A column dedicated to great songs, old and new.
October 25, 2005
Narration by Winston Hibler
Written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
From It's a Small World, Disneyland Records, 1964 (Out of
Print)
I recently visited Disneyland for the first time in 35 years. The only memory I had of the park from my first visit in 1970 was the "It's a Small World" ride: the round faces of the multi-hued, animatronic children, the nonstop music, the feeling of floating on water while taking in the sights and sounds. As a child, I loved listening to Disney-related songs, especially "It's a Small World", "When You Wish Upon a Star", and "I've Got No Strings", while looking at the pictures from our trip to the park. Naturally, then, "Small World" was the first ride my wife and I visited on our recent trip to Disneyland. We also ended the day with one last visit to the ride, with our good friends, the Mackers, along for the haul.
It's a Small World
Disneyland
I recently visited Disneyland for the first time in 35 years. The only memory I had of the park from my first visit in 1970 was the "It's a Small World" ride: the round faces of the multi-hued, animatronic children, the nonstop music, the feeling of floating on water while taking in the sights and sounds. As a child, I loved listening to Disney-related songs, especially "It's a Small World", "When You Wish Upon a Star", and "I've Got No Strings", while looking at the pictures from our trip to the park. Naturally, then, "Small World" was the first ride my wife and I visited on our recent trip to Disneyland. We also ended the day with one last visit to the ride, with our good friends, the Mackers, along for the haul.
As an adult, I found the ride no less thrilling and magical then as a toddler—perhaps more so. Though years of overseeing musical projects occasionally had me thinking about the project-management aspects of the ride (e.g., How many seconds per "region" does the ride allow? Is all of the sound digitally generated now? How often do they touch-up the fabric on the sets and on the ‘children'?), I still completely surrendered to "It's a Small World."
There's something simple and sweet about the intent of this song; certainly there's something about the piece which transcends the manipulative emotional hucksterism one often encounters in today's "children's music". Despite its own commercially-related origins (the ride was first created as a Pepsi-sponsored feature at the 1964 World's Fair), the lyrics to "It's a Small World" capture a spirit of worldwide fellowship and sincere appreciation for cultural variety, minus the suspect taint of fear-inspired political-correctness or diversity-training verbage.
Maya Angelou once wrote, "We are more alike, my friends, then we are unalike", and I think she was after the same notion that is imparted in "It's a Small World." The way I see it, if you dig what Maya is saying, then there's no reason why you can't get with this song, too. Dig the entire lyric:
"It's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all
There is just one moon
And one golden sun
And a smile means
Friendship to ev'ryone
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world"
I feel that the version of "It's a Small World" heard on the ride is the strongest, because it features shifting musical arrangements (and language translations) to suit the various world regions that are featured on the ride. The closing part, when all the multi-culti kids are singing together, is surprisingly touching if you're open to it. When you listen to this version of the song apart from the ride, you also get a great sense of the creative invention involved in putting this thing together. As an adult listener, I was particularly impressed by the subtle melodic differences (and easy flow) between the verse and chorus parts. It's the kind of simplicity songwriters are always after.
I'm aware that many people find the cutesy music and kiddie vocals associated with this song torturously irritating, and quite possibly an appropriate prelude to a psychotic break. I guess it almost goes without saying that the magic here can only be felt if you give in to it and believe in it. And---bear with me here--- maybe the magic gets spread around a little bit more after you hear the song, take in its message, and interact with others. In these trying times, it's important to remember that there's "so much that we share."
It's a small world, after all.
pcm
More...
You can purchase a burned CD of the ride version of "It's a Small
World" at kiosks in the Disneyland Park in Anaheim. The Disney
LP mentioned above is often available on eBay at
reasonable prices.