"Passamaquoddy" is a song featured in the 1977 Disney live action/animation hybrid film Pete's Dragon which was written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn. It is sung by Dr. Terminus (Jim Dale) and his accomplice Hoagy (Red Buttons) as they arrive in the town of Passamaquoddy and try to sell their fraudulent medicines to the gullible townsfolk.
Background[]
The song is a fast-paced and humorous number that showcases the con artists' skills of persuasion and deception, as well as the town's chaotic and eccentric nature. It was performed by Jim Dale and Red Buttons, who were both accomplished singers and actors. Dale had previously won a Tony Award for his role in the musical Barnum, and Buttons had won an Oscar for his role in the film Sayonara. The song also features a chorus of townspeople, who join in the singing and dancing. It was choreographed by Onna White, who had previously worked on Oliver! and The Music Man.
Lyrics[]
Dr. Terminus:
I've been bringing cures from Pilgrim Heights to Provincetown
Treated rabbit fever down on Queen Anne Road
Gout or gastritus, mumps or bronchitis
Bites and burns and blue abrasions
Got a pill for all occasions
Little Sippewisse was so nice to visit
And Scroggy Neck is lovely to recall
But through all my trips
Good Lord there's one place
One corner, one town on my lips
Why it's--
Poddomaquassy, uh, Paquamasoddy
No, no
Passamamassy, Quoddamapoddy, Passamadaddy
Quoddamapassy, Passamahoddy
Oh, I know, it's Passamashloddy
Townspeople:
No! It's Passamaquoddy!
Dr. Terminus:
Of course, that's what I meant to say
Fat Woman:
I took your drug for losing weight and now I'm a blob
Dr. Terminus:
But now there's so much more of you to love
Dr. Terminus:
I wiped out impetigo on the banks of Buttermilk
Flu is under firm control in Powder Hole
Terminus potions, tablets and lotions
Major news in modern science
Step up now and join my clients
Spent a day in Buzzard's Bay
They couldn't keep me there
Even turned away from Kingdom Hall
But since I was young
Good lord, there's once spot
One little bit of heaven on my tongue
Why it's--
Poddomaquassy, no, no Paquamasoddy
No, Passamamassy, Quoddamapoddy, Passamadaddy
Quoddamapassy, Passamahoddy
Oh, I know, it's Passamashloddy
Townspeople:
No! It's Passamaquoddy!
Dr. Terminus:
Of course, ha ha! I knew it all the time.
Old Man:
My hair was gray and thanks to you it turned into pink
Dr. Terminus:
But that color, it's so becoming
Townspeople:
We're gonna wash your phony tonics right down the sink
Dr. Terminus:
Wait! Listen! My specialties are audiology,
Mycology, serology, teratology,
Embryology, psychology, zoology
And any other ology you can think of!
My friends, you've seen a miracle and you'll see many more
People will come pouring in from land and sea
We'll have centers for testing
Let's start investing
Keep those dimes and dollars mounting
Hoagy:
I'll collect
Dr. Terminus:
I'll do the counting
Everyone who lives here will be strong and healthy
You'll be getting richer by the day
Hear them acclaim us
This town will be famous
The whole wide world will look at us and say
It's...
Poddomaquassy, no, Paquamasoddy
No, no, Passamamassy, Quoddamapoddy, P-P-Passamadaddy
Qu-Qu-Quoddamapassy, Quoddamadaddy
Dappaddy, Dappamossy, Quoddapossy
Pwassapwassa, Passaquassa
Townspeople:
Pass-a-ma-quod-dy!
Dr. Terminus:
I know
Trivia[]
In the film, a fourth of the second verse and the entire second chorus are cut, however they remain intact in the soundtrack.
