Mary Poppins (soundtrack) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mary Poppins (Original Cast Soundtrack) |
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| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 1964 |
| Recorded | April–December 1963 |
| Studio | Walt Disney Studios, Burbank |
| Genre | Film score |
| Length | 53:51 |
| Label | Buena Vista |
| Producer | |
The Mary Poppins: Original Cast Soundtrack is the official music album from the 1964 movie Mary Poppins. The famous Sherman Brothers, Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, wrote all the songs and lyrics. Irwin Kostal helped arrange and conduct the music.
This album was first released in 1964 by Buena Vista Records. It came out at the same time as the movie. The first album had seventeen tracks, including sixteen songs and one instrumental piece. Some songs were shortened for the album, like "Step in Time" and "A Spoonful of Sugar". Other songs had special introductions or complete endings.
The music from Mary Poppins was a huge hit! It won two Academy Awards, which are very important movie awards. It won for Best Original Score (all the music in the film) and Best Original Song for "Chim Chim Cher-ee". The album also won two Grammy Awards: Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture and Best Recording for Children.
Over the years, Walt Disney Records has re-released the soundtrack several times. In 1997, a new version came out with extra songs and demo versions that were never heard before. For the movie's 40th anniversary in 2004, a special two-disc set was released with 28 tracks. Then, in 2014, for the 50th anniversary, a big 3-CD edition was released. This special edition, part of The Legacy Collection, included the complete soundtrack and many "lost" demo songs.
Songs on the Album
This section lists all the songs included on the original Mary Poppins soundtrack album. The Sherman Brothers wrote all the songs, and Irwin Kostal adapted and conducted the music.
All songs written and composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, with music adapted and conducted by Irwin Kostal.
| Mary Poppins (Original Cast Soundtrack) | |||||||||
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| No. | Title | Performer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Overture" (Instrumental) | Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman | 3:01 | ||||||
| 2. | "Sister Suffragette" | Glynis Johns | 1:45 | ||||||
| 3. | "The Life I Lead" | David Tomlinson | 2:01 | ||||||
| 4. | "The Perfect Nanny" | Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber | 1:39 | ||||||
| 5. | "A Spoonful of Sugar" | Julie Andrews | 4:09 | ||||||
| 6. | "Pavement Artist" | Dick Van Dyke | 2:00 | ||||||
| 7. | "Jolly Holiday" | Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke | 5:24 | ||||||
| 8. | "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" | Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke | 2:03 | ||||||
| 9. | "Stay Awake" | Julie Andrews | 1:45 | ||||||
| 10. | "I Love to Laugh" | Dick Van Dyke, Ed Wynn, Julie Andrews | 2:43 | ||||||
| 11. | "A British Bank (The Life I Lead)" | David Tomlinson, Julie Andrews | 2:08 | ||||||
| 12. | "Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag)" | Julie Andrews | 3:51 | ||||||
| 13. | "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank" | "Navckid Keyd", Bankers, David Tomlinson | 3:33 | ||||||
| 14. | "Chim Chim Cher-ee" | Dick Van Dyke, Julie Andrews, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber | 2:46 | ||||||
| 15. | "Step in Time" | Dick Van Dyke and Cast | 8:42 | ||||||
| 16. | "A Man Has Dreams" | David Tomlinson, Dick Van Dyke | 4:28 | ||||||
| 17. | "Let's Go Fly a Kite" | David Tomlinson, Dick Van Dyke, The Londoners | 1:53 | ||||||
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Total length:
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53:51 | ||||||||
Behind the Music: Unused Songs
The Sherman Brothers wrote many songs for Mary Poppins. Some of these songs were not used in the final movie. This happened because they were either changed, combined with other songs, or simply cut due to time. Many of these "lost" songs were later released on special editions of the soundtrack album.
Richard Sherman mentioned that over 30 songs were written during the movie's creation. Most of these unused songs only exist as demo versions sung by the songwriters.
Songs That Didn't Make It
Here are a few examples of songs that were written for the film but not included:
- "The Chimpanzoo" was planned for the "ceiling tea party" scene with Uncle Albert. It was a fast-paced song that would have mixed animation and live action.
- "Practically Perfect" was meant to introduce Mary Poppins. However, its tune was later used for "Sister Suffragette," which introduces Mrs. Banks.
- "The Eyes of Love" was a romantic song for Bert and Mary. It was replaced by "A Spoonful of Sugar."
- "Mary Poppins Melody" was meant for when Mary first meets the children. Parts of this song later became "Stay Awake."
- "You Think, You Blink" was a short piece Bert was supposed to sing before entering the chalk painting. In the movie, Dick Van Dyke just speaks the words instead of singing them.
- "Admiral Boom" was a theme song for the cannon-firing neighbor. Walt Disney decided it wasn't needed, but its powerful melody can still be heard when Admiral Boom appears.
- "Sticks, Paper and Strings" was an early version of the popular song "Let's Go Fly a Kite."
- "The Beautiful Briny" was a song planned for a "Compass Sequence" in the movie. It was later used in another Disney film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
