"Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue (Has Anybody Seen My Girl?)" is an American popular song that achieved its greatest popularity in the 1920s. As of January 1, 2021, the song has fallen into the public domain.

Title

The song was copyrighted on October 19, 1925 as "Five foot two, eyes of blue; has anybody seen my girl" The shorter form of the title, "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue", has been used since the first release of the song and appears to have become the most common form. However "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue (Has Anybody Seen My Girl)" with brackets was on the label of Gene Austin's 1926

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

version and is a common alternative (often without a question mark, as on Austin's record and in the 1925 copyright). Some releases have used simply Has Anybody Seen My Girl? and there are examples of Has Anybody Seen My ''Gal''?

Origin

Accounts of who originally composed "Has Anybody Seen My Girl?" vary, particularly since the song, especially its lyrics, was often modified. Some sources state that

Percy Wenrich Percy Wenrich (January 23, 1880 – March 17, 1952) was an American composer of ragtime and popular music. He is best known for writing the songs "Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet" and "When You Wore a Tulip and I Wore a Big Red Rose", along with the ...

wrote the music and Jack Mahoney the lyrics, in 1914. Credit for the most popular version of the song, though, is given to

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was one-third of ...

for the music, and

Sam M. Lewis Sam M. Lewis (born Samuel M. Levine; October 25, 1885 – November 22, 1959) was an American singer and lyricist. Career Lewis was born in New York City, United States. He began his music career by singing in cafés throughout New York City, ...

and Joseph Widow Young for the lyrics. It was this version that was recorded by

The California Ramblers The California Ramblers were an American jazz group that recorded hundreds of songs for many different record labels throughout the 1920s. Four members of the band –Red Nichols, Jimmy Dorsey, Tommy Dorsey, and Adrian Rollini - went on to front b ...

in 1925.

Recordings

The song was first recorded on October 19, 1925 by Lanin's Red Heads (vocals by

Art Gillham Art Gillham (January 1, 1895, St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri – June 6, 1961, Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia) was an American songwriter who was among the first crooners, a pioneer radio artist, and a recording ...

) and has been covered by many other artists since, including The Golden Gate Orchestra (pseudonym of

Arthur Fields Arthur Fields (né Abraham Finkelstein; August 6, 1888—March 29, 1953) was an American baritone and songwriter. Early life Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Abraham Finkelstein, Fields grew up mainly in Utica, New York. He became a ...

Tiny Hill Harry Lawrence "Tiny" Hill (July 19, 1906 – December 13, 1971) was an American band leader of the big band era. During the height of his career, Hill was billed as "America's Biggest Bandleader" because of his weight of over . His signatu ...

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was a Canadian and American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racing, hydroplane racer whose unique "sweet jazz" style remained popular with audiences for nearly five decade ...

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

Freddy Cannon Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. (born December 4, 1936), better known by his stage name Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singing, singer. His biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", ...

Shane Fenton and the Fentones Shane Fenton and the Fentones were an English rock and roll group formed in Mansfield in 1960. Shane Fenton, the band's namesake, was actually the stage name of two different musicians; when the first Shane Fenton, actually named Johnny Theakst ...

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician. Among his hits are " Room Full of Roses", " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and “ Lonely Nights”. ...

Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; ; ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich (), is an American actress and former fashion model. Her starring roles in numerous science fiction film, science-fiction and action films led th ...

, and Tim Waurick. Gene Austin recorded a version in December 1925 (titled "Five Foot Two Eyes Of Blue") which became a top-seller in 1926.

Nick Lucas Dominic Antonio Nicholas Lucanese (August 22, 1897 – July 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Nick Lucas, was an American jazz singer and guitarist. He was the first jazz guitarist to record as a soloist. His popularity during his life ...

sang the song in a recording that was used in the 1974 movie ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...

''.

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

included the song in a medley on his album ''

On the Happy Side ''On the Happy Side'' is a long-playing vinyl album recorded by Bing Crosby for his own company, Project Records, and issued by Warner Bros. Records (W1482) in 1962. The album is in a “sing along” style and Crosby over-dubbed his vocals on ac ...

'' (1962).

Cultural appearances

The 1952 Hollywood comedy film '' Has Anybody Seen My Gal?'' was set in the 1920s and used the song, among a few others from that era, but these musical touches were unrelated to the plot. The song was the theme song for TV's ''

The Ina Ray Hutton Show ''The Ina Ray Hutton Show'' is a TV show starring prominent female jazz bandleader Ina Ray Hutton and her all-female orchestra. From October 30, 1950, until October 9, 1951, the program was sponsored by Altes Beer on KTLA. From 1951 to 1955, the ...

'' during the 1950s. The song was featured in the 1936 ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...

'' short film "

The Pinch Singer ''The Pinch Singer'' is a 1936 ''Our Gang'' short comedy film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer. It was the 142nd ''Our Gang'' short to be released. Plot The gang's Eagles Club holds auditions for a performer to send to a local amateur radio talent ...

", performed by a fictional group named "The Plantation Trio".

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

performs this song in an episode of ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'', and also in the episode of ''

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...

'' titled "Lucy's College Reunion", in both performances playing the ukulele.

Terry-Thomas Terry-Thomas (born Thomas Terry Hoar Stevens; 10 July 1911 – 8 January 1990) was an English character actor and comedian who became internationally known through his films during the 1950s and 1960s. He often portrayed disreputable members ...

, playing a banjo, performed the song in a duet with

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer and actor. He was born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish Americans, Polish origin and enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, ...

at the piano in an episode of The Liberace Show in 1969. In 1984, it was used by the

Walter Mondale 1984 presidential campaign The Walter Mondale 1984 presidential campaign began on February 21, 1983, when Walter Mondale, former senator from Minnesota and vice president of the United States under Jimmy Carter, announced that he was running for president in a speech at t ...

to introduce vice-presidential candidate

Geraldine Ferraro Geraldine Anne Ferraro (August 26, 1935 March 26, 2011) was an American politician, diplomat, and attorney. She served in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1985, and was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice presiden ...

(who was actually five feet, four inches). More recently used in '' CSI: Cyber'' Season one, episode eight, "Selfie 2.0", the song was referenced when the agents were profiling victims; and, was used as dance music in the 2018 semi-final of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' by

Stacey Dooley Stacey Jaclyn Dooley (born 9 March 1987) is an English television presenter, journalist, and media personality. She came to prominence in 2008 as a participant on the documentary series '' Blood, Sweat and T-shirts''. Since then, she has made ...

, and her professional partner

Kevin Clifton Kevin James Clifton (born 13 October 1982) is an English professional dancer and actor, who was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', having previously worked as an assistant choreographer. He has also featured on ...

. '' Gaga: Five Foot Two'' is a 2017 documentary film about American singer-songwriter

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

. The

version of the song is performed.

Lyrics

The Jack Mahoney lyrics (1914) are the same as the chorus used in the

& Joseph Widow Young version (1925). Minor variations exist in recorded versions — for example, "pearls" and "hers" instead of "fur" and "her". ''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,'' ''Flapper, yes sir, one of those,'' ''Has anybody seen my girl?'' ''Now if you run into a five-foot-two'' ''Covered with fur,'' ''Diamond rings, and all those things,'' ''Bet your life it isn't her,'' ''But could she love, could she woo,'' ''Could she, could she, could she coo!'' ''Has anybody seen my girl?'' This is the chorus. There are two verses as well.

Football popular culture

The song became a popular football terrace chant in England in the late 1960s and early 1970s in homage of players with particularly hard tackling reputations, most notably at

Manchester United Football Club Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

player

Jim Holton James Allan Holton (11 April 1951 – 4 October 1993) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre-back. Holton played for Shrewsbury Town, Manchester United, Miami Toros, Sunderland, Coventry City and Detroit Express. He played in 15 inter ...

. Fans adapted the lyrics "Six Foot two, eyes of blue, big Jim Holton's after you..."

References

{{authority control 1925 songs Songs with music by Ray Henderson Songs with lyrics by Sam M. Lewis Songs with lyrics by Joe Young (lyricist)