The pair wrote nine musicals together and collaborated on a musical film, State Fair. As producers, they also brought Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun to the stage [1], leaving an indelible mark on American musical theater and a legacy of successes that has never been equaled. Their joint efforts continued over a twenty-year period, until Hammerstein's death in 1960.
Do-Re-Mi
Rodgers & Hammerstein Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 song "Do-Re-Mi" from Rodgers & Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music" is a joyful lesson in music theory for both the von Trapp children and the audience. The song begins with Maria teaching the children how to sing by first introducing the basic notes - Do, Re, Mi. The children repeat after her, and soon they are singing together beautifully. Maria encourages the children by telling them that once they have the basic notes in their head, they can sing a million tunes by mixing them up. She then goes on to demonstrate how changing the sequence of notes can create different melodies.
The song progresses as Maria and the children sing the notes Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, and eventually come back to Do. They demonstrate how to mix these notes together to form different melodies, and how to put words to the music. In the end, they sing the entire song together, with the von Trapp children using the syllables of the notes to form the words of the song. The song is not only a lesson in music theory but also an example of the joy and fun that can be found in the learning process, as well as the power of music to bring people together.
Line by Line Meaning
Let's start at the very beginning
We should begin our lesson from the start
A very good place to start
It's an ideal location for us to initiate
When you read, you begin with--
The initial characters that come out when you begin to read are--
[LITTLE GIRL] A, be, see!
A, be, see are the first three letters you discover while learning to read
[MARIA] When you sing, you begin with Do, Re, Mi
If you're going to sing, you have to start with Do, Re, Mi
[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
Do, Re, Mi, are the first three sounds you sing while learning music
[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi
Do, Re, Mi, are the first three sounds that are taught in music lessons
The first three notes just happen to be
The three initial sounds that are taught are simply
Do, Re, Mi
Do, Re, Mi, refers to the sounds taught as the initial notes in music
[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
Do, Re, Mi, are the first three sounds taught to children as the foundational notes of music
[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti
The Do, Re, Mi notes are followed by Fa, So, La, Ti which children are taught to sing in sequence
[SPOKEN] Come, I'll make it easy for you. Listen:
I shall simplify it for you. Pay attention:
[SUNG] Doe, a deer, a female deer
Doe is the sound you make to refer to a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Ray alludes to a shiny glow of the sun
Me, a name, I call myself
Me represents a word to describe oneself
Far, a long, long way to run
Far is used to describe a distant and considerably long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
Sew is a word that describes the act of pulling thread through a needle
La, a note to follow So
La is the next note played after So in a musical scale
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
Tea refers to a type of drink commonly consumed with jam and bread
That will lead us back to Do, oh, oh, oh
Drinking tea with jam and bread reminds us of the first musical note, 'Do'
[WITH CHILDREN] Doe, a deer, a female deer
Doe refers to a female deer, and is used in the song to teach musical notes
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Golden sun rays are referenced to teach the sounds of musical scales
Me, a name, I call myself
'Me' is a reference to oneself and is used as one of the lyrics to help children remember musical notes
Far, a long, long way to run
The word 'far' is used to help children learn the sounds of the different musical notes
Sew, a needle pulling thread
'Sew' is a word that is used to remember the different sounds of musical notes
La, a note to follow So
After 'So' in a musical scale, the next note is 'La'
Tea, a drink with jam and bread
Tea is one of the words used to teach children the sounds of musical notes, in the context of the song's lyrics
That will lead us back to Do
The song ends with a note on 'Do', bringing the singing back to the beginning of the scale
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do-- So-- Do
Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do, So, and finally, Do again, representing the completion of a musical scale
[SPOKEN] Now, children, once you have these notes in your head, you can sing a million tunes by mixing them up--like this:
Children can mix and match these notes to express millions of musical tunes
[SUNG] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re... [SPOKEN] Now you do it.
Now children, you can try to sing the notes yourselves. Listen carefully
[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
The children repeat the musical notes they just heard, by vocalizing them
[MARIA] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
Maria follows up on the children's rendition of the musical notes with a variation, introducing new notes
[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
The children echo Maria's version of the musical notes, following her lead
[MARIA, SPOKEN] Now let's put it all together:
Let's sing all the different notes we have learned, in a sequence
[SUNG BY ALL] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
All the notes learned so far are sung in a sequence by Maria and the children
[LITTLE GIRL] But it doesn't mean anything!
A little girl sees no meaning in just singing the different musical notes out of context
[MARIA] So we put in words--one word for every note:
The different musical notes will make sense, when paired with corresponding words
[SUNG] When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most an--why--thing. [SPOKEN] Together!
Knowing the different musical notes will allow you to sing a wide variety of music. Let's sing 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
When you remember the words and musical notes, you can sing anything you want. Doe, Ray, Me, So, La, Ti, Do
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: OSCAR II HAMMERSTEIN, RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind