Welcome Again to “Disney Notes” – a look at the music and sounds of Disney.
Over the years the “it’s a small world” attraction has received a considerable amount of historical, analytical and critical attention – just like any great work of art. The quick design and construction for the ’64 World’s Fair, and the construction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World are well-documented. Every little change or event relating to the ride is old news almost as quickly as it reaches the public.
Even the theme song has an almost comical reputation for embedding itself into people’s minds. Its simple melody and elementary lyrics are often passed off as “just another children’s song” that becomes an ear worm after just one ride.
What is often overlooked, however, is the true greatness of this song with regard to its meaning and the symbolic nature of the melody and chord structure. While it is entirely possible that the Sherman Brothers did not stop to think about a deep symbolism within the chords or rhythm of this song, it is notable that one can look at how it is constructed musically and come away excited about its poignant connections.
Many listeners (even musicians) fail to notice that the chord structure of this song is simple enough to allow the melody of the verse to be played or sung simultaneously with the chorus, with no dissonance or rhythmic distortion. As is often noted, Walt’s original intention was to have the dolls in the attraction sing the national anthem of their countries – as if standing on their own to represent their home. Unfortunately, many national anthems are difficult to sing at best and listening to them all at once would have resulted in musical chaos.
When it was determined that one simple song was far better for expressing a message of peace, the Sherman Brothers came up with “It’s a Small World (After All)” and dolls from all over the world were able to come together as one musical unit, singing a song that in itself was capable of a peaceful harmonic and rhythmic duet – mimicking the message of world peace and harmony that Walt Disney hoped the ride would symbolize.
Perhaps any song that is sung by a children’s choir over and over again is bound to gain a large and sympathetic audience – especially with an eye-candy environment packed to the ceiling with the cutest and most colorful of dolls – all in movement synchronized to music and appropriate for the various countries. But it is worth noting that the actual construction of this song is a beautiful symbol of how multiple musical (or human) personalities can come together as one.
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