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 in the original Broadway production, and sung by Julie Andrews in the 1965 film adaptation.
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 wintertime imagery of some of the lyrics has made "My Favorite Things" a popular song during the Christmas season, and it often appears on holiday-themed albums and compilations, although in the show and movie it is sung during a summer thunderstorm.
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 harmonised 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's main melody seems derivative of Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King, particularly in its repetitive simplicity and its minor-key sense of dread. Put simply, the melody conveys terror. The happy, optimistic lyrics--"Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudel"--are just a counterpoint and cover-up to this undercurrent of fear. As noted above, the song was written to be sung by a young woman scared of facing new responsibilities outside the convent. In the film script the song is repositioned, with Maria singing it to the von Trapp children during the thunderstorm; but the terror contained in the melody is still the dominant emotion.
Other versions
The song was a hit in 1968 by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass on A&M 1001 (45rpm). The song has become a jazz standard, and has been performed by artists as diverse as John Coltrane, Stanley Jordan, Grant Green, Alice Coltrane, Carmen Lundy, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, Kenny Rogers, Stringmansassy, Tanya Tucker, The Derek Trucks Band, Rod Stewart, Sarah Vaughan, The Supremes, Brian Setzer, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, André 3000 of OutKast, Kimiko Itoh, Big Brovaz, Tony Bennett, Sun Ra, 2Pac, Barbra Streisand, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Andy Williams, The Lennon Sisters, Lorrie Morgan, Luther Vandross, Dave Koz, Vanessa-Mae, Tartan Specials [1], Amanda Palmer, Béla Fleck, Hiromi Uehara, The Pete King Chorale, and Trisha Yearwood. Coltrane's album of the same name has been a landmark in the history of jazz for numerous reasons, not least for the rediscovery of soprano sax. One of the best vocal version is performed by Al Jarreau in his first album "1965". The song was mixed by audio-trickster collective Negativland on their album No Business, which was released in 2005. The Lennon Sisters' version of this song appeared in the film adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The song is played during the beginning, juxtaposed with various images from the 1960s. My Favorite Things is also said to have been Michael Jackson's favourite song of all time.
The song was parodied on The Chaser's War On Everything as "My Least Favorite Things".
The song was also parodied in the bridge of the Panic at the Disco song, "Build God, Then We'll Talk". The nature of the song as a list of objects lends itself to easy parodies with alternate objects, as was done by Doonesbury, Garfield, and many others.
The version sung by Tony Bennett was used in the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon, in episode 4, "1968"
It has also been used recently in an advertisement for the "New Skoda Fabia" (2007) and for the MasterCard credit card (2007). In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the song was heard in commercials for Mitsubishi cars.
A filk version of the song with lyrics revolving around old age, first seen on the Usenet newsgroup alt.idiots in June 2001, has become attached to an urban legend claiming that it was sung by Julie Andrews herself at a benefit concert for AARP.[2][3]
Lil Wayne and Juelz Santana used the sample tune and different lyrics set to the tune in a song, "Favorite Things", on their Blow: The 'I Can't Feel My Face' Prequel album.
The song was included in the version of the complete musical The Sound of Music as performed at Dingwalls, London by Repetition and the Repetitions in 1980, comprising Nag and Bendle (from The Door and The Window) and Giblet (from the 49 Americans). The album was subsequently released on cassette.