It's a Small World (song)

" It's a Small World is the theme song of the attraction of the same name . It was written by the Sherman Brothers in 1963.

History
"Children of the World" was the working title of the attraction Walt Disney only called "the happiest cruise that ever sailed" (and never It's a Small World). The attraction's tentative soundtrack design featured each national anthem, playing all at once, which resulted in a cacophonous noise. Walt demonstrated the miniature mock-up to his staff songwriters Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman. As he and the Sherman Brothers walked through Walt said, "I need one song." a single song for the attraction which could be easily translated into many different languages and which could be played in round. The Sherman Brothers wrote "it's a small world (after all)". in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which influenced the song's message. They first presented "it's a small world (after all)" to Walt by singing in counterpoint while walking through the mock-up. In the spirit of international unity, "it's a small world (after all)" was sung and recorded in various studios around the world - by a church choir in London, TV performers in Mexico City, a school chorus in Rome, and by local children from Tokyo and California.

It is argued that this song is the single most performed and most widely translated song on earth. The song tune and lyrics are the only Disney creations never to be copyrighted, as UNICEF requested, and can be heard worldwide on musical devices ranging from keyboard demos to ice cream trucks, it remains "a gift to the children of the world."

In The Lion King, when Scar assumed the throne of Pride Rock, he took the majordomo Zazu as his prisoner and made him sing songs to him, preferably those with a "bounce" to it, prompting Zazu to start singing "It's a Small World", only to be immediately cut off by Scar, who clearly despised that song and allowed any other song except that. The song being considered annoyance by people is also referenced in Kim Possible Movie: So the Drama, where Drakken is shown using a torture chamber where a man is trapped in a room with the singing dolls.

It was also performed on The Muppet Show in the Spike Milligan episode, paying tribute to the Muppets' favorite country: Disneyland. The set mimics the Mary Blair-designed sets of the ride and characters that are singing the song bob up and down in a manner similar to that of the ride's animatronic figures.

The song can also be heard in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep in Disney Castle, as well as in Epic Mickey and Kinect Disneyland Adventures. In Disney Universe, after completing all of the worlds at least once, HEX sings a rock version of this song.

A modified version of the song appears on the Disney's Sing-Along Songs video Flik's Musical Adventure from Disney's Animal Kingdom as "It's a Bug's World".

Lyrics
It's a world of laughter, a world of tears.

It's a world of hopes and a world of fears.

There's so much that we share,

That it's time we're aware

It's a small world after all.

It's a small world after all.

It's a small world after all.

It's a small world after all.

It's a small, small world.

There is just one moon and one golden sun.

And a smile means friendship to everyone.

Though the mountains divide,

And the oceans are wide

It's a small world after all.

It's a small world after all.

It's a small world after all.

It's a small world after all.

It's a small, small world.