"Come Little Children", also known as "Sarah's Theme"[1] and "Garden of Magic",[2] is a song sung by Sarah Sanderson in the film Hocus Pocus to hypnotize children. It was composed by James Horner and the lyrics were written by Brock Walsh, the latter also credited for the movie's "Chants and Incantations."[1][2][3]
Lyrics[]
Come, little children, I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment.
Come, little children, the time's come to play,
Here in my garden of magic.
Authorship[]
The origin of the song's lyrics are an ongoing debate. The Hal Leonard Corporation and apocryphal sources claim that the lyrics originate from a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe titled "Come Little Children."[2][4][5][6] Poe scholars dispute this claim because no such poem appears in Poe's official omnibus, and the lyrics do not match his style.[2][7] Brock Walsh confirms the lyrics are original and attributes the confusion to his personal "obsession with him [Poe] as a child."[2]
Covers[]
There are two popular covers of the song that adapt additional lyrics, henceforth referred to as "Garden of Shadows"[2][8] and "Garden of Mystery."[9] Neither were written by any members of the crew of Hocus Pocus. The "Garden of Shadows" lyrics were created and posted around December 2002 on a blog belonging to a user known as Belos.[2] This version of the lyrics was popularized by Kate Covington on her YouTube channel Erutan Music.[2] She released it in 2009.
"Garden of Shadows"[]
Come, little children, I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment.
Come, little children, the time's come to play,
Here in my garden of shadows.
Follow, sweet children, I'll show thee the way,
Through all the pain and the sorrows.
Weep not, poor children, for life is this way,
Murdering beauty and passions.
Hush now, dear children, it must be this way,
To weary of life and deceptions.
Rest now, my children, for soon we'll away,
Into the calm and the quiet.
Come, little children, I'll take thee away
Into a land of enchantment.
Come, little children, the time's come to play,
Here in my garden of shadows.
"Garden of Mystery"[]
Come, little children, I'll take thee away,
Into a land of enchantment.
Come, little children, the time's come to play,
Here in my garden of magic.
Come, little children, the time's drawing near,
Halloween night is waning.
Come, little children, ride with me tonight,
It's not a night for abstaining.
Come, little children, now follow me home;
Not a one of you need worry.
Come, little children, the time's come to roam.
Come follow me now—please hurry.
Come, little children, there's magic to see,
Here in my garden of mystery.
Come, little children, into my abode;
Tomorrow you all will be history.
Trivia[]
- The song was later sung again by Sarah Sanderson in Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular during Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, when she, Winifred, and Mary are about to add ingredients in their cauldron for the party potions.
- One clue that the song is a modern composition is in its very first, ungrammatical line: "children" is a plural noun, but "thee" is specifically a singular pronoun; this would have been common knowledge before the 20th century.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107120/soundtrack?ref_=tt_trv_snd
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 http://www.dmelhoff.com/who-wrote-come-little-children
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1200274/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
- ↑ http://bed-timehorrorliterature.blogspot.ca/2011/09/come-little-children-by-edgar-allan-poe.html
- ↑ http://www.ask.com/question/come-little-children-poem
- ↑ http://theladymystic.livejournal.com/5118.html
- ↑ http://littlegothichorrors.blogspot.com/2013/09/come-little-children-ill-take-thee-away.html
- ↑ http://www.yololyrics.com/erutan-%28-katethegreat19-%29-come-little-children-lyrics/10819949/
- ↑ http://www.gugalyrics.com/lyrics-980909/edgar-allen-poe-come-little-children.html
