Do Re Mi
Sound of Music Lyrics


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Maria:
Let's start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with

Child (Gretl):
ABC
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

Oh let's see if I can make it easier hmmm:
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 bring us back to do oh oh oh

Child:
Do

Maria:
A deer, a female deer

Children:
Ray

Maria:
A drop of golden sun

Children:
Me

Maria:
A name I call myself

Children:
Far

Maria:
A long long way to run

All:
Sew- a needle pulling thread
La

Maria:
A note to follow so
Tea

Children:
A drink with jam and bread

Maria:
That will bring us back to do

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

All:
Sew- a needle pulling thread
La- a note to follow so
Tea- a drink with jam and bread

Maria:
That will bring us back to do
Do re mi fa so la te do so do

Now children do re mi fa so and so on
Are only the tools we use to build a song
Onces you have these notes in your head
You can sing a million different tones by mixing them up
Like this: so do la fa mi do re
Can you do that

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:
Now put it all together

All:
So do la fa mi do re, so do la ti do re do

Maria:
Good

Child (Brigitta):
But it doesn't mean anything

Maria:
So we put in the words.
One word per every note.
Like this:
When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most anything
Together:

All:
When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most anything

Gretl & Maria:
Dooooooe

All:
A deer, a female deer

Marta:
Raaay

All:
A drop of golden sun

Brigitta:
Meee

All:
A name I call myself

Kurt:
Faaar

All:
A long long way to run

Louisa:
Seeew

All:
A needle pulling thread

Friedrich:
Laaaa

All:
A note to follow so

Liesl:
Teeea

All:
A drink with jam and bread
That will bring us back to dooo

Do re mi fa so la ti do do ti la so fa mi re
Do mi mi
Mi so so
Re fa fa
La ti ti

Do mi mi)
Mi so so)
Re fa fa)
La ti ti)

Do mi mi)
Mi so so) When you know the
Re fa fa)
La ti ti)

Do mi mi)
Mi so so) notes to sing
Re fa fa)
La ti ti)

Do mi mi)
Mi so so) You can sing most
Re fa fa)
La ti ti)

All:
Anything things

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 bring us back to
So do la fa mi do re (Maria goes up scale DoReMeFa)




So do la fa (Maria SoLTiiiii) (la sooooo) (ti faaaa) (mi reeee) ti dooooo
So do

Overall Meaning

In "Do-Re-Mi", the character Maria teaches the von Trapp children how to sing and all about music using the solfeggio (or solfa) system. This song introduces and illustrates the concept of the solfeggio system used in Western music. The song is catchy and memorable which makes it easy for children to learn.


The song starts with Maria explaining that the best place to start is with the beginning, and in reading it's the ABC's but in music, it's the solfeggio: do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do. She then goes on to teach the children the system by assigning each note to a word, making the song fun and educational. The song also teaches children that adding words to these notes is how we make music.


Line by Line Meaning

Let's start at the very beginning
Maria introduces the concept of beginning with the basics.


A very good place to start
The beginning is a great place to begin learning or teaching.


When you read you begin with ABC
Reading starts with the basic letters of the alphabet.


When you sing you begin with do re mi
Singing involves beginning with the basic notes of do re mi.


Do re mi, the first three notes just happen to be Do re mi
The first three notes of a musical scale are do, re, and mi.


Do re mi fa so la ti
These are basic notes of a musical scale that are used to create songs.


Doe- a deer, a female deer
This is an example of how one can associate a word with a musical note.


Ray- a drop of golden sun
This is another example of word and note association.


Me- a name I call myself
Another example of word and note association.


Far- a long long way to run
Another example of word and note association.


Sew- a needle pulling thread
Another example of word and note association.


La- a note to follow so
Another example of word and note association.


Tea- a drink with jam and bread
Another example of word and note association.


That will bring us back to do oh oh oh
These associations can be used to come back to the basic musical note of do.


Now children do re mi fa so and so on are only the tools we use to build a song
These musical notes are building blocks for creating songs.


Once you have these notes in your head, you can sing a million different tones by mixing them up
By combining these musical notes, one can create endless variations of songs.


So do la fa mi do re, can you do that?
This is an example of combining and rearranging the musical notes to create new melodies.


So do la ti do re do
Another example of rearranging the musical notes to create new melodies.


When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything
Knowing these musical notes can serve as a foundation for singing any song.


Together: Dooooooe, a deer, a female deer, Raaay, a drop of golden sun, Meee, a name I call myself, Faaar, a long long way to run
The children sing the previously associated words with their respective musical notes.


Sew, a needle pulling thread, La, a note to follow so, Tea, a drink with jam and bread, that will bring us back to
Another example of word and note association, leading back to the basic note of do.


So do la fa mi do re, so do la ti do re do
The children sing a melody based on the musical notes they have learned.


Do mi mi, mi so so, re fa fa, la ti ti
The children sing another musical pattern, incorporating various musical notes.


When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything
The importance of knowing these basic musical notes is emphasized once again.




Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC

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