The Bare Necessities

The Bare Necessities is a song featured in the Disney films The Jungle Book and its sequel written by Terry Gilkyson, and originally sung by Phil Harris as Baloo and Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli. It was written for an earlier, rejected, draft of the movie, and was, as the only song of that version, kept, on the request of the Sherman Brothers, who wrote the other songs of the film. A reprise of the song was sung by Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera and Phil Harris as Baloo at the end of the film. In the sequel a reprise is sung as well with John Goodman (Baloo), Haley Joel Osment (Mowgli) and Mae Whitman (Shanti).

"The Bare Necessities" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1967.

The song was notably later used as the theme song to Jungle Cubs, performed by Lou Rawls. Baloo, Louie, Bagheera, and Hathi later reprised it at the end of the series' final episode.

For Disneymania 3, Bowling for Soup performed a cover version of the song.

Original version

 * Look for the bare necessities
 * The simple bare necessities
 * Forget about your worries and your strife
 * I mean the bare necessities
 * Old Mother Nature's recipes
 * That brings the bare necessities of life


 * Wherever I wander, wherever I roam
 * I couldn't be fonder of my big home
 * The bees are buzzin' in the tree
 * To make some honey just for me
 * When you look under the rocks and plants
 * And take a glance at the fancy ants
 * Then maybe try a few
 * The bare necessities of life will come to you
 * They'll come to you!


 * Look for the bare necessities
 * The simple bare necessities
 * Forget about your worries and your strife
 * I mean the bare necessities
 * That's why a bear can rest at ease
 * With just the bare necessities of life


 * Now when you pick a pawpaw
 * Or a prickly pear
 * And you prick a raw paw
 * Next time beware
 * Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw
 * When you pick a pear
 * Try to use the claw
 * But you don't need to use the claw
 * When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw
 * Have I given you a clue?


 * The bare necessities of life will come to you
 * They'll come to you!


 * So just try and relax, yeah cool it
 * Fall apart in my backyard
 * 'Cause let me tell you something little britches
 * If you act like that bee acts, uh uh
 * You're working too hard


 * And don't spend your time lookin' around
 * For something you want that can't be found
 * When you find out you can live without it
 * And go along not thinkin' about it
 * I'll tell you something true
 * The bare necessities of life will come to you

Jungle Cubs version

 * Look for the bare necessities
 * The simple bare necessities
 * Forget about your worries and your strife
 * I mean the bare necessities
 * Old Mother Nature's recipes
 * That brings the bare necessities of life


 * Wherever I wander, wherever I roam
 * I couldn't be fonder of my big home
 * Don't spend your time lookin' 'round
 * For what you want that can't be found
 * When you find out you can live without it
 * You go along not thinkin' about it


 * Bare necessities
 * The simple bare necessities
 * Forget about your worries and your strife
 * I mean the bare necessities
 * Old Mother Nature's recipes
 * That brings the bare necessities of life

Original demo version

 * Now come along with me and take a ride
 * You'll see what Mother Nature can provide
 * That's why a bear can rest at ease
 * With just the bare necessities
 * With fruits and nuts and other things beside


 * Then as we wonder over my backyard
 * We'll flip a rock just like it was a card
 * The beetles are selectable
 * In fact, they are delectable
 * So eat 'em up, it's really not too hard


 * Ba-doh-ba-dee-doh
 * It's all so easy
 * Doh-ba-dee-doh-doh
 * No cares, no strife
 * Doh-ba-dee-doh-doh-doh
 * No matter where we go
 * We'll find the bare necessities of life


 * It's nice to ponder as we slowly roam
 * While growing fonder of our jungle home
 * We'll watch the busy little bees
 * Who's making honey just for me
 * As I dip for the honey from the comb
 * Ouch!


 * I've learned to love the food that's by my side
 * There's hardly anything I can't abide
 * Now, ants are quite a tasty dish
 * Don't wait for me, eat all you wish
 * You'll like the way they tickle you inside


 * Doh-ba-dee-doh
 * It's all so easy
 * Doh-ba-dee-doh-doh
 * No cares, no strife
 * Doh-ba-dee-doh-doh-doh
 * No matter where we go
 * We'll find the bare necessities of life


 * (Piano break)
 * Ba-doh-ba-dee-doh
 * Ba-doh-ba-dee-doo


 * So if you learn to live a life of ease
 * The fruits and nuts will fall out of the trees
 * If you relax throughout the day
 * Your hunger simply melts away
 * From eating just the bare necessities


 * Doh-ba-dee-doh-doh (Doh-ba-dee-doh-doh)
 * It's all so easy (So easy now)
 * Doh-ba-dee-doh-doh (Doh-ba-dee-doh-doh)
 * No cares, no strife (No cares, no strife)
 * Doh-ba-dee-doh-doh-doh
 * No matter where we go
 * We'll find the bare necessities of life
 * We'll find the bare necessities of life
 * We'll find the bare necessities of life
 * Ah-doh-ba-dee-doh