhorse**! The bass in “The Flea Waltz” sounds very familiar. \ Sounds like part of the Merrie Melodies song. There’s more to the knuckle song than just those black keys. After you do the knuckle part back and forth twice and then forward twice more, you hit C C# D D# E E E. (at least, I think that’s the right notes and can’t explain the timing) ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/16 "2009-05-15T18:27:39Z")
I used to play an ‘extended version’ of that knuckle song that wasn’t Heart and Soul or the Flea Circus one. Not a clue what it was called, but it was awfully popular and may be what **BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed** is hoping for. I just tried and I can still pick out the tune, but have no idea how to tell you about it. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/17 "2009-05-16T02:59:16Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > I think it was often played as an intro to, or segue between, several of the other pieces in every beginner pianist’s repertoire: Chopsticks as mentioned, [The Flea Waltz,](http://www.fjkastl.de/midis/floh.mid) and the pinnacle of early piano achievements, [Heart and Soul](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Heart_And_Soul.MID). Maybe one of these is what you remember hearing played in conjunction with The Knuckle Song. The Flea Waltz! That’s it exactly! Thank you!! I can die peacefully now. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/18 "2009-05-16T03:36:32Z")
> [@FalconFinder](#): > > There’s more to the knuckle song than just those black keys. After you do the knuckle part back and forth twice and then forward twice more, you hit C C# D D# E E E. Wouldn’t D D# E F F# F# F# at the end would make more sense? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/19 "2009-05-16T04:15:33Z")
> [@](#): > > The Flea Waltz! That’s it exactly! Thank you!! I’m used to hearing a slightly different arrangement of that (“arrangement” maybe isn’t the right term, since nobody ever plays it from sheet music), but that’s definitely the song I’ve heard with that ditty, too. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390/20 "2009-05-16T05:13:44Z")
The one I"m thinking of is a piano duet. The person on the left plays this (I don’t really know how to notate this, so I"m using all sharps and putting the chords in parentheses.) The chords are played with the right hand, after the note that’s played with the left hand. F# (A# C# F#) C# (A# C# F#) F# (A# C# F#) C# D D# (G# C F#) G# (G# C F#) D# (G# C F#) G# A# C# (B C# F) F (B C# F) C# (B C# F) F C# D D# F F# F# F# There were several different parts for the person on the right to play, including the knuckles thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-piano-ditty-uses-knuckles/496390.md?page=2)