"Up, Down, Touch the Ground" is the song Winnie the Pooh sings during his exercise in which he does to make him hungry. The song was written by the Sherman Brothers. The song is first heard in the short Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.
An instrumental version of the song can be heard during Piglet's introduction in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day.
The song was included in the VHS Disney Sing Along Songs: Heigh-Ho. It was included in the DVD Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh: Love & Friendship.
Pooh Bear briefly sings the beginning of the song a cappella in Christopher Robin, but replaces the third line with, "Up, down, turn around."
Lyrics[]
Pooh: (Speaks) Oh yes! time for my stoutness exercise. Up, down, up.
(Sings) When I up, down, touch the ground
Puts me in the mood
Up, down, touch the ground
In the mood (smacks lips) for food
I am stout, round and I have found
Speaking poundage-wise,
I improve my appetite
When I exercise...
(ripping sound)
(Speaks) Oh, stuff and fluff.
(ties it back together again)
That's better.
(reflection in the mirror talks back)
Thank you.
Now, where was I?
(grumbling sound from stomach)
Oh, yes, I'm rumbly in my tumbly.
Time for something sweet.
(Sings) ...I am short, fat, and proud of that
And so with all my might
I up, down, up-down
To my appetite's delight
While I up, down, touch the ground
I think of things to chew
(Speaks) Mmm, like honey, milk, and chocolate.
(Sings) With a hefty-happy appetite
I'm a hefty-happy Pooh
Chorus: With a hefty-happy appetite
Thurl Ravenscroft (Background voice): He's a hefty-happy Pooh
Notes/Trivia[]
- In the version arranged by Tutti Camarata for the 1965 LP album of Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, the line "Like honey, milk, and chocolate" is said as "Like milk, and honey, and chocolate...".
- In the 1989 re-recording of the song used on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Storyteller CD and on some albums (usually releases aimed at children), rather than "Like honey, milk, and chocolate", Pooh (voiced by Jim Cummings) simply says "Like honey", as he's known for mostly eating honey and is almost never shown to enjoy milk or chocolate.
- Additionally, during the final choral section, the full chorus sings "He's a hefty-happy Pooh", compared to Thurl Ravenscroft in the original.
- In the version of the song recorded for "Animated StoryBook: Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree", Pooh does not say any variation of the aforementioned "Like honey" line before the final lines. Additionally, there is no repeating of the final lyrics by an off-screen chorus; the song ends instrumentally.