Do Re Mi
Mary Martin Children Lyrics


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Let's start at the very beginning
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
Do, Re, Mi
[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

Overall Meaning

The above lyrics are from the famous song "Do-Re-Mi" sung by Mary Martin in the musical "The Sound of Music." The song is a fun and interactive lesson on music notation and how to create melodies by mixing up the seven notes in a sequence. The song starts with Maria, the singer of the musical, introducing the concept of music notes to a group of children. She explains the difference between reading and singing and how singing has a specific sequence of notes.


The lyrics then explain how the first three notes of the music sequence are "Do, Re, Mi" and how they can be mixed up with the remaining four notes to create different melodies. The song becomes interactive when Maria and the children sing the sequence of notes with a word attached to each note. The words selected are simple and easy to remember, such as "Doe, a deer, a female deer" and "Sew, a needle pulling thread."


Towards the end of the song, after the sequence of notes is memorized by the children, Maria encourages them to mix up the notes and create their own melody. Finally, the song concludes by reiterating the importance of knowing the notes and how it opens up possibilities for singing various tunes.


Overall, the song "Do-Re-Mi" is a clever and engaging way to introduce children to music notation and the basics of creating melodies. It also demonstrates the importance of creativity and encourages children to experiment and mix up notes to create new tunes.


Line by Line Meaning

Let's start at the very beginning
Beginning a lesson from the very start is always a good idea.


A very good place to start
Starting from scratch is the perfect place to begin.


When you read, you begin with--
When you read, you start with the basics of the ABCs.


[LITTLE GIRL] A, be, see!
Children learn to read from the very basics of the A, B, Cs.


[MARIA] When you sing, you begin with Do, Re, Mi
When you sing, you begin on the proper notes of Do, Re, Mi.


[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
The first three music notes of a major scale are Do, Re, and Mi.


[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi
The first three music notes of a major scale are Do, Re, and Mi.


The first three notes just happen to be
The first three notes of a major scale happens to be Do, Re, Mi.


Do, Re, Mi
The first three music notes of a major scale are Do, Re, and Mi.


[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
The first three music notes of a major scale are Do, Re, and Mi.


[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti
The seven music notes of a major scale are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, and Ti.


[SPOKEN] Come, I'll make it easy for you. Listen:
The teacher will make it easier for students to understand.


[SUNG] Doe, a deer, a female deer
The song gives examples of objects associated with each note.


Ray, a drop of golden sun
The note 'Ray' is associated with 'a drop of golden sun'.


Me, a name, I call myself
The note 'Me' is associated with 'a name that I call myself'.


Far, a long, long way to run
The note 'Far' is associated with 'a long, long way to run'.


Sew, a needle pulling thread
The note 'Sew' is associated with 'a needle pulling thread'.


La, a note to follow So
The note 'La' comes after 'So' in the music scale.


Tea, a drink with jam and bread
The note 'Tea' is associated with 'a drink with jam and bread'.


That will lead us back to Do, oh, oh, oh
The song will ultimately lead back to the first note in the scale, which is 'Do'.


[WITH CHILDREN] Doe, a deer, a female deer
The song gives examples of objects associated with each note.


Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do-- So-- Do
The song mentions all seven notes of a major music scale.


[SPOKEN] Now, children, once you have these notes in your head, you can sing a million tunes by mixing them up--like this:
The children can create many different tunes by mixing up the sequence of music notes.


[SUNG] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re...
The song is an example of changing the tune by mixing up the order of music notes.


[SPOKEN] Now you do it.
The children try to do the same music variation.


[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
The children do the same music variation.


[MARIA] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
The teacher gives another musical variation to follow.


[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
The children follow the new musical variation.


[MARIA, SPOKEN] Now let's put it all together:
The teacher now combines all the musical variations together.


[SUNG BY ALL] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
All the children sing the combined musical sequence.


So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
All the children sing the combined musical sequence.


[LITTLE GIRL] But it doesn't mean anything!
The little girl thinks the song doesn't make sense because there's no understandable lyrics.


[MARIA] So we put in words--one word for every note:
The teacher explains that she will add relatable lyrics to the song.


[SUNG] When you know the notes to sing You can sing most an--why--thing.
The song states that knowing the musical notes enable you to create any song you want.


[SPOKEN] Together!
The teacher signals for everyone to sing together.


[SUNG BY ALL] When you know the notes to sing You can sing most an--why--thing
Everyone sings together the same lyrics that were added to the song.


Doe, a deer, a female deer
The musical note 'Doe' is associated with the animal, a female deer.


Ray, a drop of golden sun
The musical note 'Ray' is compared to the depiction of the sun as a golden orb.


Me, a name, I call myself
The reference is to a personal name people use to identify themselves, and the musical note 'Me' is used in the song.


Far, a long, long way to run
The musical note 'Far' is associated with the idea of covering a long distance like running a marathon.


Sew, a needle pulling thread
The note 'Sew' is used to signify the sound of a needle passing through cloth.


La, a note to follow So
The note 'La' follows after the note 'So' in the musical scale.


Tea, a drink with jam and bread
The note 'Tea' is associated with a cup of tea along with jam and bread slices that go perfectly along with it.


That will lead us back to Do
The song ends with a reference to the musical note 'Do', which is also the start note of the scale.


Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do-- So-- Do
The song effectively captures all seven notes of a major music scale.




Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Peermusic Publishing, IMAGEM MUSIC INC
Written by: OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, RICHARD RODGERS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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