"Chim Chim Cher-ee" is a song from the film Mary Poppins. It was sung by Bert, Mary Poppins, Jane, and Michael. It is also featured prominently in the award-winning Cameron Mackintosh/Disney stage musical of the same name which premiered in London at the Prince Edward Theatre in 2004 and on Broadway on November 16, 2006. It was heard in the Mary Poppins scene of The Great Movie Ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios and during the Mary Poppins segment of Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations at Disneyland.
The song won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 2005, Julie Andrews included it as part of "Julie Andrews Selects Her Favorite Disney Songs." It was included in Disney Sing Along Songs: Be Our Guest.
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Songwriters
The song was written by the Sherman Brothers, who also won an Oscar and a Grammy Award for the film's song score.
Inspiration
The song was inspired by one of the drawings of a chimney sweep created by the film's screenwriter, Don DaGradi. When asked about the drawing by the Sherman Brothers, DaGradi explained the ancient British folklore attributed to "sweeps" and how shaking hands with one could bring a person good luck. In their 1961 treatment, the Sherman Brothers had already amalgamated many of the P.L. Travers characters in the creation of "Bert". His theme music became the song.
In addition to the "standard" version of the song which Bert sings to Jane and Michael, he sings short snippets of it to himself at various times, with different verses specific to an unfolding plot element.
Lyrics
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-oo
I does what I likes and I likes what I do
Today I'm a screever and as you can see
A screever's an artist of highest degree
And it's all me own work
From me own memory
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-oo
I draws what I likes and I likes what I drew
No remuneration do I ask of you
But me cap would be glad of a copper or two
Me cap would be glad of a copper or two
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee!
A sweep is as lucky
As lucky can be
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-oo!
Good luck will rub off
When I shakes hands with you
Or blow me a kiss
And that's lucky too
Now as the ladder
Of life has been strung
You may think a sweep's
On the bottommost rung
Though I spends me time
In the ashes and smoke
In this whole wide world
There's no happier bloke
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee!
A sweep is as lucky
As lucky can be
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-oo!
Good luck will rub off
When I shakes hands with you
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee!
A sweep is as lucky
As lucky can be
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-oo!
Good luck will rub off
When I shakes hands with you
I choose me bristles
With pride, yes, I do
A broom for the shaft
And a brush for the flue
Up where the smoke
Is all billered and curled
'Tween pavement and stars
Is he chimney sweep world
When there's hardly no day
Nor hardly no night
There's things half in shadow
And halfway in light
On the rooftops of London
Cool, what a sight!
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee!
When you're with a sweep
You're in glad company
Nowhere is there
A more happier crew
Than them what sings
"Chim chim cher-ee
Chim cher-oo!
Chim chiminey chim chim
Cher-ee chim cher-oo!"
Covers
- Plastic Tree in Japanese on the 2011 album V-Rock Disney
- On 2013 album Disney - Koe no Oujisama Vol.3, which features various seiyus covering Disney songs, the song was covered by Takuma Terashima
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Chim Chim Cher-ee. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |
