Credit: Disney“People think it’s a little novelty. It’s a prayer for peace.” – Richard Sherman
“It’s probably the most important thing that is in any of the parks.” – Marty Sklar
The year is 1964 and the New York World’s Fair is in full swing. Walt Disney had been hard at work with his creative teams to produce four unforgettable attractions for partnering companies and organizations. But one little boat ride stands out from the rest, and its song remains in the heads of all who climb aboard.
I am talking, of course, about “it’s a small world.”
While the ride was crafted in the style of legendary Imagineer Mary Blair, the song itself was written by none other than Robert and Richard Sherman; the same songwriting brothers who gave Disney fans the songs from movies like Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, The Jungle Book, and Bedknobs and Broomsticks, as well as other park favorites like “The Enchanted Tiki Room,” and “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.”
The Sherman Brothers’ documentary, The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story, reflects on “it’s a small world,” and asks both Dick and Bob the very blunt question on most people’s minds: “WHY?!”
Well, here’s why.
“We were given the assignment to do a song for the UNICEF pavilion at the World’s Fair,” Richard Sherman explained. “Which was called ‘UNICEF Salutes the Children of the World.”
They were brought in by the Late Great Imagineer and Disney Legend Marty Sklar to run a test of how they were planning on doing the music from all these different countries. Robert Sherman described it in one word: “a cacophony.”
“It sounded like a million kids all singing different things,” he explained. “Walt says ‘can you write one song where they’ll cover everything?’ We told him, ‘we’ll try.'”
This is what they came up with: Kids from all over the world sending a message for world peace by singing the simplest lyrics.
It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears
It’s a world of hopes and a world of fears
There’s so much that we share that it’s time we’re aware
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small, small world
There is just one moon and one golden sun
And a smile means friendship to everyone
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small, small world
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
It’s a small world after all
