Do Re Mi
Jean Bayless Lyrics
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A very good place to start
When you read, you begin with--
[LITTLE GIRL] A, be, see!
[MARIA] When you sing, you begin with Do, Re, Mi
[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi
The first three notes just happen to be
[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti
[SPOKEN] Come, I'll make it easy for you. Listen:
[SUNG] Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name, I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow So
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will lead us back to Do, oh, oh, oh
[WITH CHILDREN] Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name, I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow So
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will lead us back to Do
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do-- So-- Do
[SPOKEN] Now, children, once you have these notes in your head, you can sing a
million tunes by mixing them up--like this:
[SUNG] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re... [SPOKEN] Now you do it.
[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
[MARIA] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
[MARIA, SPOKEN] Now let's put it all together:
[SUNG BY ALL] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
[LITTLE GIRL] But it doesn't mean anything!
[MARIA] So we put in words--one word for every note:
[SUNG] When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most an--why--thing. [SPOKEN] Together!
[SUNG BY ALL] When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most an--why--thing
Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name, I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow So
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
That will lead us back to Do
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do-- So-- Do
The lyrics to Jean Bayless's song "Do Re Mi" take the listener through the process of learning music and singing. The song starts with explaining the basics of reading, where you start with A, B, C or in music, you start with Do, Re, Mi. Maria, the character in the song, teaches the children the first three notes which are Do, Re, Mi, and then goes on to explain the rest of the solfege scale - Fa, So, La, Ti. The song also teaches the children to associate each note with a word, such as "Doe" for the note "Do" and "Ray" for the note "Re".
The song then goes on to demonstrate how you can mix up the notes to create different tunes and melodies, and that knowing the notes is the key to singing anything. The lyrics conclude with a repetition of the notes and a reminder of the words associated with each note. Overall, the song is a playful and informative way of teaching children about music and singing.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's start at the very beginning
We should begin with the basics
A very good place to start
This is an ideal spot to start learning
When you read, you begin with--
When reading, you start with the letters
[LITTLE GIRL] A, be, see!
The letters are A, B, C
[MARIA] When you sing, you begin with Do, Re, Mi
For singing, the notes to start with are Do, Re, Mi
[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
Do, Re, Mi are the primary notes
[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi
Do, Re, Mi are the primary notes
The first three notes just happen to be
Do, Re, Mi are the first three notes
[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
Do, Re, Mi are the primary notes
[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti
The notes are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti
[SPOKEN] Come, I'll make it easy for you. Listen:
I'll make it simple for you.
[SUNG] Doe, a deer, a female deer
Doe is a name for a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Ray signifies a drop of light from the sun
Me, a name, I call myself
Me is a way to refer to oneself
Far, a long, long way to run
Far indicates a more considerable distance
Sew, a needle pulling thread
Sew refers to the action of pulling thread through with a needle
La, a note to follow So
La is the note that comes after So
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
Tea is a drink that pairs well with jam and bread
That will lead us back to Do, oh, oh, oh
This will take us back to the note of Do
[WITH CHILDREN] Doe, a deer, a female deer
Doe is a name for a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Ray signifies a drop of light from the sun
Me, a name, I call myself
Me is a way to refer to oneself
Far, a long, long way to run
Far indicates a more considerable distance
Sew, a needle pulling thread
Sew refers to the action of pulling thread through with a needle
La, a note to follow So
La is the note that comes after So
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
Tea is a drink that pairs well with jam and bread
That will lead us back to Do
This will take us back to the note of Do
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do-- So-- Do
The primary notes are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do, then So, then back to Do
[SPOKEN] Now, children, once you have these notes in your head, you can sing a million tunes by mixing them up--like this:
Using these notes, the children can sing countless melodies by altering the order of the notes
[SUNG] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re...
The notes in this line are So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re...
[SPOKEN] Now you do it.
Now it's the children's turn to give it a try.
[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
Here the children sing the notes so, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
[MARIA] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
Maria modifies the notes to So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
The children repeat Maria's set of notes
[MARIA, SPOKEN] Now let's put it all together:
Now we'll combine all the notes and sing together
[SUNG BY ALL] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
All singers follow the notes So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
These notes comprise the rest of the melody
[LITTLE GIRL] But it doesn't mean anything!
The little girl believes it has no significance
[MARIA] So we put in words--one word for every note:
To make it meaningful, we'll assign one word to each note
[SUNG] When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most an--why--thing.
When the notes are comprehended, singing nearly anything imaginable is plausible.
[SPOKEN] Together!
Let's do it in unison!
[SUNG BY ALL] When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most an--why--thing
The group repeats the same lines as before
Doe, a deer, a female deer
The note Doe corresponds to a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
The note Ray refers to glowing sunlight
Me, a name, I call myself
Me designates oneself
Far, a long, long way to run
Far signifies a great distance
Sew, a needle pulling thread
Sew means pulling the thread through the needle
La, a note to follow So
La is the following note after So
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
Tea is a beverage that goes well with bread and jam
That will lead us back to Do
It will bring us back to the note of Do
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do-- So-- Do
The notes are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do, then So, then back to Do
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Oscar II Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind