My Favorite Things (song)
Encyclopedia
"My Favorite Things" is a show tune
from the 1959
Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical
The Sound of Music
.
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 triad
s 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."
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 patters 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. For example, The Supremes
recorded the song on their 1965 Christmas album, Merry Christmas. Barbra Streisand
recorded it for A Christmas Album
in 1967, as did Tony Bennett
on his seasonal album
the following year. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass had a #45 Billboard 100 hit single
with the song in 1969, taken off their Christmas Album. Country music
singer Lorrie Morgan
covered the song 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. Barry Manilow
recorded the song for his album A Christmas Gift of Love
in 2002. Jazz saxophonist Kenny G
covered the song for his 2005 album The Greatest Holiday Classics
.
Acclaimed hip hop duo 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
.
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 lighting.
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
.
In 2008 the indie group 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.
Glee
' actress Lea Michele
did a cover of the song featured in a Dove shampoo commercial.
A re-worded version of the song was created by Borgore
, an Israeli Dubstep
producer.
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
.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
recorded a punk rock
version of the song for their album Are a Drag.
Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara performed a jazz version on her album "Beyond Standard", released in 2008.
Chicago
included a Latin/Brazilian jazz infused version on their album Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three
, released in 2011.
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
from the 1959
1959 in music
-Events:*January 5 – The first sessions for Ella Fitzgerald's George and Ira Gershwin Songbook are held.*January 12 – Tamla Records is founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit, Michigan....
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
.
The Sound of Music version
The song was first introduced by Mary MartinMary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
in the original Broadway production, and sung by Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
in the 1965 film
The Sound of Music (film)
Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is based on the Broadway musical The Sound of Music, with songs written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and with the musical...
.
In the musical, the lyrics to the song are a reference to things Maria
Maria von Trapp
Maria Augusta von Trapp , also known as Baroness Maria von Trapp, was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers...
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
Maria von Trapp
Maria Augusta von Trapp , also known as Baroness Maria von Trapp, was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers...
to serve Captain von Trapp
Georg Ritter von Trapp
Korvettenkapitän Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp , known as Baron von Trapp, was an Austro-Hungarian Navy officer. His exploits at sea during World War I earned him numerous decorations, including the prestigious Military Order of Maria Theresa...
's family as governess to his seven children. However, Ernest Lehman
Ernest Lehman
Ernest Lehman was an American screenwriter. He received 6 Academy Award nominations during his screenwriting career...
, 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
The Lonely Goatherd
"The Lonely Goatherd" is a show tune from the musical The Sound of Music that makes use of yodelling.This song tells the whimsical story of a goatherd whose yodelling is heard from far off and by passers-by, until he falls in love with a girl who wears a pale-pink coat, with her mother joining in...
", 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 triad
Triad (music)
In music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:* the Root...
s 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
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, "Glad to Be Unhappy
Glad to Be Unhappy
"Glad to Be Unhappy" is a popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It was introduced in their 1936 musical On Your Toes by Doris Carson and David Morris, although it was not popular at the time, as there was only one 1936 recording of the tune. In the 1937 London...
," 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. JazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
artist John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
did an extended, close to fourteen-minute version on his 1961 album taken from the title of the song
My Favorite Things (album)
My Favorite Things is the seventh album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1961 on Atlantic Records, catalogue SD-1361. It was the first album to feature Coltrane's playing on soprano saxophone, and yielded a commercial breakthrough in the form of a hit single that gained popularity in...
. It became a jazz classic and a signature for Coltrane in concert, also appearing on New Thing at Newport
New Thing at Newport
New Thing at Newport is a 1965 album by jazz musicians John Coltrane and Archie Shepp.-Original LP release New Thing at Newport :Side One# Spoken introduction to John Coltrane's set by Father Norman O'Connor - 1:08...
and Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up
Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up
Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up is a 1965 album by jazz musician John Coltrane.-Track listing:Original CD release Live at the Half Note: One Down, One Up .Disc 1#"Introduction and Announcements" – 1:36...
in 1965, and Live at the Village Vanguard Again!
Live at the Village Vanguard Again!
Live At The Village Vanguard Again! is a jazz album by saxophonist John Coltrane. Recorded in May of 1966, the album shows Coltrane playing in the free jazz style that characterized his final recordings....
in 1966. Coltrane's version differs significantly from the song as originally conceived; using modal patters 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. For example, The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
recorded the song on their 1965 Christmas album, Merry Christmas. Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
recorded it for A Christmas Album
A Christmas Album (Barbra Streisand album)
- Side two :- Personnel :* Barbra Streisand – singer* Marty Paich – arranger, conductor* Ray Ellis – arranger, conductor * Jack Gold – producer* Rafael O. Valentin – recording engineer* Jack Lattig – recording engineer...
in 1967, as did Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
on his seasonal album
Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album
Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album is a 1968 studio album by Tony Bennett, it is Bennett's first Christmas album. The album was arranged and conducted by Robert Farnon....
the following year. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass had a #45 Billboard 100 hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
with the song in 1969, taken off their Christmas Album. Country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Lorrie Morgan
Lorrie Morgan
In 1996 Morgan married Jon Randall, a singer/songwriter now credited with writing the 2004 Brad Paisley/Alison Krauss hit "Whiskey Lullaby"; they divorced three years later in 1999....
covered the song on her 1993 Christmas album Merry Christmas from London
Merry Christmas from London
Merry Christmas from London is an album of Christmas music, released in 1993 by country music artist Lorrie Morgan. It features duets with guest stars Andy Williams , Johnny Mathis , and Tammy Wynette...
. This version received Christmas airplay in 1994 and again in 1999, bringing it to #64 and #69, respectively, on the Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
charts in those years. Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
recorded the song for his album A Christmas Gift of Love
A Christmas Gift of Love
A Christmas Gift of Love was an album released in 2002 by singer and songwriter Barry Manilow. As Manilow's second compilation of Christmas songs, the album did quite well, and went Gold. Oddly enough, the album was done with Columbia Records instead of his usual label of Concord Records...
in 2002. Jazz saxophonist Kenny G
Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick , better known by his stage name Kenny G, is an American, adult contemporary and smooth jazz saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986...
covered the song for his 2005 album The Greatest Holiday Classics
The Greatest Holiday Classics
The Greatest Holiday Classics is the fourth greatest hits album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records in 2005, and peaked at number 1 on the Contemporary Jazz chart, number 26 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 39 on the Billboard 200.-Track listing:#"We Wish You a Merry...
.
Acclaimed hip hop duo Outkast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
appropriated the motif of the song in their album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is the fifth studio album by American hip hop duo OutKast, released September 23, 2003 on LaFace Records in the United States. Issued as a double album, it clocks in at over two hours and consists of a solo album from both of the group's members...
.
Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco is an American alternative rock duo, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005. Since its split, the band's line-up includes Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith . Former members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the group in 2009...
's song Build God, Then We'll Talk
Build God, Then We'll Talk
"Build God, Then We'll Talk" is the fifth and final official single from Panic! at the Disco's 2005 album, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, including the radio-only single "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage".-Track listing:...
includes a verse that parodies My Favorite Things
My Favorite Things
My Favorite Things may refer to:* "My Favorite Things" , a song from the musical The Sound of Music* My Favorite Things , an album by John Coltrane, or the title instrumental, an interpretation of the Sound of Music song-See also:...
.
The Animaniacs
Animaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
episode "The Sound of Warners", a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
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 lighting.
A filk
Filk music
Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term predates 1955.-Definitions:As the Interfilk What Is Filk page demonstrates, there is...
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
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
claiming that it was sung by Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
herself at a benefit concert for AARP
AARP
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...
.
In 2008 the indie group Pomplamoose
Pomplamoose
Pomplamoose is an American indie music duo consisting of multi-instrumentalists Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn. The band formed in the summer of 2008 and sold approximately 100,000 songs online in 2009.-Etymology:...
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.
Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
' actress Lea Michele
Lea Michele
Lea Michele Sarfati , known professionally as Lea Michele, is an American actress and singer. Michele began working professionally as a child actress on Broadway in productions such as Ragtime and Les Misérables. She originated the role of Wendla in the musical Spring Awakening and currently plays...
did a cover of the song featured in a Dove shampoo commercial.
A re-worded version of the song was created by Borgore
Borgore
Asaf Borger , known professionally as Borgore, is an Israeli dubstep producer and disc jockey . He is the founder of Buygore Records and former drummer of Israeli death metal band Shabira. Known as Gorestep, his music incorporates triplet drum patterns with heavy metal influences. Some songs have...
, an Israeli Dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
producer.
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
I Am Santa Claus
I Am Santa Claus is the second Christmas album by Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio. It was released in November 1993 by Atlantic Records , five years after Twisted Christmas, and four years before More Twisted Christmas.-Track listing:...
" appeared on the album I Am Santa Claus
I Am Santa Claus
I Am Santa Claus is the second Christmas album by Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio. It was released in November 1993 by Atlantic Records , five years after Twisted Christmas, and four years before More Twisted Christmas.-Track listing:...
by Bob Rivers
Bob Rivers
Bob Rivers is a well-known American rock and roll radio on air personality in the Pacific Northwest as well as a prolific producer of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas song parodies....
.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in 1995. The Gimmes work exclusively as a cover band. The band is named after a children's book of the same name by Gerald G. Jampolsky and Diane V. Cirincione...
recorded a punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
version of the song for their album Are a Drag.
Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara performed a jazz version on her album "Beyond Standard", released in 2008.
Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
included a Latin/Brazilian jazz infused version on their album Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three
Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three
Chicago XXXIII: O Christmas Three is the third album of Christmas songs by the American rock band, Chicago. The album was released on October 4, 2011. The collection includes a variety of holiday classics and a new tune "Rockin' and Rollin' on Christmas Day" co-written by founding trumpet player...
, released in 2011.