Do Re Mi
Shona Lindsay And Company 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 song "Do Re Mi" by Shona Lindsay is a captivating tune that forms one of the iconic songs from "The Sound of Music". The lyrics are an instructional guide for music beginners, teaching them about the solfeggio system - a method of assigning syllables to the various notes of a scale. At the beginning of the song, Maria starts by explaining the basics of reading music texts, which are as easy as reciting the letters of the alphabet from A to Z. Then, she moves on to the solfeggio system and sings the first three notes of the musical scale - Do, Re, and Mi.


The song progresses as Maria teaches children how to form and pronounce other notes of the solfeggio system using words and a memorable tune. The children then practice the notes, combining them into a tune that can be used to form different songs. Finally, Maria explains that when you understand the notes, you can sing anything - providing a bridge to the rest of the film, where the Von Trapp family's unique talents save them from the Nazis. The song "Do Re Mi" has been embraced since the premiere of "The Sound of Music" in 1965 and remains a vital classic to date, especially in patriotic carnivals, music classes, and film adaptations.


Line by Line Meaning

Let's start at the very beginning
We should begin our learning process from the very basic level.


A very good place to start
It is a great point to launch ourselves into a new journey or endeavor.


When you read, you begin with--
Reading begins with learning the letters of the alphabet.


[LITTLE GIRL] A, be, see!
The letters learned for reading are A, B, and C.


[MARIA] When you sing, you begin with Do, Re, Mi
The starting notes for singing are Do, Re, and Mi.


[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
The starting notes for singing are Do, Re, and Mi.


[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi
The starting notes for singing are Do, Re, and Mi.


The first three notes just happen to be
The first three notes of singing are just coincidentally Do, Re, and Mi.


[CHILDREN] Do, Re, Mi
The starting notes for singing are Do, Re, and Mi.


[MARIA] Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti
The complete set of starting notes for singing are Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, and Ti.


[SPOKEN] Come, I'll make it easy for you. Listen:
I will make it easier for you to understand with an example.


[SUNG] Doe, a deer, a female deer
The note 'Do' is associated with the image of a female deer named 'Doe'.


Ray, a drop of golden sun
The note 'Re' represents the image of a ray of sunshine.


Me, a name, I call myself
The note 'Mi' is associated with the singer's own name.


Far, a long, long way to run
The note 'Fa' represents the idea of running a long distance.


Sew, a needle pulling thread
The note 'So' is associated with the act of sewing.


La, a note to follow So
The note 'La' comes after 'So'.


Tea, a drink with jam and bread
The note 'Ti' is associated with a cup of tea and a slice of bread with jam.


That will lead us back to Do, oh, oh, oh
Following the sequence of notes will bring us back to 'Do', the starting note.


[WITH CHILDREN] Doe, a deer, a female deer
The note 'Do' is associated with the image of a female deer named 'Doe'.


Ray, a drop of golden sun
The note 'Re' represents the image of a ray of sunshine.


Me, a name, I call myself
The note 'Mi' is associated with the singer's own name.


Far, a long, long way to run
The note 'Fa' represents the idea of running a long distance.


Sew, a needle pulling thread
The note 'So' is associated with the act of sewing.


La, a note to follow So
The note 'La' comes after 'So'.


Tea, a drink with jam and bread
The note 'Ti' is associated with a cup of tea and a slice of bread with jam.


That will lead us back to Do
Following the sequence of notes will bring us back to 'Do', the starting note.


Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do-- So-- Do
The complete set of starting notes for singing are: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do, So, and Do.


[SPOKEN] Now, children, once you have these notes in your head, you can sing a million tunes by mixing them up--like this:
Once you have learned and internalized the initial notes, it is possible to create an infinite number of melodies.


[SUNG] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re... [SPOKEN] Now you do it.
Here is an example of a different melody sequence of the starting notes. Now try it yourself.


[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re
The children sing a melody based on the sequence of starting notes.


[MARIA] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
Maria sings a different melody based on the sequence of starting notes.


[CHILDREN] So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
The children sing an altered version of Maria's melody.


[MARIA, SPOKEN] Now let's put it all together:
Now let's combine all the learned information to create a complete melody.


[SUNG BY ALL] So, Do, La, Fa, Mi, Do, Re So, Do, La, Ti, Do, Re, Do
The group sings a melody comprised of different sequences of the starting notes.


[LITTLE GIRL] But it doesn't mean anything!
The child is confused about the purpose of the melody.


[MARIA] So we put in words--one word for every note:
To make the melody more meaningful, we associate a word with each note in the sequence.


[SUNG] When you know the notes to sing You can sing most an--why--thing. [SPOKEN] Together!
When you have learned the starting notes, you can create a song out of almost anything. Let's sing it together now!


[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
With the learned notes and associated words, the group creates a melody with a meaningful message.


Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do-- So-- Do
The complete set of starting notes for singing are: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do, So, and Do.




Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Oscar II Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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