My Favorite Things (song)
| "My Favorite Things" | |
|---|---|
| File:SoundOfMusic soundtrack.jpg Soundtrack to the film version of The Sound of Music | |
| Song | |
| Language | English |
| Published | 1959 |
| Composer(s) | Richard Rodgers |
| Lyricist(s) | Oscar Hammerstein II |
"My Favorite Things" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.
The Sound of Music version
The song was first introduced by Mary Martin and Patricia Neway in the original Broadway production and sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film.
In the musical, the lyrics to the song are a reference to things Maria loves, such as 'raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens'. These are the things she selects to fill her mind with when times are bad.
The original Broadway musical places this song in the Mother Abbess's office, just before she sends Maria to serve Captain von Trapp's family as governess to his seven children. However, Ernest Lehman, the screenwriter for the film adaptation, repositioned this song so that Maria would sing it with the children during the thunderstorm scene in her bedroom, replacing "The Lonely Goatherd," which had originally been sung at this point. Many stage productions also make this change, shifting "The Lonely Goatherd" to another scene.
The first section of the melody has the distinctive property of using only the notes 1, 2, and 5 (Do, Re, and Sol) of the scale. Rodgers then harmonized this same section of the melody differently in different stanzas, using a series of minor triads one time and major triads the next.
The song ends with a borrowed line of lyric and notes from Rodgers' earlier composition with Lorenz Hart, "Glad to Be Unhappy," a standard about finding peace in the midst of unrequited love. Using the same two notes for the phrasing of "so sad" in the original song, Rodgers brings the gloom of my "Favorite Things" to a similar upbeat ending – "and then I don't feel so bad."
Cover versions
The song has been recorded hundreds of times.[1] Jazz artist John Coltrane did an extended, close to fourteen-minute version on his 1961 album taken from the title of the song. It became a jazz classic and a signature for Coltrane in concert, also appearing on New Thing at Newport and Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up in 1965, and Live at the Village Vanguard Again! in 1966. Coltrane's version differs significantly from the song as originally conceived; using modal patterns and being much darker and more frenzied in feel.
While it was never conceived as a Christmas song, the wintertime imagery of some of the lyrics has made "My Favorite Things" a popular selection during the holiday season and it often appears on seasonal albums and compilations. Including:
- 1965: The Supremes on their Christmas album, Merry Christmas
- 1967: Barbra Streisand on her album A Christmas Album
- 1968: Tony Bennett on his album Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album
- 1969: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass had a #45 Billboard 100 hit single with the song that was released on their album Christmas Album
- 1993: Lorrie Morgan on her 1993 Christmas album Merry Christmas from London. This version received Christmas airplay in 1994 and again in 1999, bringing it to #64 and #69, respectively, on the Hot Country Songs charts in those years.[2]
- 2000: Björk sang a part of the song on the movie " Dancer in the Dark " but it was not included in the official Soundtrack.
- 2002: Saigon from the mixtape Da Yardfather 1
- 2002: Barry Manilow on his album A Christmas Gift of Love
- 2005: Kenny G on his 2005 album The Greatest Holiday Classics
Other versions
- 1965: Dave Brubeck on his album of the same name.
- 1966: We Five on their album You Were on My Mind.[3]
- 1999: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes recorded a punk rock version of the song for their album Are a Drag'.
- 2008: Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara performed a jazz version on her album, Beyond Standard.
- 2008: Pomplamoose released a video song version of the song. The track also appears on their 2009 release Video Songs, as well as their 2010 album, Tribute to Famous People.
- 2011: Chicago included a Latin/Brazilian jazz infused version on their album Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three, released in 2011.
- 2011: Kika Edgar recorded a Spanish version of the song for her album Broadway in 2011.
- A parody using AC/DC as an influence, in fact going so far as to take a riff right out of "Highway to Hell," known as "Jingle Hells Bells" appeared on the album I Am Santa Claus by Bob Rivers.
- A re-worded version of the song was created by Borgore, an Israeli Dubstep producer.
- Outkast appropriated the motif of the song in their album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
- Panic! at the Disco's song Build God, Then We'll Talk includes a verse that parodies My Favorite Things.
- Russian rock band АукцЫон used the melody of My Favorite Things for their song Не вижу птиц я.
- Sarah Vaughan.
- John Coltrane plays an instrumental version.
In popular culture
- Despite not having anything to do with Christmas, the song is often played on radio stations and at concerts during the winter holiday season, and has become a Christmas standard.
- The Animaniacs episode "The Sound of Warners", a parody of The Sound of Music, has a similar song called "That's What I Ponder When I Am Afraid", sung by Prunella Flundergust when she thinks Yakko, Wakko, and Dot are afraid of the lightning (when in reality the only thing they're afraid of is her).
- Glee' actress Lea Michele did a cover of the song featured in a Dove shampoo commercial.
- The 2011 Glee episode, Extraordinary Merry Christmas covered this song, but did not include it on the album.
- On an episode of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," Will Ferrell (impersonating Robert Goulet) sings the song.[4]
- In the 2011 How I Met Your Mother episode Noretta, Barney's girlfriend Nora sings this song to cheer him up. It reminds him of his mother Loretta, who is apparently a Julie Andrews fan.
- In the very sucessful Dragon Ball Z Abridged Parody, Freeza sings to himself a disturbing version of the song.
References
- ^ Versions of My Favorite Things Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 287. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
- ^ We Five, You Were on My Mind Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ^ Will Ferrell as Robert Goulet on Late Night with Conan O'Brien Retrieved February 29, 2012.