German meaning

Schnitzelbank literally means "scrap bench" or "chip bench" (from Schnitzel "scraps / cips / cuttings (from carving)" or the colloquial verb schnitzeln "to make scraps / to carving" and Bank "bench"), in English known as a shaving horse

Shaving horse

A shaving horse is a traditional woodworking tool used to hold a piece of wood in place while it is worked by a cutting tool such as a drawknife or spokeshave. They generally consist of a long bench that the woodworker sits on, while a pedal-operated clamp locks the workpiece into place...

. It is a woodworking tool used in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 prior to the industrial revolution. It was in regular use in colonial New England, and in the Appalachian region until early in the 20th century; it is still in use by specialist artisans today. In America it is known as a shaving horse. It uses the mechanical advantage of a foot-operated lever to securely clamp the object to be carved. The shaving horse is used in combination with the draw knife or spokeshave

Spokeshave

A spokeshave is a tool used to shape and smooth wooden rods and shafts - often for use as wheel spokes, chair legs ,, self bows,and arrows. It can also be used to carve canoe paddles.-Modern:...

 to cut down green or seasoned wood, to accomplish jobs such as handling an ax; creating wooden rakes, hay forks, walking sticks etc. The shaving horse was used by various trades from farmer to basketmaker and wheelwright. This word is like the Bank feminine and takes the article "die".

A Schnitzelbank is also a short rhyming verse or song with humorous content. This use of the word is mainly used in Switzerland and south-western Germany, it is a constituting element of the Fasnacht celebrations in the city of Basel, there also written Schnitzelbangg. This word is masculine and takes the article "der". Schnitzelbänke (pl.) are also sung at wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

s and other festivities. The Schitzelbänkler, the persons who sings this songs, are single persons or small groups and often it is accompanied with some instruments. Mostly the Schnitzelbänkler show before or to the specific verses Helgen, posters which introduce in the subject, but do not tell the punchline.

Song

A German-language ditty for children "The Schnitzelbank Song" is popular among German Americans with an interest in learning or teaching German to their offspring. It is often sung by adults for entertainment and nostalgia.

Cary Grant

Cary Grant

Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...

, Joan Bennett

Joan Bennett

Joan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...

, and Gene Lockhart

Gene Lockhart

Eugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...

 sing a version of the song in the 1936 film Wedding Present

Wedding Present (1936 film)

Wedding Present is a 1936 romantic comedy film made by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Richard Wallace, and starred Joan Bennett and Cary Grant...

. Later, Joan Bennett's character uses the tune to the song to mock Cary Grant's character for his hypocritical behavior after being promoted.

Another version is included in Billy Wilder's

Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...

 1953 film Stalag 17

Stalag 17

Stalag 17 is a 1953 war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen held in a German World War II prisoner of war camp, who come to suspect that one of their number is a traitor...

. American POWs sing it during a volleyball game to distract guards from spotting a contraband radio antenna hidden in the net.

In 1957, Bill Haley & His Comets

Bill Haley & His Comets

Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...

 recorded a rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 version called "Rockin' Rollin' Schnitzelbank" for their album, Rockin' Around the World

Rockin' Around the World

Rockin' Around the World was the sixth album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley and His Comets. Released in March 1958 on the Decca Records label, Decca 8692, the album was produced by Milt Gabler, who produced all of Haley's recordings for Decca. It was the second of three "themed" albums that...

.

In 1994 Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...

's popular cartoon show Animaniacs

Animaniacs

Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...

used the song in one of its cartoon sketches. In it, the Warner siblings (Yakko, Wakko, and Dot) learn the song (known in the episode as the "international friendship song") from German Professor Otto Von Schnitzelpusskrankengescheitmeyer.

Comedian Mel Blanc

Mel Blanc

Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...

 recorded a novelty Christmas song in the 1950s, "Yah Das Ist Ein Christmas Tree", which borrows the tune and concept. This was itself parodied by singer/comedian Joel Kopischke in 2005 as "Stupid Christmas Song".

The Dutch Country troubadour, Percy Einsig, recorded a popular rendition of "Schnitzelbank" at Up-Town Records, Reading, PA. He was also made famous in the PA Dutch area for his song entitled "The Ford Machine"

Further reading

• William D. Keel: A German-American Cultural Icon: O, du schöne Schnitzelbank, in Yearbook of German-American studies, Society for German American Studies, 38th Ed., 2003, pp. 221–236
• Stewart Eastman: A Schnitzelbank Stein - about the history, January 2010

External links

• Is das net die Hobelbank, one German version today