Under the Sea

Under the Sea is a popular song from Disney's 1989 feature film, The Little Mermaid. The song was composed by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It is known to be influenced by the Calypso style of the Caribbean. The song won Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1989, one of Disney's original scores to win Oscar. The song was also nominated for AFI's 100 years...100 songs, as one of 15 songs from Disney and one of 17 songs from an animated movie to be nominated. The songs that eventually made the cut were: When You Wish Upon A Star (#7), Some Day My Prince Will Come (#19), Beauty and the Beast (#62) and Hakuna Matata (#99).

Plot
The song is performed by Sebastian (Samuel E. Wright) who tries to convince Ariel the ocean life is better than the surface, explaining the struggles of human life and compares the benefits of a care-free life underwater. However, Ariel doesn't listen to him, and still keeps her dream to become human.

Lyrics
The seaweed is always greener In somebody else's lake You dream about going up there But that is a big mistake Just look at the world around you Right here on the ocean floor Such wonderful things surround you What more is you lookin' for?

Under the sea Under the sea Darling it's better Down where it's wetter Take it from me

Up on the shore they work all day Out in the sun they slave away While we devotin' Full-time to floatin' Under the sea

Down here all the fish is happy As off through the waves they roll The fish on the land ain't happy They sad 'cause they in their bowl

But fish in the bowl is lucky They in for a worser fate One day when the boss get hungry Guess who's gon' be on the plate

Under the sea Under the sea Nobody beat us Fry us and eat us In fricassee

We what the land folks loves to cook Under the sea we off the hook We got no troubles Life is the bubbles

Under the sea Under the sea Since life is sweet here We got the beat here Naturally

Even the sturgeon an' the ray They get the urge 'n' start to play We got the spirit You got to hear it Under the sea

The newt play the flute The carp play the harp The plaice play the bass And they soundin' sharp The bass play the brass The chub play the tub The fluke is the duke of soul (Yeah)

The ray he can play The lings on the strings The trout rockin' out The blackfish she sings The smelt and the sprat They know where it's at An' oh that blowfish blow

Under the sea Under the sea When the sardine Begin the beguine It's music to me What do they got? A lot of sand We got a hot crustacean band

Each little clam here know how to jam here Under the sea

Each little slug here Cuttin' a rug here Under the sea

Each little snail here Know how to wail here That's why it's hotter Under the water Ya we in luck here Down in the muck here Under the sea

Trivia

 * This song was also sung in the Kingdom Hearts II video game. In this version of the song, Sebastian is joined by Ariel and Sora.
 * The music is heard in the Phineas and Ferb episodes "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" and "Out of Toon". "Phineas and Ferb Hawaiian Vacation" parodies the song with A-Prime Calypso in Part 1.
 * The song is on Disc 1 of Now! That What I Call Disney!