From: quark@csa.bu.edu (Paul Fu)
Date: 28 Nov 92 05:37:19 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.arts.disney
Subject: Lyrics: The Little Mermaid (updated)


				 Lyrics 
				  from

			      Walt Disney's



			   THE LITTLE MERMAID

			  Music by Alan Menken
			 Lyrics by Howard Ashman

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Copyright (C) 1989 by Walt Disney Music Co. and Wonderland Music Co., Inc.
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				"Fathoms Below"

SAILORS
I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue
and it's hey to the starboard, heave ho.
Look out, lad, a mermaid be waiting for you
in mysterious fathoms below.

Fathoms below, below.
From whence wayward westerlies blow.
Where Triton is king
and his mer-people sing
in mysterious fathoms below.

Heave, ho. Heave, ho.
Heave, ho. Heave, ho.
Heave, ho, in mysterious fathoms below.

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			  "Daughters of Triton"

DAUGHTERS of TRITON
Ah, we are the daughters of Triton,
great father who loves us and named us well.
Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Atina, Adella, Allana.
And then there is the youngest in her musical debut,
our seventh little sister,
we're presenting her to you
to sing a song Sebastian wrote.
Her voice is like a bell.
She's our sister, Ar-i....

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			"Part of Your World"

			 Ariel: Jodi Benson

ARIEL
Look at this stuff.
Isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?
Wouldn't you think I'm the girl,
The girl who has ev'rything.

Look at this trove,
Treasures untold.
How many wonders can one cavern hold?
Looking around here you'd think,
Sure, she's got ev'rything.

I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty.
I've got whozits and whatzits galore.
You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty.
But who cares?
No big deal.
I want more.

I wanna be where the people are.
I wanna see - wanna see 'em dancin',
Walkin' around on those--whatdya call 'em?--oh, feet.

Flippin' your fins you don't get too far.
Legs are required for jumpin', dancin',
Strollin' along down the--what's that word again?--street.

Up where they walk,
Up where they run,
Up where they stay all day in the sun.

Wanderin' free, 
Wish I could be 
Part of that world.

What would I give
If I could live
Outta these waters.
What would I pay
To spend a day
Warm on the sand?
Betcha on land
They understand
Bet they don't reprimand
Their daughters.
Bright young women,
Sick of swimmin',
Ready to stand.

And ready to know what the people know.
Ask 'em my questions and get some answers.
What's a fire, and why does it--what's the word--burn?

When's it my turn?
Wouldn't I love,
Love to explore that shore up above,

Out of the sea.
Wish I could be
Part of that world.

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				"Under the Sea"

			  Sebastian: Samuel E. Wright 

SEBASTIAN
The seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake.
You dream about going up there.
But that is a big mistake.
Just look at the world around you,
Right here on the ocean floor.
Such wonderful things surround you.
What more is you lookin' for?

Under The Sea,
Under The Sea.
Darlin' it's better, 
down where it's wetter.
Take it from me.
Up on the shore they work all day.
Out in the sun they slave away.
While we devotin' 
full time to floatin'
Under The Sea

SEBASTIAN and TRIO
Down here all the fish is happy
As off through the waves dey roll.
The fish on the land ain't happy.
They sad 'cause they in the bowl.
But fish in the bowl is lucky,
They in for a worser fate.
One day when the boss get hungry,

BASS
Guess who gon' be on the plate?

SEBASTIAN
Under The Sea,
Under The Sea.
Nobody beat us, 
fry us and eat us, 
in fricasee.
We what the land folks loves to cook.
Under the sea we off the hook.
We got no troubles, 
life is the bubbles
Under The Sea.

Under The Sea.
Since life is sweet here
We got the beat here
Naturally.
Even the sturgeon an' the ray
They get the urge 'n start to play.
We got the spirit,
You got to hear it
Under The Sea.

The newt play the flute.
The carp play the harp.
The plaice play the bass
And they soundin' sharp.
The bass play the brass.
The chub play the tub.
The fluke is the duke of soul.

FLUKE
Yeah!

SEBASTIAN and FLUKE
The ray he can play.
The ling's on the strings.
The trout rockin' out.
The blackfish she sings.
The smelt and the sprat
They know where it's at.
An' oh, that blowfish blow.

SEBASTIAN
Under The Sea.
Under The Sea.
When the sardine
Begin the beguine
It's music to me.
What do they got, a lot of sand?
We got a hot crustacean band.
Each little clam here
Know how to jam here
Under The Sea.

Each little slug here
Cutting a rug here
Under The Sea.

Each little snail here
Know how to wail here.
That's why it's hotter
Under the water.
Ya, we in luck here
Down in the much here
Under The Sea!  

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			"Part of Your World (Reprise)"

			     Ariel: Jodi Benson

ARIEL
What would I give
To live where you are?
What would I pay
To stay here beside you?
What would I do
To see you smiling at me?

Where would we walk?
Where would we run
if we could stay all day
in the sun,
just you and me
and I could be
Part of Your World.

I don't know when,
I don't know how,
but I know something starting right now.
Watch and you'll see,
someday I'll be
Part of Your World.

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			"Poor Unfortunate Souls"

			   Ariel: Jodi Benson
			   Ursula: Pat Carroll

	URSULA: The only way to get what you want is to become a human
		yourself.
	ARIEL:	Can you do that?
	URSULA: My dear, sweet child!  That's what I do.  It's what I live
		for, to help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself.
		Poor souls!  With no one else to turn to...

URSULA
I admit that in the past I've been a nasty.
They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch.
But you'll find that nowadays
I've mended all my ways,
Repented, seen the light, and made a switch,
True? Yes.

And I fortunately know a little magic.
It's a talent that I always have possessed.
And here lately, please don't laugh,
I use it on behalf
of the miserable, lonely, and depressed,
pathetic, 

Poor Unfortunate Souls,
In pain, in need.
This one longing to be thinner.
That one wants to get the girl.
And do I help them? Yes, indeed.

Those Poor Unfortunate Souls,
So sad, so true.
They come flocking to my cauldron
Crying "Spells, Ursula, please!"
And I help them?  Yes, I do.

Now it's happened once or twice,
Someone couldn't pay the price,
And I'm afraid I had to rake 'em
'Cross the coals.
Yes, I've had the odd complaint.
But on the whole I've been a saint,
To those Poor Unfortunate Souls.

	URSULA: Have we got a deal?
	ARIEL:	If I become human, I'll never be with my father or
		sisters again.
	URSULA: But...you have your man.  Life's full of tough choices
		ain't it. <cackle> Oh!  And there is one more thing.
		We haven't discussed the subject of payment.
	ARIEL: 	But I don't have any...
	URSULA: I'm not asking much, just a token really, a trifle.
		What I want from you is...your voice!
	ARIEL: 	But without my voice, how can I...

URSULA:
You'll have your looks.
Your pretty face.

	URSULA: And don't underestimate the importance of body 
		language! Hah!

URSULA:
The men up there don't like a lot of blabber.
They think a girl who gossips is a bore.
Yes, on land it's much preferred
for ladies not to say a word.
And after all, dear, what is idle prattle for?

Come on! They're not all that impressed with conversation.
True gentlemen avoid it when they can.
But they dote and swoon and fawn
on a lady who's withdrawn.
It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man.

Come on, you poor unfortunate soul!
Go ahead!  Make your choice.
I'm a very busy woman and I haven't got all day.
It won't cost much, just your voice.

You poor unfortunate soul.
Its sad, but true.
If you want to cross a bridge, my sweet, you've got to pay the toll.
Take a gulp and take a breath and go ahead and sign the scroll.
(Flotsam, Jetsam, now I've got her boys,
the boss is on a roll!)
This poor unfortunate soul.

Paluga, sarruga, the winds of the Caspian Sea.
Now rings us glossitis and max laryngitis,
La voce to me!

	URSULA: Now...sing!
	ARIEL: (sings) 
	URSULA: Keep singing!

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			      "Les Poisson"

			Louis: Rene Auberjonois

LOUIS:	
Les poisson, les poissons,
how I love les poissons,
love to chop, and to serve, little fish.
FIrst I cut off their heads,
then I pull out their bones.
Ah mais oui, ca c'est toujours delish.

Les poissons, les poissons,
Hee hee hee, hah hah hah.
With the cleaver I hack them in two.
I pull out what's inside.
and I serve it up fried.
God, I love little fishes, don't you?

Here's something for tempting the palate.
Prepared in the classic technique.
First you pound the fish flat with a mallet.
Then you slash through the skin,
give the belly a slice,
then you rub some salt in,
'cause that makes it taste nice.

Sacre bleu! What is this?
How on earth could I miss
Such a sweet little succulent crab.
Quel dommage, what a loss.
Here we go, in the sauce.
Now some flour, I think, just a dab.

Now I stuff you with bread.
It don't hurt, 'cause you're dead.
And you're certainly lucky you are.
'Cause it's gonna be hot
in my big silver pot.
Toodle loo, mon poisson, au revoir!

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			      "Kiss the Girl"

			Sebastian: Samuel E. Wright

SEBASTIAN:
There you see her,
sitting there across the way.
She don't got a lot to say,
but there's something about her.
And you don't know why,
But you're dying to try.
You wanna Kiss The Girl.

Yes, you want her.
Look at her, you know you do.
Possible she wants you, too.
There is one way to ask her.
It don't take a word, 
Not a single word.
Go on and Kiss The Girl.

Sha la la la la la, my oh my.
Look like the boy too shy.
Ain't gonna Kiss The Girl.
Sha la la la la la ain't that sad.
Ain't it a shame, too bad.
He gonna miss the girl.

SEBASTIAN, SCUTTLE and backup FISH:
Now's your moment,
Floating in a blue lagoon.
Boy, you better do it soon,
no time will be better.
She don't say a word
And she won't say a word
Until you Kiss The Girl.

Sha la la la la la, don't be scared.
You got the mood prepared,
go on and Kiss The Girl.
Sha la la la la la, don't stop now.
Don't try to hide it how
You wanna Kiss The Girl.

Sha la la la la la, float along.
And listen to the song,
the song say Kiss The Girl.
Sha la la la la la, the music play.
Do what the music say.
You gotta Kiss The Girl.

You've got to Kiss The Girl.
You wanna Kiss The Girl.
You've gotta Kiss The Girl.
Go on and Kiss The Girl!

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Voice Talents (alphabetically) of:

	Louis:		Rene Auberjonois
	Eric:		Christopher Daniel Barnes
	Ariel:		Jodi Benson
	Ursula:		Pat Carroll
	Flotsam/Jetsam:	Paddi Edwards
	Scuttle:	Buddy Hackett
	Flounder:	Jason Marin
	Triton:		Kenneth Mars
	Carlotta:	Edie McClurg
	Sea Horse:	Will Ryan
	Grimsey:	Ben Wright
	Sebastian:	Samuel E. Wright
	
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Originally transcribed and posted by: ????  (Someone email me if you know!)
Edited, cross-check, revisions by: quark@cs.bu.edu (Paul Fu, Jr.)
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--
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Paul Fu, Jr. 		|  quark@cs.bu.edu	|  pfu@dhvx20.csudh.edu
Boston University	|  quark@bass.bu.edu	|  fu.paul@boston.va.gov
School of Medicine	|  GEnie: P.FU1		|  CI$: 72570,1614
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In article <Aug.3.18.34.30.1990.23009@aramis.rutgers.edu>,
pirmann@aramis.rutgers.edu (Dave Pirmann) writes:
|> 
|> I recently purchased the Little Mermaid soundtrack album, and was
|> dismayed to notice that it did not include a list of the characters'
|> voices, lyrics, or anything like that.

To heck with that -- what are the names of Ariel's six sisters?
It sounds for all the world like Edema, Errata, Nutella, etc.

|> The lyrics being missing I can forgive, but not to give credit to the
|> voices???  

You just haven't listened to them enough times to get the
words.  Come to my house, where my 2-1/2 year old daughter 
plays either the film or the audio cassette continuously.
She knows all the words, and sings along with the characters.
And man, can she belt it out when Ursula gets to the climax
of her song: "You *poor* -- *un* -- fortunate SOOOOOOOOULS!"
And the slide is even on key, no less!

|> Having not yet seen the movie, could someone fill me in on who sings
|> the main voice parts?

Ariel is performed by Jodi Benson, a new actress whose hair
actually looks something like Ariel's (ah, Ariel, had we but
fins enough and time...).  She's talented and I expect we'll
see and hear more from her.

Ursula, the Sea Witch, is played by Pat Carroll, who is a 
delightful character actress of a vanishing type.  She says
that she's always wanted to play a really luscious villain,
and if you see some of her acting from early days (she plays
one of the Ugly Stepsisters in the Rodgers & Hammerstein
"Cinderella"), you can see the source of a lot of Ursula's
gestures, mannerisms, and physical characterization.  (One
point of pride to Ashman & Mencken, the composer and librettist,
was that one of the most crucial plot elements, Ariel signing
away her voice to Ursula, occurs in one of their songs.  That's
one of the good points of this film, that the dramatic action
and the music are so well entwined.)

Louis, the maniac chef, is played by Rene Auberjonois, and he
does a superb job.  ("First I CUT OFF ze head, zen I POOL OUT
ze bones...")  I'll even forgive the gross errors of culinary
technique in that song (you *never* make a paillard of any
bony fish -- "pound ze fish flat with a mallet" -- and no 
self-respecting chef would ever cook a whole, dead crab).

And, inexplicably, I have drawn a complete blank on the name
of the man who does Sebastian's voice.  You'd think an Oscar
winner would deserve more credit than that.  In the interviews
they show on the Disney channel, he says that since he was a little
boy, his lifelong dream has been to do the voice in a Disney
movie.  (And no, it's neither the man who did the Un-Cola nuts
commercials, nor James Earl Jones.  There *are* other talented
black performers in the world, and this guy is clearly one of them.)
"When de sardine begin de beguine it's music to me!  What do dey
got, a lotta sand?  We gotta hot crustacean band!"

Someone who doesn't sing but who has a major voice role is Kenneth
Mars, who plays King Triton.  THIS was a shock -- I remember Kenneth
Mars as the chief of police in _Young Frankenstein_ and as the lunatic
composer of "Springtime for Hitler" in _The Producers_.  If I hadn't
met him in person, I would have thought he was German, but then you
could have drawn the same erroneous conclusion from the last several
films of Lawrence Olivier, I suppose.

Another surprise was Buddy Hackett as Scuttle, the seagull.  Not that
I was surprised to learn it was Hackett, but that he did a good job
and didn't overcamp it to a sickly, treacly death.  I guess Hackett
finally got over his Lou Costello idolization phase and is working on
being his own comic.

--Scott "Kinda hairy and slobbery, isn't he?" Fisher
