Remember Those Burma Shave Signs?

[Jack Flash]

I really enjoyed them as a kid. When I saw this on another forum, I had to post it here as well. Here are some of the old rhymes that were both funny but also carried a message. I wonder if they could save a few lives today ...

A car, a curve.
He kissed the miss,
And missed the curve.
Burma Shave

DON'T STICK YOUR ELBOW
OUT SO FAR
IT MAY GO HOME
IN ANOTHER CAR.
Burma Shave

TRAINS DON'T WANDER
ALL OVER THE MAP
'CAUSE NOBODY SITS
IN THE ENGINEER'S LAP.
Burma Shave

SHE KISSED THE HAIRBRUSH
BY MISTAKE
SHE THOUGHT IT WAS
HER HUSBAND JAKE.
Burma Shave

DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD
TO GAIN A MINUTE
YOU NEED YOUR HEAD
YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT.
Burma Shave

DROVE TOO LONG
DRIVER SNOOZING
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
IS NOT AMUSING.
Burma Shave

BROTHER SPEEDER
LET'S REHEARSE
ALL TOGETHER
GOOD MORNING, NURSE.
Burma Shave

CAUTIOUS RIDER
TO HER RECKLESS DEAR
LET'S HAVE LESS BULL
AND A LITTLE MORE STEER.
Burma Shave

SPEED WAS HIGH
WEATHER WAS NOT
TIRES WERE THIN
X MARKS THE SPOT.
Burma Shave

THE MIDNIGHT RIDE
OF PAUL FOR BEER
LED TO A WARMER
HEMISPHERE.
Burma Shave

AROUND THE CURVE
LICKETY-SPLIT
BEAUTIFUL CAR
WASN'T IT?
Burma Shave

NO MATTER THE PRICE
NO MATTER HOW NEW
THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE
IN THE CAR IS YOU.
Burma Shave

A GUY WHO DRIVES
A CAR WIDE OPEN
IS NOT THINKIN'
HE'S JUST HOPIN ’
Burma Shave

AT INTERSECTIONS
LOOK EACH WAY
A HARP SOUNDS NICE
BUT IT'S HARD TO PLAY.
Burma Shave

BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL
EYES ON THE ROAD
THAT'S THE SKILLFUL
DRIVER'S CODE.
Burma Shave

THE ONE WHO DRIVES
WHEN HE'S BEEN DRINKING
DEPENDS ON YOU
TO DO HIS THINKING.
Burma Shave

CAR IN DITCH
DRIVER IN TREE
THE MOON WAS FULL
AND SO WAS HE.
Burma Shave

PASSING SCHOOL ZONE
TAKE IT SLOW
LET OUR LITTLE
SHAVERS GROW.
Burma Shave

TWINKLE TWINKLE
ONE-EYED CAR
HOW I WONDER
WHERE YOU ARE
Burma Shave

 

[JH1951]

Good memories of a time long gone by.
It was a "brushless" shaving cream. I do not remember many signs after about 1960 or so..... They always added entertainment to long trips.

 

[Golddollar]

There actually was a book published containing the texts from the Burma Shave signs. I think it was called "Verse by the Side of the Road."

 

[Mistered]

Throughout a life
Of toil and sin
Mans' head grows bald
But not his chin!

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Burma Shave Brushless?

Good memories of a time long gone by.
It was a "brushless" shaving cream. I do not remember many signs after about 1960 or so..... They always added entertainment to long trips.

I shave using a brush and mug. In the 90's I bought all 3 of my sons a mug and brush each and a spare. Old spice no longer sold the mug and soap sets like I've used since Christmas 1974; so I bought the boys Burma Shave sets (the spare is still in the box!)

 

[riverrat38]

The wolf
Is shaved
So neat and trim
Red Riding Hood
Is chasing him
Burma-Shave

Best,
Rick

 

[crazyphil]

The hobo lets his whiskers sprout
its trains, not girls, that he takes out.
Burma Shave

There was a veteran after WWII who built a chain of
service stations. Fearless Farris (Lind). Stinker Stations.
The story is he was building his first station right across
the street from another station. The lady who owned the
other station called him a dirty stinker, so the name stuck.

Anyway, Fearless Farris had signs all around this part of the
country, similar to Burma Shave. A few samples:

Sage Brush is free.
Stuff some in your car.

Tourists do not laugh at the natives.

Sitting Bull stood up here.

Californians must be dipped
before entering Idaho.

 

[soFlaNative]

Old South BBQ (long gone) in Clewiston had some Burma Shave
style signs stretching for 50 miles along US Highway 27. They worked.
Most unique had to be the ones made from cypress trees for Tom
Gaskin's Cypress Knee museum near Palmdale.
I heard those signs gave Lady Bird Johnson fits.

 

[ACP230]

One I recall:

Though we've sold
A thousand others.
We just can't sell,
Those cough drop brothers.
Burma Shave.

I can't recall the names but do recall
the pictures on the cough drop boxes.
Full black beards on both the brothers.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

A beard that's rough
and overgrown,
is better than
a chaperone.

Burma Shave.

 

[bill2000]

There once was a man from Nantucket...Oh, sorry, wrong thread.

 

[NYlakesider]

One I recall:

Though we've sold
A thousand others.
We just can't sell,
Those cough drop brothers.
Burma Shave.

I can't recall the names but do recall
the pictures on the cough drop boxes.
Full black beards on both the brothers.

I think it was Smith Brothers!

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

We recently traveled Route 66 between Kingman and Seligman, AZ and there are still Burma Shave signs along the way. There are also other relics to see, like very old telegraph poles along side the railroad tracks.

If you are ever traveling I-40 to points East or West, Route 66 between Kingman and Seligman is a much better way to go compared to the freeway. The freeway route is full of semis and goes up and down many mountains....Route 66 is fairly flat and traffic free. We always go that way when towing our RV.

Burma-Shave - Wikipedia

 

[mule69]

It is a great route. Have made the trip many times on my old Harley and have some great photo's.

 

[Targets Guy]

A few years back Iowa redid those old signs and put them up along some two lane highways.

I see one almost everyday (usually the same one); always brings a smile.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Nevada still has them.
On the old main road from Reno to the state capitol, Carson City,
there is still a old BS message on the north bound side of the road, just before you get near Reno.
This area has now been bypassed by the new freeway, so it will
not get may readers now.

"..... is now burred, six feet deep."
Sorry, can't remember the first part.

 

[oldbrownhat]

This Fifties Web site has several pages of Burma Shave (oops... nearly abbreviated it to "BS") slogans. Another web page with the company history here.

And Frank Rowsome's 1965 book, "The Verse by the Side of the Road" is available from Amazon.

 

[oldbrownhat]

"..... is now burred, six feet deep."
Sorry, can't remember the first part.

HE WHO DRIVES
HALF ASLEEP
IS NOW BURIED
SIX FEET DEEP

 

[riverrat38]

An ongoing theme with the Burma Shave signs was, "half a pound for half a dollar". This was over a period of many Decades.

Berst,
Rick

 

[ron_c]

Big mistake
Many make
Rely on horn
Instead of brake

Burma Shave