"A Spoonful Of Sugar" is a song from Walt Disney's 1964 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. As part of the interlude, she sees that Michael couldn't get out of the closet doors that open and close rapidly.
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, despite Robertson Ay giving them warnings. After Jane sends him to get hot water, it comes out with the force of a cannon and causes Robertson Ay to run into the furniture, destroying the kitchen in the process. 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 in different colors and flavors, much like in the film. Cleaning the kitchen up is similar to cleaning up the nursery in the film with Mary magically putting it back together.
The song is mixed with It's A Small World, also a Sherman song in the final number of On the Record, a short lived revue of Disney songs.
The song has characteristics of the fast-paced one-step, a popular dance in the 1910s.
Read more about A Spoonful Of Sugar: History of The Song
Famous quotes containing the words spoonful of sugar, spoonful and/or sugar:
“Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.”
—Richard Sherman, songwriter, Robert Sherman, songwriter, and Clarence Brown. A Spoonful of Sugar (song)
“I will venture to affirm, that the three seasons wherein our corn has miscarried did no more contribute to our present misery, than one spoonful of water thrown upon a rat already drowned would contribute to his death; and that the present plentiful harvest, although it should be followed by a dozen ensuing, would no more restore us, than it would the rat aforesaid to put him near the fire, which might indeed warm his fur-coat, but never bring him back to life.”
—Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
“There is no sugar cane that is sweet at both ends.”
—Chinese proverb.