Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)
“Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavour (On the Bedpost Overnight?)” is a novelty song by Lonnie Donegan. Released as a single in 1959, it peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.[2] It was also Donegan’s greatest chart success in the United States, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961.[3] The song is a cover version of “Does The Spearmint Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight?”, a song first released in 1924 by The Happiness Boys (Ernie Hare snd Billy Jones),[4] and later a hit for Lulu Belle and Scotty and The Two Gilberts. The song is humorous in content, the verses each describing a dramatic or urgent scenario leading up to the asking of the titular question. The title and lyrics of the Donegan version were changed in the UK because “Spearmint” is a registered trademark[1] there, and the BBC does not play songs which mention trademarks.[5] Donegan’s version of the song was recorded live at the New Theatre Oxford in December 1958[4] and was released both
