A Spoonful of Sugar

"A Spoonful of Sugar" is a song from Walt Disney's film and the musical versions of "Mary Poppins", composed by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman.

It is an uptempo song sung by Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews), instructing the two children, Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) to clean their room. But even though the task is daunting, with a good attitude, it can still be fun. The melody is heard throughout the film as Mary's leitmotif.

In the musical, Robertson Ay and Mrs. Brill are helping Mrs. Banks for a tea party she's planning. Mrs. Brill tells Robertson Ay to make the frosting, which the kids try to do instead (with Robertson Ay giving them warnings). This causes the kitchen to fall apart. Mrs. Banks is shocked to see the kitchen in this shape, when she came down with Mary Poppins. Mary sends her upstairs to get dressed, while she gives Jane and Michael some medicine, which comes out different colors (just like the film). Cleaning the kitchen up is similar to cleaning up the nursery in the film.

The song is mixed with The Bare Necessities and It's a Small World, also Sherman songs, in the final number of On the Record, a short lived revue of Disney songs.

History of the song

Julie Andrews had not yet committed to do the part of Mary Poppins. She didn't like the song that was written for her and didn't think it made an appropriate signature song, as it didn't have enough snap to it. The original song was called "The Eyes of Love". Walt Disney instructed the Sherman Brothers to come up with something more catchy. Robert Sherman, who is the primary lyricist of the duo arrived home from work one evening, having worked all day trying to come up with a song idea. As he walked in the door, his wife, Joyce informed him that the children had received their polio vaccine that day. Bob asked his five year old son if it hurt (thinking that the boy had received a shot). His son responded that it (the medicine) was put on a cube of sugar and that he swallowed it. Realizing what he had, Robert Sherman arrived at work early the next morning and suggested the lyric to his brother, Richard Sherman, who at first thought it was the worst song idea ever. Later, he played a melody to it (After thinking about Mary singing Stay Awake when she wants them to go to sleep. What this meant was that he thought whenever the lyric was the "down" part of the first chorus line, to go up with the music). With that, the song was born.

References

* Sherman, Robert B. "", Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998.